Veterans and Homelessness
Libby Perl
Specialist in Housing Policy
February 2, 2012
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
RL34024
CRS Report for Congress
Pr
epared for Members and Committees of Congress

Veterans and Homelessness

Summary
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have brought renewed attention to the needs of veterans,
including the needs of homeless veterans. Both male and female veterans have been
overrepresented in the homeless population, and as the number of veterans increases due to these
conflicts, there is concern that the number of homeless veterans could rise commensurately. The
recent economic downturn also has raised concerns that homelessness could increase among all
groups, including veterans.
Congress has created numerous programs that serve homeless veterans specifically, almost all of
which are funded through the Veterans Health Administration. These programs provide health
care and rehabilitation services for homeless veterans (the Health Care for Homeless Veterans and
Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans programs), employment assistance (Homeless Veterans
Reintegration Program and Compensated Work Therapy program), and transitional housing
(Grant and Per Diem program) as well as other supportive services. The VA also works with the
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide permanent supportive
housing to homeless veterans through the HUD-VA Supported Housing Program (HUD-VASH).
In the HUD-VASH program, HUD funds rental assistance through Section 8 vouchers while the
VA provides supportive services. In addition, two newly enacted programs focus on homelessness
prevention through supportive services: the VA’s Supportive Services for Veteran Families
program and a VA and HUD homelessness prevention demonstration program.
Several issues regarding veterans and homelessness have become prominent, in part because of
the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. One issue is ending homelessness among veterans. In November
2009, the VA announced a plan to end homelessness within five years. Both the VA and HUD
have taken steps to increase housing and services for homeless veterans. Funding for VA
programs has increased in recent years (see Table 6) and Congress has appropriated funds to
increase available units of permanent supportive housing through the HUD-VASH program (see
Table 7). In each of the FY2008, FY2009, and FY2010 HUD appropriations acts, Congress
provided funds sufficient to support more than 10,000 new Section 8 vouchers per year, which
have been distributed to housing authorities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
and Guam. The FY2011 Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act
(P.L. 112-10) provided an additional $50 million for HUD-VASH (funding 6,790 vouchers), and
the FY2012 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act (P.L. 112-55) brought the
funding level back to $75 million. Estimates of the number of veterans experiencing
homelessness have grown smaller, perhaps due in part to the infusion of vouchers for permanent
supportive housing.
Another issue is the concern that veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who are at risk of
homelessness may not receive the services they need. In addition, concerns have risen about the
needs of female veterans, whose numbers are increasing. Women veterans face challenges that
could contribute to their risks of homelessness. They are more likely to have experienced sexual
trauma than women in the general population and are more likely than male veterans to be single
parents. Few homeless programs for veterans have the facilities to provide separate
accommodations for women and women with children.

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Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................................... 1
Overview of Veterans and Homelessness ........................................................................................ 1
Definition of “Homeless Veteran”............................................................................................. 2
Estimates of the Number of Homeless Veterans........................................................................ 4
History of VA Estimates of Homeless Veterans .................................................................. 8
Demographic Characteristics of Homeless Veterans................................................................. 9
Demographic Characteristics Reported in the Annual Homeless Assessment
Report............................................................................................................................... 9
Demographic Characteristics of Veterans Served in VA Homeless Programs .................. 10
Demographic Information from Studies Prior to the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars ............. 13
Overrepresentation of Veterans in the Homeless Population......................................................... 13
Overrepresentation of Male Veterans ................................................................................ 15
Overrepresentation of Female Veterans ............................................................................ 16
Why Are Veterans Overrepresented in the Homeless Population?.......................................... 18
Factors Present During and After Military Service ........................................................... 19
Factors that Pre-date Military Service............................................................................... 20
Federal Programs that Serve Homeless Veterans........................................................................... 21
The Department of Veterans Affairs ........................................................................................ 21
Health Care for Homeless Veterans................................................................................... 22
Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans.......................................................................... 23
Compensated Work Therapy/Transitional Residence Program......................................... 24
Grant and Per Diem Program ............................................................................................ 25
Supportive Services for Veteran Families ......................................................................... 28
Enhanced Use Leases ........................................................................................................ 29
Acquired Property Sales for Homeless Veterans............................................................... 29
VA and HUD Collaborations ................................................................................................... 30
HUD-VASH ...................................................................................................................... 30
Demonstration Program to Prevent Homelessness Among Veterans ................................ 33
The Department of Labor ........................................................................................................ 34
Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program....................................................................... 34
Funding for Homeless Veterans Programs..................................................................................... 36
Issues Regarding Veterans and Homelessness............................................................................... 40
The VA Plan to End Veteran Homelessness............................................................................. 40
Veterans of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.......................................................................... 41
Women Veterans ...................................................................................................................... 43

