QUESTION:
Is this stat on veteran homelessness decline legit?
ANSWER:
Yes, according to data from HUD, this is true.
SOURCES:
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
PROCESS:
As our nation continues to honor Veterans Day, people have taken to social media to discuss some of the tough realities our vets face, like homelessness.
This one tweet gaining traction on social media with over 15,000 likes and over 6,000 re-tweets claims veteran homelessness in the U.S. dropped from 74,000 in 2010 under President Obama to now just over 37,848 homeless vets during the Trump administration, so is the stat true? The Verify team got the facts on this one.
Verify researchers first reached out to the Department of Veterans Affairs who then directed to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
According to HUD's Point-in-Time data, between 2010 and 2018, veteran homelessness has dropped by exactly 49.4 % from 76,329 nationally in 2010 to 37,878 In 2018.
There are precisely 23,312 homeless veterans seeking help in shelters. Nationwide, exactly 14,566 homeless veterans are on the streets.
Specifically in the DMV, between 2011 and 2018 veteran homelessness in Maryland has dropped by about 18%, 415 in DC, and the largest drop off of 48% in Virginia.
Verify researchers also checked the data for 2009, there were approximately 75,609 homeless veterans: 43,409 sheltered and 32,200 unsheltered.
Since 2010, several federal, state and local efforts have contributed to the decline in numbers such as Opening Doors, this was the first federal, strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness declared under the Obama Administration. The plan's key goals were to:
1. Prevent and end homelessness among Veterans
in 2015;
2. Finish the job of ending chronic homelessness in 2017;
3. Prevent and end homelessness for families, youth, and children in 2020;
4. Set a path to end all types of homelessness
Officials say the success of Opening Doors among veterans can also be attributed to the effectiveness of the HUD-VA Supportive Housing program. It combines HUD rental assistance with case management and clinical services provided by the VA.
So we verified, this viral tweet's claim is true, veteran homeless has dropped 49% from 2010 to 2018.
Source: U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development 2017 Point-In-Time Survey
