Veterans 50 Percent More Likely To Be Homeless, Study Shows

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/10/homeless-veterans-report-hud_n_821433.html

A new report released today confirms what many Americans have long known: veterans make up a disproportionate amount of the nation’s homeless population.

The federal government’s first-ever comprehensive Veteran Homelessness study shows that veterans are 50 percent more likely to become homeless than other Americans. Additionally, minority veterans have an even greater chance of ending up on the streets or in homeless shelters.

As part of the national strategy against homelessness, President Obama’s administration has set the ambitious goal of ending veteran homelessness by 2015.

The study, published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), uses data compiled from the 2009 nationwide homeless assessment to better understand the homeless veteran population.

A total of 75,609 veterans were found to be homeless on the January 2009 night that the count was conducted. More than half (57 percent) of them were staying in homeless shelters or transitional living facilities, while the remaining 43 percent were sleeping on the street.

Over the course of the year, from October 2008 to September 2009, 136,334 veterans stayed at a homeless shelter or transitional facility at least one night.

That figure means that a staggering one of every 168 American veterans experienced homelessness during that 12-month period.
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According to the HUD,

“This report offers a much clearer picture about what it means to be a veteran living on our streets or in our shelters,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “Understanding the nature and scope of veteran homelessness is critical to meeting President Obama’s goal of ending veterans’ homelessness within five years.”

The U.S. Government Plan to End Homelessness

The Unites States has a new ambitious plan to end homeless with the following goals: “(1) end chronic homelessness in five years; (2) prevent and end homelessness among veterans in five years; (3) prevent and end homelessness for families, youth, and children within a decade; and (4) put us on a path to ending all types of homelessness.”

Let’s hope the government has, and dedicates the needed resources to make this happen. Below is the article announcing the plan from the White House Blog.

On a Path to Ending Homelessness

Posted by Melody Barnes on June 23, 2010 at 05:53 PM EDT

(posted at http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/06/23/a-path-ending-homelessness)

Someone once told me — in your head it’s a dream, but on paper it’s a plan.  As a nation, we’ve talked about addressing the issue of homelessness, and now we have a plan.  Over the last year, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), consisting of 19 federal agencies and chaired by Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, drafted the nation’s first comprehensive strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness.

The impetus for such a plan was simple.  In the United States, no one should spend a single night without a place to call home.  Yet, 634,000 people, including 107,000 veterans, experience homelessness on any given night.  The families and individuals that experience homelessness and the advocates that work so hard on this issue know that we need to act with a renewed sense of urgency.

Yesterday, the lead Cabinet secretaries from USICH – Secretary Donovan, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Eric Shinseki – joined USICH Director Barbara Poppe to unveil and submit Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness to the President and Congress.

The plan sets ambitious but measurable goals: (1) end chronic homelessness in five years; (2) prevent and end homelessness among veterans in five years; (3) prevent and end homelessness for families, youth, and children within a decade; and (4) put us on a path to ending all types of homelessness.

The plan builds on existing interagency partnerships and evidence-based models that are working at the local level.  It will focus the resources and efforts of federal agencies to offer a variety of comprehensive solutions.  For example, the partnership between HUD, HHS, and Education will provide homeless families with not only a home, but the wrap-around services they need to remain off the streets.

This is doable but it requires all of us to work together – Congress, federal agencies, state and local officials, faith-based and community organizations, and business and philanthropic leaders across our country.

We applaud the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness for their tireless efforts to put on paper what we know is possible.  Preventing and ending homelessness will positively impact the lives of individuals and families, veterans, children and youth, those who are chronically ill, those suffering from domestic violence, and those combating discrimination of all sorts.

We look forward to working with dedicated state and local leaders to open doors and opportunities for men, women, and children all across the country.

Melody Barnes is the Director of the Domestic Policy Council