Tables
Table 1. HUD Annual Homeless Assessment Reports: Estimates of Homeless Veterans,
2009-2011 ..................................................................................................................................... 7
Table 2. VA CHALENG Estimates of Homeless Veterans .............................................................. 9
Table 3. Information About Veterans Served in VA Homeless Programs, FY2009....................... 11
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Table 4. Results from Five Studies: Veterans as a Percentage of the Homeless Population
and Likelihood of Experiencing Homelessness.......................................................................... 16
Table 5. Selected Outcomes for Veterans Served in VA Homeless Programs ............................... 27
Table 6. Funding for Selected Homeless Veterans Programs, FY1988-FY2012 ........................... 37
Table 7. Funding for HUD-VASH ................................................................................................. 39

Contacts
Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 45

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Introduction
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have brought renewed attention to the needs of veterans,
including the needs of homeless veterans. Homeless veterans initially came to the country’s
attention in the 1970s and 1980s, when homelessness generally was becoming a more prevalent
and noticeable phenomenon. The first section of this report defines the term “homeless veteran,”
discusses attempts to estimate the number of veterans who are homeless, and presents the results
of studies regarding the demographic characteristics of homeless veterans as well as those served
in VA homeless programs.
At the same time that the number of homeless persons began to grow, it became clear through
various analyses of homeless individuals that homeless veterans were overrepresented in the
homeless population. The second section of this report summarizes the available research
regarding the overrepresentation of both male and female veterans, who have been found to be
present in greater percentages in the homeless population than their percentages in the general
population. This section also reviews research regarding possible explanations for why homeless
veterans have been overrepresented.
In response to the issue of homelessness among veterans, the federal government has created
numerous programs to fund services and transitional housing specifically for homeless veterans.
The third section of this report discusses these programs. The majority of programs are funded
through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Within the VA, the Veterans Health
Administration (VHA), which is responsible for the health care of veterans, operates all but one
of the programs for homeless veterans. The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), which is
responsible for compensation, pensions, educational assistance, home loan guarantees, and
insurance, operates the other. In addition, the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) operate programs for homeless veterans.
Several issues regarding homelessness among veterans have become prominent since the
beginning of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The fourth section of this report discusses
three of these issues. The first is the VA’s plan to end homelessness among veterans. A second
issue is ensuring that an adequate transition process exists for returning veterans to assist them
with issues that might put them at risk of homelessness. Third is the concern that adequate
services might not exist to serve the needs of women veterans. This report will be updated when
new statistical information becomes available and to reflect programmatic changes.
Overview of Veterans and Homelessness
Homelessness has always existed in the United States, but only in recent decades has the issue
come to prominence. In the 1970s and 1980s, the number of homeless persons increased, as did
their visibility. Experts cite various causes for the increase in homelessness. These include the
demolition of single room occupancy dwellings in so-called “skid rows” where transient single
men lived, the decreased availability of affordable housing generally, the reduced need for
seasonal unskilled labor, the reduced likelihood that relatives will accommodate homeless family
members, the decreased value of public benefits, and changed admissions standards at mental
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hospitals.1 The increased visibility of homeless persons was due, in part, to the decriminalization
of actions such as public drunkenness, loitering, and vagrancy.2
Homelessness occurs among families with children and single individuals, in rural communities
as well as large urban cities, and for varying periods of time. Depending on circumstances,
periods of homelessness may vary from days to years. Researchers have created three categories
of homelessness based on the amount of time that individuals are homeless.3 First, transitionally
homeless people are those who have one short stay in a homeless shelter before returning to
permanent housing. In the second category, those who are episodically homeless frequently move
in and out of homelessness but do not remain homeless for long periods of time. Third,
chronically homeless individuals are those who are homeless continuously for a period of one
year or have at least four episodes of homelessness in three years. Chronically homeless
individuals often suffer from mental illness and/or substance use disorders. Although veterans
experience all types of homelessness, they are thought to be chronically homeless in higher
numbers than nonveterans.4
Homeless veterans began to come to the attention of the public at the same time that
homelessness generally was becoming more common. News accounts chronicled the plight of
veterans who had served their country but were living (and dying) on the street.5 The commonly
held notion that the military experience provides young people with job training, educational and
other benefits, as well as the maturity needed for a productive life, conflicted with the presence of
veterans among the homeless population.6
Definition of “Homeless Veteran”
In order to qualify for assistance under the homeless veteran programs governed by Title 38 of the
U.S. Code, veterans must meet the definition of “homeless veteran.” Although the term
“homeless veteran” might appear straightforward, it contains two layers of definition.7 First, the
definition of “veteran” for purposes of Title 38 benefits (the Title of the United States Code that
governs veterans benefits) is a person who “served in the active military, naval, or air service”
and was not dishonorably discharged.8 For a detailed discussion of the criteria required to receive

