Veterans

The Administration has committed to ending veterans' homelessness, but it will need improved policy to make that goal a reality.

The Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently released a supplemental report to the 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress on veterans. The supplement estimated that 76,000 veterans experience homelessness on any given night.

President Obama and VA Secretary Eric Shinseki have made ending veterans homelessness a top priority, prompting Congress to explore several legislative solutions to the problem. In order to truly end homelessness among veterans, resources must be available to identify every veteran who is homeless or about to become homeless. Programs must be able to immediately secure the needed housing and services for individuals and/or their families.

The key elements of a solution to veterans’ homelessness include:

  • Permanent supportive housing;
  • Temporary housing/services and re-housing;
  • Rapidly re-housing homeless and at-risk veterans;
  • Assessing housing status at discharge and afterwards; and
  • More housing options.

Spotlight

Report  |  November 4, 2011
This one-page brief shows the number of veterans experiencing homelessness in the United States and the annual reductions in homelessness necessary in order to end veterans homelessness in five years.
Federal Policy Brief  |  August 16, 2010
This two-pager provides four key legislative priorities for a comprehensive bill to address veterans homelessness. The Zero Tolerance for Homelessness Among Veterans Act of 2009 addresses all four priorities. This document was updated in August 2010.

Library Resources

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Federal Policy Brief  |  January 18, 2012
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a final regulation to implement changes to the definition of homelessness contained in the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act. The new definition is outlined here.
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Report  |  November 10, 2009
In association with Veterans Day 2009, the Alliance released an update to the veterans report: Vital Mission: Ending Homelessness Among Veterans. New data from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) shows that while the number of homeless veterans seems to have decreased, the need for more proactive intervention and action grows.
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Federal Policy Brief  |  July 28, 2009
As VA’s only permanent supportive housing intervention, HUD-VASH must be an integral part of ending homelessness for veterans. This document provides advocates and policymakers with a number of specific areas for improvement and recommendations to improve targeting and administration of HUD-VASH in the service of homeless veterans.