Homeless Veterans

Every year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires communities across the country do a one-night count of its sheltered homeless population, and every other year requires that communities conduct a count of the unsheltered population.

The idea is to figure out where homelessness is going up and where it’s going down. This gives us a sense which communities are most effective in fighting homelessness, as well as where we should target our resources in order to make the biggest impact. The count includes data on a variety of subpopulations, including adults, youth, families, and veterans.

This country is an incredible place to live, largely, because of the contributions and sacrifices of our veterans. Samaritan House is proud of its programs dedicated to housing and assisting Montana's veterans. Here’s a quick a look at what the recently released 2014 data says about trends in veteran homelessness, nationally.

On a single night in January 2014, nearly 50,000 veterans were homeless. That’s about 9 percent of the total homeless population.

From 2013 to 2014, the number of homeless veterans decreased nationally by 10.5 percent, with 28 states reducing their total veteran populations.

The national rate of veteran homelessness decreased: in 2013, there were 27.3 homeless veterans for every 10,000 veterans; in 2014, there were 25.5 homeless veterans for every 10,000 veterans. The decrease in homeless veterans was the largest decrease of any subpopulation counted!

In 2014, 36 percent of all homeless veterans were unsheltered, meaning they were sleeping in a place unfit for human habitation (such as on the street or in an abandoned building). Because the national rate of unsheltered homelessness is 31 percent, that means that homeless veterans tend to be unsheltered more frequently than the general homeless population.

As America pushes forward in the effort to end veteran homelessness, each state must play a role. According to the Montana Homeless Survey, there were approximately 2,396 homeless veterans (and families) on the 2013 point-in-time survey. This number is representative of the entire state, from Glacier to Wibeaux. And while we hope to see a complete and total end to veteran homelessness, we understand that the process will take time.

Thank you for partnering with us as we take this challenge. Every donation and contribution you make is helpful and appreciated. Please help us give back to those who have already given so much to this country and our state.