1 Peter H. Rossi, Down and Out in America: The Origins of Homelessness (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press,
1989), 181-194, 41. See, also, Martha Burt, Over the Edge: The Growth of Homelessness in the 1980s (New York:
Russell Sage Foundation, 1992), 31-126.
2 Down and Out in America, p. 34; Over the Edge, p. 123.
3 See Randall Kuhn and Dennis P. Culhane, “Applying Cluster Analysis to Test a Typology of Homelessness by
Pattern of Shelter Utilization: Results from the Analysis of Administrative Data,” American Journal of Community
Psychology 26, no. 2 (April 1998): 210-212.
4 Martha R. Burt, Laudan Y. Aron et al., Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve, Technical Report, Urban
Institute, December 1999, p. 11-1, available at http://www.huduser.org/Publications/pdf/home_tech/tchap-11.pdf. Of
homeless male veterans surveyed, 32% reported being homeless for 13 or more months, versus 17% of nonveteran
homeless men.
5 Marjorie J. Robertson, “Homeless Veterans, An Emerging Problem?” in The Homeless in Contemporary Society, ed.
Richard J. Bingham, Roy E. Green, and Sammis B. White (Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1987), 66.
6 Ibid., pp. 64-65.
7 The United States Code defines the term as “a veteran who is homeless” as defined by the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act. 38 U.S.C. §2002(1).
8 12 U.S.C. §101(2).
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veterans benefits, see CRS Report R42324, “Who is a Veteran?”—Basic Eligibility for Veterans’
Benefits, by Christine Scott.
Second, veterans are considered homeless if they meet the definition of “homeless individual”
codified as part of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (P.L. 100-77).9 Specifically, the
statute defining homeless veteran refers to Section 103(a) of McKinney-Vento. Until recently,
Section 103(a) defined a homeless individual as (1) an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and
adequate nighttime residence, and (2) a person who has a nighttime residence that is
• a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary
living accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and
transitional housing for the mentally ill);
• an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be
institutionalized; or
• a public or private place not designed for, nor ordinarily used as, a regular
sleeping accommodation for human beings.
However, legislation was enacted in the 111th Congress that expanded the definition of “homeless
individual” under McKinney-Vento: The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition
to Housing (HEARTH) Act (P.L. 111-22). HUD issued regulations regarding the new definition of
homelessness in December 2011, and they took effect on January 4, 2012. The HEARTH Act
added categories to the way in which a person may experience homelessness, and moved away
from what had been a requirement for literal homelessness.10 These changes also affect the way in
which “homeless veteran” is defined.
• Imminent Loss of Housing: P.L. 111-22 added to the current definition those
individuals and families who meet all of the following criteria: (1) They will
“imminently lose their housing,” whether it be their own housing, housing they
are sharing with others, or a hotel or motel not paid for by a government entity.
Imminent loss of housing is evidenced by an eviction notice requiring an
individual or family to leave their housing within 14 days; a lack of resources
that would allow an individual or family to remain in a hotel or motel for more
than 14 days; or credible evidence that an individual or family would not be able
to stay with another homeowner or renter for more than 14 days. (2) They have
no subsequent residence identified. (3) They lack the resources needed to obtain
other permanent housing. (HUD practice prior to passage of the HEARTH Act
was to consider those individuals and families who would imminently lose
housing within seven days to be homeless.)
• Other Federal Definitions: In addition, P.L. 111-22 added to the definition of
“homeless individual” unaccompanied youth and homeless families with children
who are defined as homeless under other federal statutes and who (1) have
experienced a long-term period without living independently in permanent
housing; (2) have experienced instability as evidenced by frequent moves; and

