Los Angeles, and particularly areas like Skid Row, is home to more sheltered and unsheltered veterans than anywhere else in the United States. (Photo: Erica Chang)
On Feb. 7, the Department of Housing and Urban Development published its newest Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, with details suggesting black and Hispanic veterans are overrepresented among sheltered homeless veterans compared to the veteran population at large.
In terms of demographics, the HUD report notes that more than 33 percent of all sheltered veterans are black despite making up only 12% of the total veteran population in the United States. However, HUD does note that black veterans saw the largest drop among sheltered homeless veterans, though specific numbers were not reported.
Additionally, the HUD report found that nine percent of sheltered veterans are Hispanic, but only make up seven percent of the total veteran population.
Similar research from the Department of Veterans Affairs correlates with the HUD findings. For example, black veterans are twice as likely to live in poverty compared to white veterans and are less likely to use VA benefits.
As for state statistics, out of the top fifteen urban and suburban areas with the largest sheltered homeless veterans populations, four are in Southern California: Los Angeles County, San Diego County, Orange County, and Ventura County. The VA has previously noted that its effort to combat veterans homelessness is currently focused on Los Angeles County.
Readers can click here to view California American Legion’s breakdown of the 2021 AHAR as it pertains to sheltered homeless veterans in the United States and California.
HUD’s 2021 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress suggests sheltered veterans homelessness fell 10 percent from 2020 to 2021.
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.