This week, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH),
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
announced that veteran homelessness has dropped to the lowest
level recorded since the annual Point-in-Time (PIT) started
counting this data in 2009. Between January 2023 to January 2024,
veteran homelessness dropped by 7.5 percent, from 35,574 to
32,882. Among unsheltered veterans, the number dropped 10.7
percent, from 15,507 in 2023 to 13,851 in 2024. Overall veteran
homelessness has dropped by a staggering 55.6% since 2010.
The news
builds on an announcement made by the VA last month that it
has permanently housed nearly 48,000 veterans so far in 2024,
surpassing the original goal to house 41,000 veterans. As of the
end of Fiscal Year 2024, nearly 90,000 veterans were under lease
with HUD-VA Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH) vouchers, which
is the most veterans served at any point in the program’s
history.
The Biden-Harris Administration contributes this success to the
administration’s ongoing efforts to combat veteran homelessness,
including targeted investments and policy changes to help
veterans receive assistance. In addition to the more than
$800 million in grants awarded by the VA this year for
veteran homelessness, HUD also announced policy changes earlier
in the year to improve housing and service delivery for veterans,
which are detailed in this week’s announcement.
The full 2024 PIT data is expected to be published by HUD later
this year.
