“The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress found that on a single night in January 2020, there were 37,252 Veterans experiencing homelessness in America, an increase of 0.4% over 2019.”
“This number does not account for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has added to the nation’s housing challenges, including among Veterans.”
“AHAR showed investments from Congress along with strong collaboration between the Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) brought about a 47% reduction in Veteran homelessness between 2010 and 2016. However, a GAO report found that, since 2016, progress towards ending Veteran homelessness has stalled. We find this pattern deeply concerning. No Veteran who has served this country — let alone more than 37,000 on a given night — should experience homelessness.”
“We, the secretaries of VA and HUD, are aligning efforts and joining forces to work towards ending Veteran homelessness. We are mobilizing the strength of our two departments to do everything in our power to ensure every Veteran has access to safe and stable housing.”
“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to tackle this crisis. The American Rescue Plan included more than $10 billion in funding for individuals who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness. The American Jobs Plan would invest $213 billion to produce, preserve, and retrofit more than two million affordable homes.”
“Our collaboration is the first step of a multi-phased whole-of-government effort that will ultimately help us end Veteran homelessness. We will evaluate existing strategies, implement new approaches when necessary, and execute a plan to ensure we achieve tangible results that incorporate best practices, feedback, and lessons learned from Veterans, advocacy groups, and other stakeholders…” Read the full statement here.
Source: Secretaries of VA, HUD joint statement on ending Veteran homelessness — April 12, 2021. VA.
