Military

The Number Of Homeless Veterans Dropped Nearly 50 Percent Since 2010

Despite the promising numbers, at least 40,000 veterans went without reliable shelter on any given night in January 2016.

The Number Of Homeless Veterans Dropped Nearly 50 Percent Since 2010
Getty Images / Sandy Huffaker
Article by Briana Koeneman
SMS
August 2, 2016

"We have just about cut veterans homelessness in half. We've helped bring tens of thousands of veterans off the streets, but we're not slowing down. We're going to keep up the momentum," President Barack Obama said.

The Obama administration shared some encouraging news Monday in the fight against veteran homelessness in the U.S.

White House officials said in a press release the number of homeless veterans across the nation has dropped 47 percent since 2010.

And data also shows a 17 percent decrease between January 2015 and January 2016, which is four times greater than the previous year's decline.

"We will not stop until every veteran who fought for America has a home in America. This is something we got to get done," Obama said.

SEE MORE: Los Angeles Plans To Turn Motels Into Housing For Homeless Veterans

President Obama previously vowed to get all homeless veterans off the street by 2015. And cutting the percentage almost in half is a good start.

But there are still thousands of U.S. veterans without permanent housing despite the six-year initiative.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald told reporters Monday: "I don't know when we'll get to zero. We'll keep working as hard as we can."

According to the numbers, at least 40,000 veterans were without reliable shelter on any given night in January 2016, and a little more than 13,000 were on the streets.

But at least two states have provided enough resources to end chronic veteran homelessness — Virginia and Connecticut.

And several major cities — including New Orleans, Salt Lake City and Houston — have also reached that goal.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development and Department of Veterans Affairs have many programs to help end homelessness among veterans, including health care, job training and education.

In 2015, those programs helped more than 157,000 people secure permanent housing.

This video includes clips from ABC, KNXV, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Alliance to End Homelessness and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and images from Getty Images.