Veteran homelessness has decreased by 2.1 percent between 2018 and 2019, and by 50 percent since 2010. These encouraging numbers came from data that will be included in HUD’s Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) and were announced by Secretary Ben Carson yesterday.

Data in the AHAR comes from the “Point-in-Time” estimate, which is conducted by thousands of local communities each year and estimates the number of persons experiencing homelessness in emergency shelters, transitional housing programs, and unsheltered locations. Seventy-eight local communities and three states have declared an effective end to veteran homelessness, a key indicator that communities can and should continue efforts to make veteran homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring.

“The decrease in veteran homelessness in the face of an unprecedented housing affordability crisis is positive proof that continued Federal investment in the system of care for veterans, paired with the hard work of community partners who serve them works,” said Kathryn Monet, Chief Executive Officer, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. “In order to reach a time when no veteran is homeless, we must focus on housing affordability, the role of institutional racism in entrances into homelessness, upstream prevention of homelessness, and on fine-tuning local systems of care for homeless veterans.”

Click here to read HUD’s announcement