VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System housed more than 300 homeless Veterans in 2023
PRESS RELEASE
January 31, 2024
Omaha , NE — OMAHA— As part of VA’s nationwide homelessness goals for 2023, VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System (VA NWIHCS) assisted in finding permanent housing 301 homeless Veterans in 2023.
The effort was one of several VA NWIHCS specialists engaged in to assist local homeless and unsheltered Veterans. This effort included helping 227 un-sheltered Veterans connect with housing and other resources, while also ensuring that 100 percent of those Veterans who returned to homelessness in 2023 were re-housed or placed on a pathway to re-housing. Additionally, 95 percent of Veterans housed in 2023 have remained in housing.
“I am proud of the coordinated effort our NWI team has taken with our community providers, including our Homeless Continuums of Care (CoC), local Public Housing Authorities, and Supportive Services for Veterans Families (SSVF),” said Kerry Miller Loos, VA Nebraska Western Iowa Health Care System Mental Health Specialty Programs director. “It is through this coordinated effort that we were able to bring the services and supports to the Veterans in need.”
“This goal was achieved through the hard work and dedication of our VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System homeless programs staff, our grantees and contractors and our valued community partners,” said Dr. Eileen Kingston, director VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System. “The progress we’re seeing in addressing Veteran homelessness through the work of our VA staff members, community partnerships and innovative programs in Nebraska and Western Iowa demonstrated that we have identified successful solutions to end homelessness for all Veterans we care for.”
These placements, along with placements provided by other VA health care systems across America, led to VA housing 46,552 Veterans nationwide, meeting and exceeding its national goal by more than 22.5 percent.
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If you are a Veteran who is experiencing homelessness or at risk for homelessness, call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-4AID-VET (877-424-3838). Visit the VA Homeless Programs website to learn about housing initiatives and other programs for Veterans exiting homelessness.