9 The definition of “homeless veteran” is at 39 U.S.C. § 2002. The McKinney-Vento definition of homeless individual
is codified at 42 U.S.C. §11302(a).
10 For more information about the definition of homelessness and other HEARTH Act changes, see CRS Report
RL33764, The HUD Homeless Assistance Grants: Current Operation and HEARTH Act Changes, by Libby Perl.
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(3) can be expected to continue in unstable housing due to factors such as chronic
disabilities, chronic physical health or mental health conditions, substance
addiction, histories of domestic violence or childhood abuse, the presence of a
child or youth with a disability, or multiple barriers to employment.
Another change to the definition of homeless individual is to consider anyone who is fleeing a
situation of domestic violence or some other life-threatening condition to be homeless. However,
this provision was added to Section 103(b) of McKinney-Vento, so unless the reference to
“homeless veteran” in Title 38 is changed to include subsection (b), this part of the definition is
not explicitly part of the definition of homeless veteran.
Estimates of the Number of Homeless Veterans
The exact number of homeless veterans is unknown, although the methods used to estimate their
numbers have been improving in recent years. Until 2011, both the VA and HUD conducted
separate assessments of the number and percentage of homeless veterans over a period of years
(the VA beginning in 1998, and HUD in 2006). However, beginning in 2011, the two agencies
announced that they would coordinate their efforts and use one count as “the definitive estimate
of veteran homelessness.”11 This estimate comes from the HUD biennial “point-in-time” count of
homeless individuals. The point-in-time counts began in 2005, with HUD requiring local
jurisdictions called “Continuums of Care” (CoCs)12 to conduct a count of sheltered and
unsheltered homeless persons on one night during the last week of January every other year
(though many CoCs conduct counts every year). As part of these point-in-time counts, CoCs are
to collect information about homeless individuals, including veteran status.
In order to understand what the estimates of homeless veterans represent, it is important to
understand how the HUD process for estimating the number of homeless people works. Since
2005, HUD has issued six Annual Homeless Assessment Reports (AHARs) to Congress. In
addition to point-in-time estimates, the AHARS include year-long estimates of the number of
people experiencing homelessness. AHAR estimates have included the number of homeless
veterans since 2009. The estimates operate as follows:
• Point-in-Time Estimate: The point-in-time counts are a snapshot of the number
of people who are homeless on a given day, and they are not meant to represent
the total number of people who experience homelessness over the course of a
year.13 Until 2011, communities were not required to count unsheltered
individuals—those living on the street or in other places not meant for human
habitation—although most communities did (approximately 84% conducted both
a sheltered and unsheltered count).14 Beginning in 2011, all communities are

