Between 2023 and 2024, homelessness among veterans fell by close to 8% overall and by almost 11% for those without shelter. That’s according to new data from the Departments of Veterans Affairs and of Housing and Urban Development. And advocates say that, with enough funding and focus, it’s the kind of success that could be reproduced.
Marcy Thompson is the vice president of programs and policy for the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
“Here is a really good demonstration that if you have the resources and you use them,” said Thompson, “using evidence-based approaches you can really make the difference.”
Compared to other, similar programs, she said, the VA offers increased resources. The consistent support with things like housing navigation, case management and evidence-based programs more effectively gets — and keeps — people housed.
“This did not happen kind of by chance,” she said. “For the last few years under the current administration, the VA secretary has set a housing placement goal, I think starting in 2021 or 2022, around 40,000 veterans. And they exceeded that goal every year.”
Thompson said with enough resources, efforts that benefit non-veterans have similar potential.
“We’re based on the last Trump administration, paying attention to some of the dialogue around housing first and other evidence-based approaches,” said Thompson. “And thinking about, how do we strengthen the information that we can share? How can we leverage the veterans’ information as a really solid proof point?”
She said the steady 55% decrease in veteran homelessness since 2010 reflects that.
“One of the things we've found recently was that more than 70% of eligible voters would support candidates who prioritize evidence-based policy solutions over things like camping bans and other punitive approaches,” Thompson said.
A lot more education, she added, is needed around homelessness and who’s experiencing it.
“Homelessness is not actually the problem, it's a symptom of a lot of other things, and there's a lot of other things that need to be fixed in order for us to truly see an end to homelessness,” said Thompson. “It is tempting to believe the narratives that homelessness is based on individual circumstances and choices rather than the systemic and structural issues at play. Because those are much harder to solve for, and we have a collective responsibility to fix them.”
