by John Claybaugh
Although flawless counts are impossible to come by – the transient nature of homeless populations presents a major difficulty – the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that 49,933 veterans are homeless on any given night.
The following demographics are taken from the website of The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV):
12% of the homeless adult population are veterans
20% of the male homeless population are veterans
68% reside in principal cities
32% reside in suburban/rural areas
51% of individual homeless veterans have disabilities
50% have serious mental illness
70% have substance abuse problems
51% are white males, compared to 38% of non-veterans
50% are age 51 or older, compared to 19% of non-veterans
What is being done for veterans who find themselves living without a home?
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Veterans Administration (VA) have a special Section 8 housing voucher program called VASH (Veterans Administration Supported Housing), or HUD-VASH, which gives out a certain number of Section 8 subsidized housing vouchers to eligible homeless and otherwise vulnerable US armed forces veterans. The HUD-VASH program has shown success in housing many homeless veterans.
In 2012, Veterans Affairs introduced the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, with the parallel goals of preventing veteran homelessness and rapidly re-housing veterans and veteran families who do fall into homelessness. The program provides a variety of time-limited services and financial assistance. In its first two years, the SSVF program aided almost 100,000 individuals in over 61,000 households, spending $2,480 per household.
There are other resources for assisting veterans in a housing crisis as well. The Grant and Per Diem transitional housing program and Domiciliary Care programs funded through the Veterans Health Administration offer temporary assistance to veterans as bridge or crisis housing. The Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program under the Department of Labor assists homeless veterans with employment skills and job searches.
The list could continue. If you are a veteran and don't currently have housing or are at risk of losing your housing please seek assistance.
While services are available at several locations throughout the Denver metro area, the central providers for veterans are as follows:
Community Resource and Referral Center
3030 Downing St
Denver, Colorado 80205
(303) 294-5600
VOA Bill Daniels Veterans Service Center
1247 Santa Fe Drive
Denver, Colorado
(720) 501-3367
If you do not live near downtown Denver, feel free to call either of these locations for information about services near you.
The following demographics are taken from the website of The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV):
12% of the homeless adult population are veterans
20% of the male homeless population are veterans
68% reside in principal cities
32% reside in suburban/rural areas
51% of individual homeless veterans have disabilities
50% have serious mental illness
70% have substance abuse problems
51% are white males, compared to 38% of non-veterans
50% are age 51 or older, compared to 19% of non-veterans
What is being done for veterans who find themselves living without a home?
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Veterans Administration (VA) have a special Section 8 housing voucher program called VASH (Veterans Administration Supported Housing), or HUD-VASH, which gives out a certain number of Section 8 subsidized housing vouchers to eligible homeless and otherwise vulnerable US armed forces veterans. The HUD-VASH program has shown success in housing many homeless veterans.
In 2012, Veterans Affairs introduced the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, with the parallel goals of preventing veteran homelessness and rapidly re-housing veterans and veteran families who do fall into homelessness. The program provides a variety of time-limited services and financial assistance. In its first two years, the SSVF program aided almost 100,000 individuals in over 61,000 households, spending $2,480 per household.
There are other resources for assisting veterans in a housing crisis as well. The Grant and Per Diem transitional housing program and Domiciliary Care programs funded through the Veterans Health Administration offer temporary assistance to veterans as bridge or crisis housing. The Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program under the Department of Labor assists homeless veterans with employment skills and job searches.
The list could continue. If you are a veteran and don't currently have housing or are at risk of losing your housing please seek assistance.
While services are available at several locations throughout the Denver metro area, the central providers for veterans are as follows:
Community Resource and Referral Center
3030 Downing St
Denver, Colorado 80205
(303) 294-5600
VOA Bill Daniels Veterans Service Center
1247 Santa Fe Drive
Denver, Colorado
(720) 501-3367
If you do not live near downtown Denver, feel free to call either of these locations for information about services near you.
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