Did you know that by the end of this year, there will be no more homeless veterans? That’s right. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) announced a five-year plan to end veteran homelessness. This means that by the end of this year, we can expect that there will be no more homeless veterans in America.
Of course, we know that’s not going to happen. Even with endless resources and an aggressive, bulletproof plan, the VA couldn’t deliver on this promise. It might as well have told us it would deliver us the stars.
That is the first point of this blog. VA, we know you can’t achieve the impossible. Don’t set unreasonable goals, and then you won’t be criticized for not meeting them.
The second, and more important, point is the VA has done good work in this arena, and it should be recognized for it.
According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as of August 2014, there are 49,933 homeless veterans living in the United States. This is based on HUD’s Point-in-Time Count it conducts every January to estimate the number of homeless veterans. While it is likely that not all veterans are accounted for, this number represents a significant 33% drop in veteran homelessness since 2010.
Part of this drop is attributed to the VA’s Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program, where the VA awards grants to private, non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives that provide services to very low-income Veteran families living in – or transitioning to – permanent housing. (More information can be found here).
Today, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald announced the award of nearly $93 million in 3-year grants under this Program. These grants will help approximately 45,000 homeless and at-risk Veterans and their families, providing additional resources as it applies to 24 non-profit agencies in 15 communities across 11 states. (The full list of organizations impacted by this grant is available here).
“The Department of Veterans Affairs is committed to using evidence-based approaches such as SSVF to prevent homelessness and produce successful outcomes for Veterans and their families,” said Secretary McDonald. “This is a program that works, because it allows VA staff and local homeless service providers to work together to effectively address the unique challenges that make it difficult for some Veterans and their families to remain stably housed.”
Through the homeless veterans initiative, VA committed more than $1 billion in FY 2014 to strengthen programs that prevent and end homelessness among veterans. The VA provides a range of services to homeless Veterans, including health care, housing, job training and education.
As President Obama has said, “[W]e’re not going to rest until every Veteran who has fought for America has a home in America.”
Those are lovely words. Now make them count.
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Has the actual veteran status of these homeless veterans been verified? How is homeless defined? When I think homeless, I imagine someone living in a shanty under a bridge but I know someone that’s couch surfing is homeless too, so defining terms is huge!