Number of Homeless Veterans & Veteran-Specific Beds by Region

The VA’s annual Project CHALENG report provides the most regular and reliable account of homeless veterans and their needs as cited by homeless veterans and service providers alike. The primary way of grouping the survey data collected by Project CHALENG is by VISN, which stands for Veterans Integrated Service Network. Each of the 153 VA hospitals are part of a VISN, of which there are 21 nationwide.

This page uses data from the 2009 CHALENG report, published in March 2010. For a breakdown of homeless veterans by site (VA medical center or health care system), click on the appropriate VISN number in the left-hand column below the map. If you are unsure which VISN you are located in, click here.

Using the latest CHALENG Report data, the following chart defines the number of transitional veteran-specific beds available and the additional number of beds needed, as identified by respondents in each VISN:

 
Transitional housing programs, such as the VA Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program (GPD), are an important form of housing for homeless veterans. There are two other major types of housing as well: emergency and permanent housing. Transitional housing falls in between these two.

A homeless veteran with no shelter whatsoever, for example, would need emergency housing; he or she could then move into a transitional housing program for up to two years and possibly transition into permanent supportive housing. This last transition might occur if a veteran could not fully reach self-sufficiency without regular supportive services.

The following chart shows the number of emergency and permanent veteran-specific beds available and the additional number of beds needed, as identified by respondents in each VISN: