The affordable housing need for veterans is large

Veterans advocates ARE housing advocates.  After having served our country bravely, veterans need access to good affordable housing so that they can thrive in the very neighborhoods they swore to defend.

“On a single night in January 2012, 62,619 veterans were homeless in the United States, representing 13.3 percent of all homeless adults.  And 137,995 veterans were in a shelter program at some time between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012.”

 

“Many veterans who are not homeless nevertheless struggle to afford housing.  In 2012, some 1.79 million low-income veterans lived in households that paid more than 30 percent of their income for rent and utilities, and 762,000 lived in households that paid more than 50 percent.”

Rental assistance helps over 340,000 veterans and their families afford housing.  Of those, 52% are seniors, 21% were non-elderly with disabilities, and 121,000 were children of assisted veterans (Center for Budget and Policy Priorities).

 

Rental assistance for veterans has proven effective in reducing homelessness, but there remains significant unmet need

“Rental assistance has been central to efforts to reduce homelessness among veterans, which have made considerable progress in recent years.  Studies have found that rental assistance sharply reduces homelessness, which suggests that a significant share of the 343,000 assisted veterans may have been homeless without assistance (Mills et al., 2006).”

 

“Veterans with psychiatric or substance abuse disorders who received supportive housing vouchers spent less time homeless than similar veterans who received other forms of treatment but did not get these vouchers (Rosenheck et al., 2003).”