Northern Arizona VA surpasses annual goal to house Veterans

As of August 31, more than 94% of those Veterans have not returned to homeless services. 

“We’re extremely proud of the work we do to ensure our Veterans and their families receive the help they need when they need it,” said Steve Sample, NAVAHCS’s Medical Center Director. “Accessibility and collaboration are key to accomplishing this mission, especially when it comes to sustainable housing solutions. Fortunately, we have an incredible network of homeless Veteran organizations throughout Northern Arizona who understand the complexity of Veteran homelessness and work very well together to quickly meet each Veteran’s individual needs.” 

Jessica Taylor, NAVAHCS’s Health Care for Homeless Veterans Program Coordinator, refers to this collaborative effort as a One Team approach that puts the Veteran at the center of the work and limits duplicated service.

“We know what each of our organizations can effectively provide and who to turn to within the network when a particular need arises that’s outside of our area of expertise,” Taylor said. “This system of Coordinated Entry means that a homeless Veteran can walk through any of our programs’ doors and get help accessing all of the services within the entire network.” 

The programs that helped house the 352 Veterans in Northern Arizona this fiscal year were the following:

• Nation’s Finest
• Catholic Charities Community Services, Inc.
• National Community Health Partners
• U. S. VETS
• Jerry Ambrose Veterans Council 

“Achieving this goal means that not only did 352 homeless Veterans in Northern Arizona get housing, but the Veterans’ households, including their children, now have homes and stability as well,” Taylor said. 

Looking ahead, a project that will make significant strides in housing additional homeless Veterans and their families in Northern Arizona is expected to break ground on NAVAHCS’s medical center campus in Prescott by the end of this calendar year. 

Funded by a combination of public and private dollars, and spearheaded by U.S. Vets, the project includes renovating and repurposing six existing buildings on the southeast side of NAVAHCS’s campus, as well as constructing a new, three-story apartment building on the northeast side of the campus. In total, the project will create 103 single-bedroom apartments to house homeless and low-income Veterans. Once started, the project is expected to take about 12-18 months to complete.  

For Veterans who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness – or if you know of homeless Veterans in need of assistance – call 877-424-3838 to immediately speak with a trained counselor confidentially 24/7.

VA Also Surpassed National Housing Goal

Nationally, during this same time period, VA housed 43,116 Veterans experiencing homelessness, surpassing its fiscal year 2024 goal to house 41,000 Veterans a month earlier than anticipated. A total of 96.3% of the Veterans housed have not returned to homelessness. 

Preventing and eliminating Veteran homelessness is a top priority for VA and the entire Biden-Harris Administration. Between 2022 and 2023, VA permanently housed nearly 87,000 Veterans. As a result of these efforts, the number of Veterans experiencing homelessness in the U.S. has fallen by over 4% since early 2020 and by more than 52% since 2010. 

“No person who has served this country should ever have to experience homelessness,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “As a result of this year’s efforts, more than 43,000 formerly homeless Veterans now have access to the homes that they deserve. And make no mistake: we won’t rest until every Veteran has a safe, stable, accessible, and affordable home to call their own.”

VA and the entire administration have taken considerable steps this year to combat Veteran homelessness. In late September, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness released the federal government’s first ever framework for homelessness prevention and launched a new series spotlighting local and federal efforts to prevent homelessness. In August, VA awarded more than $800 million in grants via its Supportive Services for Veteran Families and Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem programs, and in July, awarded over $26 million in grants to support legal services for Veterans facing homelessness. Also in August, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and VA announced policy changes that will help more Veterans receive housing assistance under the HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program. 

VA’s efforts to combat Veteran homelessness are grounded in reaching out to homeless Veterans, understanding their unique needs, and addressing them. These efforts are built on the evidence-based “Housing First” approach, which prioritizes getting a Veteran into housing, then providing or connecting them with the wraparound services and supports they need to stay housed, including health care, job training, legal and education assistance, and more. 

Every day, VA staff and VA’s community partners nationwide help Veterans find permanent housing, such as apartments or houses to rent or own, often with subsidies to help make the housing affordable. In some cases, VA staff and partners help Veterans end their homelessness by reuniting them with family and friends.

Visit the VA.gov/homeless to learn about housing initiatives and other programs supporting Veterans experiencing homelessness. 

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Media Contact: Max Efrein, Public Affairs Officer, Northern Arizona VA; (928) 910-0332; max.efrein@va.gov. 

About the Northern Arizona VA

Through its main campus in Prescott, along with Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) in Cottonwood, Flagstaff, Kingman, Lake Havasu City, and Anthem – with additional clinics in Tuba City, Page, Kayenta, Chinle, Holbrook and Polacca – the Northern Arizona VA provides services to approximately 34,000 Veterans over a catchment area of more than 65,000 square miles.