11 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Guidance for Counting Veterans During 2011 Point-in-Time
Counts of Homeless People, p. 2, http://www.hudhre.info/documents/2011PITVetGuidance.pdf.
12 Continuums of Care are typically formed by cities, counties, or combinations of both. Representatives from local
government agencies and service provider organizations serve on CoC boards, which conduct the business of the CoC.
13 For results of the most recent count in which all CoCs participated and for which results are available (2009), see
http://www.hudhre.info/CoC_Reports/2009_pops_sub_FULL.pdf. The 2011 count has taken place, but results are not
yet available.
14 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, The 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress,
June 2011, p. 5, http://www.hudhre.info/documents/2010HomelessAssessmentReport.pdf (hereinafter, Sixth AHAR).
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required to count those living on the streets or other places not meant for human
habitation.15
• Year-Long Estimate: The second HUD estimate is an ongoing process to
produce an annual estimate of the number of people who are homeless, including
homeless veterans, through Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS)
through which local jurisdictions collect and store information about homeless
individuals they serve, and the information is aggregated in computer systems at
the community level. The estimates based on HMIS data differ from point-in-
time estimates in that they are based on a full year’s worth of information (rather
than one day) and based on a sample of communities (rather than an aggregation
of all communities). These estimates only include those persons who were
residing in emergency shelters or transitional housing during the relevant time
periods (i.e., estimates do not include those persons living on the street or in
similar places not meant for human habitation).
In the two most recent AHARs (2009 and 2010), HUD and the VA together have released a
Veterans Supplement to the AHAR. Prior to 2009, HUD had released four AHARs that included
overall estimates of the number of homeless individuals, but only the percentage of veterans who
were homeless, not the number. However, the 2009 and 2010 veterans supplements provided
estimates and descriptive information about veterans experiencing homelessness. In addition,
HUD released the 2011 point-in-time results on December 13, 2011, which include an estimate of
homeless veterans.
This section of the report discusses the estimates included in the veterans supplements to HUD’s
Annual Homeless Assessment Reports for 2009 and 2010, the 2011 point-in-time count results, as
well as the VA’s previous efforts to estimate the number of homeless veterans. See Table 1 for the
estimates for the last three years.
2009 Homeless Veterans Supplement to the AHAR
The fifth AHAR included a separate analysis of both point-in-time and HMIS data regarding the
number of veterans experiencing homelessness.16 As with the point-in-time count for the AHAR
generally, the veterans supplement included an estimate of the number of sheltered and
unsheltered veterans experiencing homelessness on one night in January 2009. The estimate
derived from HMIS data was an estimate of the number of veterans living in shelter who were
homeless at any point from October 1, 2008, through September 30, 2009.
• Point-in-Time Estimate: The veterans supplement estimated that 75,609
veterans experienced homelessness on one night in January 2009.17 The estimate
relied on local CoC point-in-time reports, but researchers adjusted the data to
account for missing data, specifically (1) cases where beds for homeless veterans
were missing from HUD’s inventory of service providers, (2) instances where
data on sheltered veteran status were missing, (3) instances where CoCs did not

15 Guidance for Counting Veterans During 2011 Point-in-Time Counts of Homeless People, p. 2.
16 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veteran
Homelessness: A Supplemental Report to the 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, January 2011,
http://www.hudhre.info/documents/2009AHARVeteransReport.pdf.
17 Ibid., p. 5.
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count sheltered veterans, and (4) instances of missing data on unsheltered
veterans or reports of zero unsheltered veterans.18 Of the 75,609 homeless
veterans, a reported 57% were sleeping in emergency shelter or transitional
housing and 43% were on the street or in other places not meant for human
habitation.19
• HMIS Estimate: Using data from a sample of 300 communities, researchers
estimated that 136,334 veterans were homeless on at least one night from
October 1, 2008, through September 30, 2009.20 The data reported by local CoCs
were adjusted to account for sheltered adults whose veteran status was unknown
and for emergency shelters and transitional housing facilities that did not report
data to the local HMIS.21
In both the point-in-time estimate and the HMIS estimate, veterans were overrepresented in the
homeless population. According to the point-in-time estimate, veterans represented 16% of the
adult homeless population (compared to 8% of the total population), and in the HMIS estimate
veterans were about 10% of the homeless population.22
2010 Homeless Veterans Supplement to the AHAR
The veterans supplement to the sixth AHAR included an estimate of the number of sheltered and
unsheltered veterans experiencing homelessness on one night in January 2010 and an estimate of
the number of veterans living in shelter who were homeless at any point from October 1, 2009,
through September 30, 2010.23 See Table 1 for these estimates.
• Point-in-Time Estimate: The veterans supplement estimated that 76,329
veterans experienced homelessness on one night in January 2010.24 The estimate
relied on local CoC point-in-time reports with adjustments similar to those that
were made in the 2009 report to account for missing data. Of the 76,329
homeless veterans, a reported 57% were sleeping in emergency shelter or
transitional housing and 43% were on the street or in other places not meant for
human habitation.25
• HMIS Estimate: Using data from a sample of 320 communities, researchers
estimated that 144,842 veterans were homeless on at least one night from
October 1, 2009, through September 30, 2010.26 The data reported by local CoCs
were adjusted to account for sheltered adults whose veteran status was unknown

