The Department of Veterans Affairs says it has housed 47,925 veterans experiencing homelessness in FY 2024, surpassing its goal to house 41,000 veterans by 16.9 percent and marking the largest number of veterans housed in a single year since FY 2019.
VA also ensured that 96 percent of the veterans housed during FY 2024 did not return to homelessness, according to a statement.
“Nearly 48,000 formerly homeless veterans now have a safe, stable place to call home — and there’s nothing more important than that,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “No veteran should experience homelessness in this nation they swore to defend. We are making real progress in this fight, and we will not rest until veteran homelessness is a thing of the past.”
Since FY 2022, VA has permanently housed nearly 134,000 homeless veterans, and the total number of veterans experiencing homelessness in the U.S. has fallen by over 4 percent since early 2020 and by more than 52 percent since 2010.
VA also says it has made progress in combating veteran homelessness in the Greater Los Angeles area, permanently housing 1,854 homeless veterans this fiscal year — the most of any city in America for the third year in a row and exceeding its FY 2024 goals for the region by 15.5 percent.
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s recent Point-In Time Count found a 22.9 percent reduction in veterans experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles between 2023 and 2024.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.