Veterans Affairs houses largest number of homeless veterans in 7 years

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced it permanently housed 51,936 homeless veterans throughout the country during fiscal year 2025.

That number is 4,011 more veterans than Veterans Affairs housed last year.

The nationwide numbers include 459 veterans permanently housed by Veterans Affairs Pacific Islands Health Care System.

This is federal agency’s best national performance since it began tracking the number of individual veterans permanently housed instead of the total number of permanent housing placements, ensuring a more accurate count of the number of veterans assisted.

Veterans Affairs began using this new methodology in 2022, and when applied retroactively to 2019, the numbers look like this:

The agency took bold action in May to reduce veteran homelessness by launching its Getting Veterans Off the Street initiative, in which every Veterans Affairs health care system throughout the country hosted dedicated outreach surge events to locate unsheltered veterans and offer them immediate access to housing programs, health care, behavioral health services and Veterans Affairs benefits.

Getting veterans off the street helped move 25,065 unsheltered veterans to interim — also called emergency and transition — or permanent housing.

“This is life-changing and in many cases life-saving work,” said Veterans Affairs Pacific Islands Health Care System Interim Director Thandiwe Nelson-Brooks. “We are proud of the progress [Veterans Affairs Pacific Islands Health Care System] is making to get veterans off the streets and are redoubling our efforts to continue this momentum moving forward.”

These efforts complement President Donald Trump’s May executive order to establish a National Center for Warrior Independence for Homeless Veterans on the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center campus, which aims to provide housing and support for up to 6,000 homeless veterans from throughout the nation by 2028.

Department staff and community partners from the East Coast to the West Coast and in Hawai‘i, Alaska and elsewhere help veterans every day find permanent housing — such as apartments or houses to rent or own — often with subsidies to help make the housing more affordable.

Teams and partners help veterans end their homelessness in some cases by reuniting them with family and friends.

Visit the Veterans Affairs website to learn about housing initiatives and other programs supporting homeless veterans.

Contact Maurice Martin at Maurice.Martin@va.gov for additional information.

Call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-4AID-VET (877-424-3838) or visit the Veterans Affairs website if you are a veteran experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.