Veterans

Assistance for Homeless Veterans

Nearly 200,000 veterans are homeless on any given night and twice as many experience homelessness during a year. Right now, the number of homeless Vietnam era veterans is greater than the number of service persons who died during that war. Already, veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are appearing in the homeless population.

Volunteers of America is committed to ending homelessness for those already on the street and preventing others from becoming homeless. Volunteers of America provides a wide array of well-designed and managed services to meet the specific needs of homeless veterans.

Read our veterans services fact sheet.

A veteran in a wheelchair washing his hands

Program Scope

In 2006, Volunteers of America served over 6,000 homeless veterans through housing and services.

Programs include:

32 Grant & Per Diem Programs with eight more in development
13 Homeless Veterans Re-Integration Programs
2 HUD Permanent Supported Housing programs for homeless veterans
2 Service Centers
1 Mobile Service Center
2 Transitional Housing Programs, licensed as Alcohol and Drug Treatment Centers
2 Special Needs Grants for chronically mentally ill and frail elderly
2 Incarcerated Veterans Transitional Programs

A Voice for Homeless Veterans

Volunteers of America is also an outspoken advocate for homeless veterans. In October 2006, the organization, along with the Corporation for Supportive Housing and the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, convened a policy leadership dialogue on the issue, producing a report, titled "Ending Homelessness Among Veterans Through Permanent Supportive Housing." Participants called on the 110th Congress to act quickly both to create more permanent supportive housing for disabled veterans and to target resources to increase income support, employment, health, and housing programs that assist all veterans.