Five years ago, President Barack Obama announced an ambitious plan to house all of the nation’s homeless veterans by the end of 2015. The country has made steady progress since then, with more than 26,000 veterans moved off the streets and into stable housing, but considerable work lies ahead. As the president’s deadline approaches, Stars and Stripes will examine efforts by cities across the country to bring the remaining homeless veterans home.
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The VA will open a transitional housing facility for veterans and soon start a planning process for the redevelopment of its 387-acre campus.
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Living with fellow veterans in permanent supportive housing offers a healing camaraderie, an oasis of shared experience and empathy. “For some of them, being here is the first time they’ve felt connected to anyone since they got out of the military.”
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Since 2010, when President Barack Obama launched a five-year national campaign to end homelessness among veterans, the number of former servicemembers living on the streets has dropped from over 76,000 to below 50,000. Here’s a look at efforts in a handful of U.S. cities' progress, based on figures provided by federal, state and local agencies.
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As thousands of troops leave the military each month without jobs or a plan for permanent housing, a new text messaging program will link vets to peers who can connect them to the services and support they need.
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FEATURE REPORT
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FEATURE REPORT
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Omitted from one bill was a measure that would require all VA employees to receive safety training to help reduce veterans’ access to firearms and medication by using safe-storage techniques.
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Anthony Luton wanted to offer his home to help veterans in need. But his Philadelphia area house was in serious need of repair. He started Googling and found the help he needed to make it more livable: Habitat for Humanity.
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Anthony Luton, a Vietnam-era veteran, served his country in the Air Force and struggled with service-connected depression for years. By the time he was in his 60s, Luton was well on his way to earning a college degree in behavioral health. But he didn’t want to wait to help people. He felt he already had something of value to offer: His home.
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An artist's large watercolor portraits capture the many types of paths people take after serving in the military.
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“I think our veterans are even more affected because all these stressors may pile up to worsen their combat-related PTSD,” said veterans advocate, Ret. Col. Nestor Aliga of Vallejo.
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Kevin Keaveny and his fellow veterans build kayaks, mainly, but other wooden things, too, from birdhouses to lanterns and cutting boards. And they also build hope, said Ulster County, N.Y., Executive Pat Ryan.
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The Department of Veterans Affairs is one step closer to securing its largest budget in history at more than $250 billion, continuing a trend of the government’s second-largest agency expanding rapidly in size to support a growing and aging veterans population.
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Earnest Brown, 31, a homeless veteran, found his way back to the waiting arms of his mother Saturday and the pair are on their way back to their hometown of Katy, Texas.
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Unemployed military veterans will be among the first Iowa farmers to plant a hemp crop this year and eventually will train others on their techniques if Randy Hasstedt’s plan comes to fruition.
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As veterans and their family members lost jobs or working hours due to fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, local nonprofits such as St. Vincent de Paul CARES and Tampa Crossroads have stepped up to ensure they stay in the safest place possible: their own homes.
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A 62-year-old man who had been missing for a month was found dead in a stairwell on the campus of the Bedford Veterans Hospital wearing the same clothes as when he went unaccounted for, according to the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office.
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Citing the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout as a source of mental stress, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America called on Secretary Robert Wilkie to publish the VA's past-due plan to prevent veteran suicide.
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Obituary
Dr. Herbert Wilson, a World War II veteran revered for his community involvement and decades as a doctor on the Fort Berthold Reservation, has died.
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Half a century after serving in Vietnam, Bob Shaw — disabled from prostate cancer he says was a side effect of exposure to Agent Orange — volunteers at shelters run by Catholic Community Services in Seattle.
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Surgeon, 73, working to keep California veterans safe from COVID-19
May 10, 2020
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Advocates predict a long ‘road to recovery’ for homeless veterans affected by pandemic
April 28, 2020
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First Miami VA worker dies from coronavirus after being infected at Broward clinic
April 28, 2020
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Vietnam veteran saved homeless woman's life as home burned
April 25, 2020
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Bail is denied for man accused of punching, shoving Marine veteran into path of Chicago train
April 13, 2020
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'Stressed to the max': State relief coming for Minnesota veterans hard hit by virus
April 11, 2020
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VA provides $200 million to house homeless veterans in hotels during pandemic
April 10, 2020
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Man stole at least 200 of surgical masks from Nevada veterans hospital, Feds say
April 9, 2020
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Advocates ask VA to immediately distribute funding for homeless veterans
April 6, 2020
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Boston veterans coronavirus 'buddy' program draws strong response
April 4, 2020
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Spending bill includes nearly $20 billion for VA
March 27, 2020
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Senate-approved stimulus bill includes nearly $20 billion for VA
March 26, 2020
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Work on getting homeless veterans into permanent housing has halted, advocates say
March 24, 2020
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Another veteran dies without family, prompting new funeral policy from Massachusetts first responders
March 14, 2020
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Family struggling with questions after VA police shoot and kill Army veteran at medical center in Dallas
March 7, 2020
