Ending homelessness among veterans | va new mexico health care | veterans affairs

PRESS RELEASE November 12, 2024 Washington , DC — Ending Homelessness among Veterans No Veteran should be homeless in the country they swore an oath to defend. VA is committed to ending

homelessness among Veterans because it is our nation’s duty to ensure all Veterans have a place to call home. From day one, the VA has taken aggressive action to combat Veteran homelessness.

* On November 12, 2024 VA announced results of the 2024 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, which show a record low in Veteran homelessness since measurement began in 2009 and a 7.6% decrease since

2023. Overall, the data shows a 11.7% reduction in Veterans experiencing homelessness since 2020 and a 55.6% reduction since 2010.  The PIT Count is an annual count of sheltered and

unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. The data show there were 32,882 Veterans experiencing homelessness in the United States in January 2024, 13,851 of

whom were unsheltered — down from 35,574 and 15,507 in 2023, respectively. This represents a 10.7% decrease in unsheltered Veteran homelessness nationwide in the last year. These outcomes

are a direct result of VA’s aggressive actions to combat Veteran homelessness in calendar year (CY) 2023. * On October 14, 2024, VA announced it permanently housed nearly 48,000 homeless

Veterans in fiscal year 2024 — and 134,000 Veterans since 2022. This progress demonstrates the impact of the VA and entire Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing nationwide efforts to combat

Veteran homelessness. * VA has also made progress in combating Veteran homelessness in the Greater Los Angeles area, providing 1,854 homeless Veterans with permanent housing in FY 2024 — the

most of any city in America (for the third year in a row) and exceeding VA’s FY 2024 goals for this region by 15.5%. Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s recent Point-in Time count 

revealed a 22.9% reduction in Veterans experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. * VA is implementing a comprehensive and proactive action plan to support Veterans impacted by current and

future encampment closures.  * Concretely, this plan aims to support unsheltered Veterans living in encampments by: * Providing them with same-day access to interim housing. * Connecting

them to all necessary supportive services to obtain and maintain permanent housing. * Preventing them from entering the criminal legal system. * To accomplish these aims, this plan intends

to build upon existing strategies that support coordination with local agencies and encompasses three main national actions:  * Develop and maintain a nationwide inventory of current and

future encampment closures. * Activate local response teams. * Disseminate national strategies to inform local action.  * More information about the strategies is available at 

www.va.gov/Homeless/Encampments.asp    * We all have a part to play in ending Veteran homelessness. There are many ways that Americans can help end Veteran homelessness: * If you are a

Veteran who is homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness, or someone who knows a Veteran in this situation, call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-424-3838 for

assistance. It is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors who can talk with you right now and connect you with your nearest VA for help. * If you are a landlord or housing provider with housing

units, rent to Veterans participating in VA homeless programs.  * If you are a business owner, hire homeless and formerly homeless Veterans.  * For more information on renting to or hiring

homeless Veterans, visit www.va.gov/homeless. ###