Veteran Homelessness Drops to Historic Lows – What’s Working and What’s Next?
While homelessness across the U.S. is surging to record highs, there’s a glimmer of hope for America’s veterans. Despite the ongoing housing crisis, veteran homelessness has actually declined — a rare piece of good news in an otherwise bleak landscape. But before we start celebrating, let’s be clear: this problem isn’t solved. The decline is a testament to targeted programs that are working, yet thousands of veterans still face life on the streets, and the battle to keep them housed is far from over.
The question now is: will these hard-fought gains hold, or are we just one policy shift away from seeing the numbers climb again?
Decline in Veteran Homelessness
As of January 2024, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness has decreased to 32,882, which represents an 8% reduction from the previous year. This decline is part of a larger trend, with veteran homelessness having fallen by 55.6% since 2010.
Contributing Factors
The remarkable strides in tackling veteran homelessness can be traced back to a few critical factors that have made a significant impact:
- Permanent Housing Initiatives: In fiscal year 2024, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) exceeded its goal by placing nearly 48,000 veterans into permanent housing, achieving 116.9% of the target.
- Retention Efforts: The VA reported that 96% of veterans housed in 2023 remained in stable housing throughout 2024, surpassing the goal of 95%.
- On March 14, 2024, VA announced it’s 2024 goals, which are:
- Place at least 41,000 homeless Veterans into permanent housing.
- Ensure that at least 95% of the Veterans housed in 2023 do not return to homelessness during the year.
- Engage with at least 40,000 unsheltered Veterans to help them obtain housing and other wraparound services.
- On March 14, 2024, VA announced it’s 2024 goals, which are:
- Legislative Support: The introduction of the End Veteran Homelessness Act of 2024 underscores a continued commitment to providing resources and support for veterans in need.
Challenges Ahead
While there has been notable progress, challenges still exist. The overall homelessness rate in the U.S. rose by 18.1% in 2024, driven by factors like the shortage of affordable housing and the impact of natural disasters. It remains a critical priority to ensure that veterans do not return to homelessness and to address the needs of unsheltered veterans.
Advocate for Yourself
The decline in veteran homelessness highlights the effectiveness of specialized programs and collaborative efforts. To maintain this progress, we must continue to invest, seek innovative solutions, and provide unwavering support to ensure that all veterans have access to safe and stable housing.
Applying for and navigating Veterans Rehabilitation and Employment (VRE) benefits can be overwhelming, but with persistence and the right strategies, you can obtain the training and support you need.
Remember, the program is designed to help you achieve suitable and meaningful employment. Don’t settle for less than you deserve. We would love to hear from you if you have faced challenges or have insights to share.
Join the conversation in our Facebook group or leave a comment below. Together, we can ensure that every veteran receives the benefits they have earned.
Long term plan for VA is put a CBOC in every county in the country. Meanwhile Veterans will get superficial healthcare for the next 100 years or later.. however long it takes them to completely spread that fetid cancer. Then the conservative counties will get the worst healthcare not just because they won’t fund healthcare in Tea Party land, but because you’ll have the Tea Party working there. To them you’re just a parasite and some of the more dehumanizing philosophy that you’ll find in academia they’ll put to good use there.
Spend a trillion dollars, hire a half a million people, buy state of the art medical equipment out the ass…if the MRI shows stenosis, that’s the end of the line. Back to the half million people they hired and around and around in circles you go until you can’t walk. I tell you that’s the biggest scam and fraud ever perpetuated in the history of humanity.
A decade or more of your life down the tubes is what you can expect if you have a problem with one of the federal government’s super citizens at VA or any other agency for that matter. Is it really worth pills and shooting the shit with some pseudo intellectual or phoney? No, it’s not, and until the courts enforce the laws that Congress has passed and start enforcing rights over super citizenship it won’t be.
They’re practicing pseudo psychology in there…. which is a human rights violation when backed by unlimited legal resources and immunity. VHA won’t fire people caught practicing pseudo psychology yet they claim to be great. The big money pigs who control this country see advantages to having an inferior healthcare system in the USA. They create the “you get what you pay for” reality. At the end of the day it’s all humorous to these people.
Trying to force people to come there and take part in the theater production after they’d realized they weren’t going to get treated for their service connected condition was a trend about 5 or 6 years ago. That was just before they kept getting 200 billion a year for many years in a row. Of course they didn’t call the people who fled before the mountains of money rolled in. How about gain and maintain relationships with people instead of force. Why not phase out the guinea pig approach and fire people who use veterans for pseudo intellectual cannon fodder? Why is bad politics not being policed?
The feds terrorize doctors who prescribe pain medication for actual legitimate medical conditions but fentanyl is plentiful. God and baby Jesus save us from these sick and insane people who cause so much suffering in the USA. Also VHA no spinal disk replacement but they get hundreds of billions. They’ll say you don’t need it even if you’re dizzy, in pain, and shortness of breath. They’ll treat the resulting car wreck, no pain pills, still no surgery other than what happened in the wreck! Nobody will be fired for this!
Veterans Healthcare Administration would be better if there was accountability and transparency. For decades they’ve been allowed to just completely fuck someone and sweep it under the rug. Veterans just leave because of something happening or not happening in there, or a string of bad calls and interactions, and they’re left without healthcare for years. That has to change before it is considered a legitimate entity. We’d like to get some actual numbers of people who went in there for something reasonable, got nothing, so they just left for good. Most accomplished veterans I know wouldn’t even think about setting foot in the place. Said it’s a joke and not worth potential rights violations since the courts are derelict.
Everyone that the Veterans Healthcare Administration pays to show up there every day will defend other incompetent and derelict entities whenever they make some bad decision that causes people to suffer. And they’ll offer some half truth or bogus rationalization. The failed system brings out the worst in people who otherwise might not even be that bad. The answer is of course UBI or insurance cards so veterans can get away from certain people in there that they just won’t fire… and get actual healthcare. We need zero denial of care and infuriating VHA assholes.
I can remember in one location 10 years ago…it went something like this. Fall on hard times, go in there to see a shrink, they call you a parasite while they make 90 K in taxpayer money calling people parasites. Mind you a monkey could hand out pills and communicate with people. But would a monkey piss a relationship away like someone at the Department of Veterans Affairs?… That’s the question. One things for certain though, a monkey wouldn’t pay another monkey a dime to insult people.
Veterans Healthcare Administration.. bogus claims in notes, which they’ve downgraded from having the title “medical record” to accommodate all the stupidity in there. Outlandish accusations, character assassination, false claims, absurd insinuations, conjecture, and quite frankly distorted perspectives because a lot of those people have mental health problems themselves. Not everyone should be working in a healthcare environment but those who still do because they need to feed themselves will end up there guaranteed. They should be out in the free market where they can live or die based on how they treat people.