Last month, HUD released the 2025 Point-in-Time Count, which recorded the first national decline in overall homelessness since 2016.

The count showed more than 32,000 veterans without stable housing on a single January night in 2025. While veteran homelessness has been reduced by more than half since 2009, the pace of progress fell short of what the scale of the problem demands.

We acknowledge the work of all of the providers, advocates, local leaders, and federal partners, however, thousands of veterans remain without stable housing amid growing pressure, including age, disability status, and an ever-shrinking social safety net, continue to drive vulnerability among veteran populations.

The Point-in-Time Count captures one night. It does not capture veterans on the edge- those facing rising rents, limited affordable housing, economic hardship, or bureaucratic barriers that put stable housing just out of reach. Used alongside other data sources, including VA data showing more veterans housed than ever before in 2025, the PIT count becomes one part of a fuller picture of both the progress being made and the work that remains.

We know what works. Permanent housing, prevention programs, employment support, healthcare, and wraparound services have proven effective. These are cost-effective investments, not just compassionate ones, and they produce lasting stability for veterans who access them.

NCHV calls on Congress, federal agencies, and community partners to sustain their commitment to veterans and program funding that produced these results. Every veteran without a safe, stable place to call home represents unfinished work.