{"id":5919,"date":"2022-10-05T14:42:56","date_gmt":"2022-10-05T14:42:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/affordablehousingonline.com\/blog\/?p=5919"},"modified":"2022-10-05T14:42:57","modified_gmt":"2022-10-05T14:42:57","slug":"housing-first-plan-ends-local-veteran-homelessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/affordablehousingonline.com\/blog\/housing-first-plan-ends-local-veteran-homelessness\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Housing First’ plan ends local veteran homelessness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo by Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Three states and 83 local communities have effectively ended veteran homelessness in their jurisdictions<\/a> as of March, 2021, according to federal data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These states and communities modeled their programs on federal guidelines promoting the “Housing First” approach to addressing homelessness. The federal guidelines require that veterans can quickly move into permanent housing and are provided the services needed to get back on their feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the last decade, veterans are one of the only groups to see a drastic reduction in homelessness. From 2010 to 2020, the number of homeless veterans was cut almost in half<\/a>. While 74,087 veterans experienced homelessness in 2010, the number fell to 37,252 in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That number can be partly credited to Connecticut, Delaware, and Virginia ending veteran homelessness statewide. Local jurisdictions ending veteran homelessness range from rural Kittitas County in Washington\u2019s Cascade Mountains to big cities like Philadelphia, Houston, Miami, and New Orleans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The federal criteria for ending veteran homelessness<\/a> were set by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Veterans Administration (VA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to be designated as a community that has ended veteran homelessness, states and local jurisdictions must do the following things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n