VA Surpasses Goal to House Vets in 2023

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has announced that it has permanently housed 38,847 homeless veterans through October 2023—surpassing the calendar year goal to house 38,000 veterans two months early.

Through October, the VA has also engaged with 34,498 unsheltered veterans to connect them with the housing and resources they need, exceeding the VA’s calendar year goal by 123%; ensured that 96.2% of veterans housed have remained in housing, exceeding the Department’s calendar year goal by 1.2%; and has ensured that 93.1% of the veterans who returned to homelessness have been rehoused or are on a pathway to rehousing, exceeding the Department’s calendar year goal by 3.1%.

“More than 38,000 veterans now have the safe, stable homes that they deserve—and there’s nothing more important than that,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “While we met our goals for 2023, we’re not stopping here. We’re going to keep pushing—through the end of this calendar year and beyond—until every veteran has a safe, stable place to call home in this country they fought to defend.”

Ending veteran homelessness is a top priority of VA and President Biden, who has made supporting U.S. veterans a key pillar of the Unity Agenda for the nation. In 2022 alone, VA housed more than 40,000 formerly homeless veterans, prevented more than 17,700 veterans and their families from falling into homelessness, and helped nearly 191,700 additional veteran families who were experiencing financial difficulties to retain their homes or avoid foreclosure. Thanks in part to these efforts, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness has fallen by 11% since early 2020, and by more than 55% since 2010.

The VA’s efforts are built on the evidence-based “Housing First” approach, which prioritizes getting a veteran into housing, then providing them with the wraparound support they need to stay housed, including health care, job training, legal and education assistance, and more.

VA has also made progress in combating veteran homelessness in the Greater Los Angeles area, providing 1,464 homeless vets with permanent housing thus far this year—which is the most of any city in America and on pace to exceed VA’s calendar year goal for 2023. Last year, VA provided 1,301 permanent housing placements to formerly homeless vets in LA, the most of any city in America.

VA staff and its community partners nationwide help veterans find permanent housing such as apartments or houses to rent or own, often with subsidies to help make the housing affordable. In some cases, VA staff and partners help veterans end their homelessness by reuniting them with family and friends.