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VA reports 11% decline in homeless veterans since 2020

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The number of homeless veterans in the United States dropped by 11% since 2020, the biggest decline in more than five years, according to a new federal report.

There were 33,136 homeless veterans in January of this year, compared with 37,252 in 2020, according to the Point-in-Time count conducted by the departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, along with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.

“One veteran experiencing homelessness will always be one too many, but the 2022 PIT count shows that we are making real progress in the fight to end veteran homelessness,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said.

The government count is conducted annually to capture U.S. homeless population on a single night in January each year, but was not fully completed last year due to limits on in-person surveying during the coronavirus pandemic.

The data released Thursday shows significant drops each year in homelessness from 2010 to 2016 (when the Obama administration made it a top priority to end veteran homelessness), before mostly leveling off from 2016 to 2020.

Since 2010, when it stood at 76,329, the number of homeless vets fell by more than 55%.

Washington City Mission COO Brian Johansson said Washington County, too, has experienced a decline in the number of homeless veterans.

“We’ve noticed there’s been a little bit of a drop as well, but I think you’ve got to be careful with the accuracy of those kinds of things because there could be some folks who are going unseen or unnoticed,” said Johansson.

City Mission operates the Crabree Kovacicek Veterans’ House, a 22-bed shelter for homeless veterans that opened in 2018.

The veterans shelter is designed to meet the specific needs of homeless veterans.

Through individualized programs, each veteran addresses the barriers and challenges that led them to homelessness, and they are provided access to the Department of Veterans Affairs and other community resources to help them achieve stability and, ultimately, independent living.

“It’s such a tragic thing to have a veteran who has served our country who is now struggling to find housing, or struggling with mental health issues or drug addiction or alcoholism,” said Johansson. “It is a challenge for us as a society to address those issues in a way that is life-changing for veterans. You can’t just say, ‘Figure it out.’ They need support to do that.”

HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said “all veterans deserve to have what they need to lead healthy, safe and successful lives.”

“That starts with a place to call home,” she said.

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