Veterans Affairs claims progress in ending homelessness among vets

Those selected often must wait four months to a year for housing, depending on the amount of paperwork required by the jurisdiction, said Becky Kanis, who directs a homeless project run by Community Solutions.

In addition, it has been difficult to gauge the problem and measure progress. For years, the VA used what one researcher called “wacky counting” of homeless veterans. Addressing the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans in June, Shinseki asserted that the number of homeless veterans had been reduced in two years from 131,000 to 76,500. VA officials now acknowledge the numbers were not comparable.

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ARCHIVE | President Obama on Monday said we will stand by "our veterans as long as it takes," as he signed into law the "VOW to Hire Heroes Act." The legislation creates tax breaks for companies hiring jobless vets.

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ARCHIVE | President and Mrs. Obama jointly announced a private sector hiring partnership to employ 25,000 post-9/11 veterans in the next two years. (Oct. 19)

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• VA claims progress in ending homelessness among vets

Culhane, who also is director of research for VA’s National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans, said the numbers are now much more accurate, with a 2011 count of homeless veterans on a given night conducted by teams in 432 communities nationwide.

VA and HUD officials hailed the new figures this month, a 12 percent drop in the one-night count of homeless veterans, from 76,329 on a single night in January 2010 to 67,495 in January 2011.

But even if all homeless veterans could be counted, there are doubts that all could be housed. “I don’t know if we’ll ever get all of them,” said David Treadwell, a retired Army officer who fought in Vietnam and now directs Central Union Mission, an organization that cares for the homeless in the District. “You meet guys who are dedicated to being on the street.”

“Field experience shows everyone can be housed,” said Culhane. “Not without relapse, but it can be done.”

The VA’s 2012 budget includes $939 million to prevent and reduce homelessness, an increase of 17.5 percent from 2011.

And the demand for services continues to rise. At the VA Medical Center in Washington, the number of homeless veterans seeking treatment annually has grown from 900 to 2,000 during the past three years. The hallways bustle with veterans visiting doctors or attending substance-abuse programs and other classes.

Ending veteran homelessness seemed far-fetched to staffers at the center when it was announced in 2009. “It felt overwhelming at the time,” said Maria Llorente, chief of mental health services. But the housing vouchers and better coordination between Veterans Affairs and other agencies have made the goal attainable, she added. “We are genuinely optimistic.”

Eddie Baker, a 56-year-old Army veteran, works at the VA hospital providing peer support for homeless veterans, including more from Iraq and Afghanistan. “I can relate intimately,” said Baker, who has been homeless since 2004. “They understand that we’ve been through this.”

Baker, who lives at a homeless shelter in Capitol Heights, has tried to get a housing voucher, so far without luck.