Veteran Homelessness: Department of Veterans Affairs Homeless Assessment Report to Congress

This report is the result of ongoing collaboration between HUD and the VA to understand the extent and nature of homelessness among veterans in the United States. The information presented in this report is intended to inform public policymakers, local practitioners and the general public about veteran homelessness. It also advances the goals of the nation’s federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness (Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness) through the collection, analysis, and reporting of quality, timely data on homelessness.

The Veteran’s Supplemental Report provides one-day and one-year estimates of the number of homeless veterans nationally. This report also examines the demographic characteristics of homeless veterans and compares them to the characteristics of various other population groups, including all U.S. veterans, all veterans living in poverty, and non-veteran adults who are and are not homeless. These comparisons illuminate the heightened risks of becoming homeless faced by some veterans. The report also discusses the location of homeless veterans in the United States by state and by type of location. Finally, the report describes the flow of veterans into the shelter system and, once there, how they use the system.

Contents include:

Executive Summary * Point-in-Time Estimates of Homelessness Among Veterans * One-Year Estimates of Sheltered Homelessness Among Veterans * Characteristics of Sheltered Homeless Veterans * Veterans with High Risk of Becoming Homeless * Location of Homeless Veterans * Prior Living Arrangement and Patterns of Shelter Use * Section 1: Introduction * The 2009 AHAR Veteran and the CHALENG Estimates * Section 2: How Many Homeless Veterans Are There? * Types of Estimates * Estimates of Homeless Veterans, 2009 * How Common is Homelessness among Veterans? * Section 3: Who Are Sheltered Veterans? * All Sheltered Veterans * Homeless Veterans by Household Type * Sheltered Homeless Veterans Compared to Sheltered Homeless Non-Veterans * Section 4: Risk of Homelessness Among Veterans * Gender as a Risk Factor * Race and Ethnicity as Risk Factors * Age as a Risk Factor * Disability as a Risk Factor * Where are Homeless Veterans Located? * PIT Estimates of Veteran Homelessness by State * Location of Homeless Veterans – Principal Cities and Suburban or Rural Areas * How do Veterans Access and Use the Shelter System? * Movement into the Shelter System * Patterns of Shelter Use * Length of Stay * Concluding Observations *

This is a privately authored news service and educational publication of Progressive Management.