New Policies in the Fight to End Chronic Homelessness for America's Veterans

While yellow ribbons and American flag bumper stickers abound on U.S. Streets, there continues to be a disturbing disparity between our professed dedication as Americans to "supporting our troops" and the lack of services we are willing to fund and provide for veterans when they have ceased active military duty. It is estimated that veterans currently comprise as much as 25% of the U.S. homeless population.

In 2000, Miss America Heather French helped to introduce a bill into the House of Representatives that was passed into law and became the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Assistance Act of 2001. This act set a goal of ending homelessness among veterans within ten years (by 2011). Now, more than halfway through that ten year initiative, the Department of Veterans' Affairs estimates that as many as 200,000 veterans are homeless in the United States on any given night. They also estimate that as many as 400,000 veterans experience homelessness at some point in the course of a year. (Department of Veterans' Affairs [DVA], 2007)

Homeless Veterans: The Problem in Context

Veterans currently comprise about 13% of the population, but represent 25% of the homeless population. The proportion of veterans among homeless women was nearly three times the proportion of veterans among domiciled women. (Gamache et al, 2003) Although the large majority of homeless veterans are male, female veterans are 30 times more likely to become homeless than male veterans. (NCHV, 2005) The Department of Veterans' Affairs estimates that 70% of homeless veterans suffer from substance abuse problems, and that 45% of homeless veterans have a mental illness.

Current Policy