HUD’s 2021 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress suggests sheltered veterans homelessness fell 10 percent from 2020 to 2021.
On Feb. 7, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released The 2021 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress or AHAR.
According to the report, sheltered veterans homelessness fell approximately 10 percent from 2020 to 2021. However, the report also says that “estimates of the number of veterans experiencing sheltered homelessness at a point in time in 2021 should be viewed with caution, as the number could be artificially depressed compared with non-pandemic times, reflecting reduced capacity in some communities or safety concerns regarding staying in shelters.”
For example, many communities reduced the number of available beds to comply with physical distancing measures enacted by counties and state governments. HUD says “in some cases, this reduced capacity was reported through the Housing Inventory Count (HIC), but in other communities, it was not.”
HUD notes that this may have adversely impacted data on sheltered veterans. However, the department says that while the 10 percent drop between 2020 and 2021 is “the largest one-year decline since 2015-2016,” the decline is still in line with overall data trends beginning in 2009.
Specifically, HUD reports that “between 2009 (when the data were first reported) and 2021, 23,659 fewer veterans experienced sheltered homelessness, a 55 percent drop.”
California still has the largest population of sheltered homeless veterans at 3,212 or roughly 16 percent of the total population across the United States. The next three states, Florida, New York, and Texas have eight, six, and five percent of the total share respectively. That said, California’s sheltered veteran population did decrease by nearly six percent from 2019.
In a release issued by the office of House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) said, “this is encouraging news that suggests that the concrete measures we have taken through the American Rescue Plan and the Isakson and Roe Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act are working and have helped drive down veteran homelessness.”
Also in the release, Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) said, “I am glad that the most recent estimate showed fewer veterans living in homeless shelters last year. But, I remain worried about the many veterans sleeping on the streets or elsewhere who were not included in this count.”
It is important to note that the HUD report does not report on unsheltered veteran populations; although, historically, trends among sheltered veteran populations have followed similar trends as unsheltered populations.
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.