18 Ibid., Appendix A.
19 Ibid., p. 5.
20 Ibid.
21 Ibid., Appendix A.
22 Ibid., p. 6.
23 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veteran
Homelessness: A Supplemental Report to the 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, October 2011,
http://www.hudhre.info/documents/2010AHARVeteransReport.pdf (hereinafter FY2010 AHAR Veterans Supplement).
24 Ibid., p. 3.
25 Ibid., p. 4.
26 Ibid., p. 3.
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and for emergency shelters and transitional housing facilities that did not report
data to the local HMIS.27
In both the point-in-time estimate and the HMIS estimate, veterans were overrepresented in the
homeless population. According to the point-in-time estimate, veterans represented 16% of the
adult homeless population (compared to 9.5% of the total adult population), and in the HMIS
estimate veterans were about 13% of the adult homeless population.28
2011 Point-in-Time Estimates of Homeless Veterans
The AHAR for 2011 has not yet been released, but in December 2011, HUD released point-in-
time estimates from January 2011 as a supplement to the AHAR.29 The estimates include
homeless veterans.
• Point-in-Time Estimate: The number of veterans estimated to be homeless on
one night in January 2011 was 67,495, down from 76,329 in January of 2010. Of
those who were homeless, an estimated 59% were living in shelter and 41% on
the street or other place not meant for human habitation. Homeless veterans were
estimated to make up 14% of the adult homeless population.
Table 1. HUD Annual Homeless Assessment Reports:
Estimates of Homeless Veterans, 2009-2011
2009
2010
2011
Population
# of
% of Adult
# of
% of Adult
# of
% of Adult
Type of
Included in Homeless
Homeless
Homeless
Homeless
Homeless
Homeless
Estimate
Estimate
Veterans
Population
Veterans
Population
Veterans
Population
Veterans
living in
shelter, on
Point-in-
the street,
time
or other
75,609 16%
76,329 16%
67,495 14%
places not
meant for
human
habitation.
Veterans
Year-long
living in
136,334 10%
144,842 13% —a
—a
shelter.
Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veteran
Homelessness: A Supplemental Report to the 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, January 2011,
http://www.hudhre.info/documents/2009AHARVeteransReport.pdf; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veteran Homelessness: A Supplemental Report to the 2010
Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, October 2011, http://www.hudhre.info/documents/

27 Ibid., Appendix A.
28 Ibid., p. 4.
29 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, The 2011 Point-in-Time Estimates of Homelessness:
Supplement to the Annual Homeless Assessment Report, December 2011, p. 6, http://www.hudhre.info/documents/PIT-
HIC_SupplementalAHARReport.pdf.
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2010AHARVeteransReports.pdf; and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, The 2011 Point-in-
Time Estimates of Homelessness: Supplement to the Annual Homeless Assessment Report, December 2011, p. 6,
http://www.hudhre.info/documents/PIT-HIC_SupplementalAHARReport.pdf.
a. The 2011 AHAR with its year-long estimate of homeless veterans has not yet been released.
History of VA Estimates of Homeless Veterans
In every year from FY1998 through FY2009, the VA included estimates of the number of
homeless veterans receiving services in its “Community Homelessness Assessment, Local
Education and Networking Groups” (CHALENG) report to Congress.30 The estimates were made
as part of the CHALENG process, through which representatives from each local VA medical
center called “points of contact” (POCs) coordinate with service providers from state and local
governments and nonprofit organizations as well as homeless or formerly homeless veterans
themselves to determine the needs of homeless veterans and plan for how best to deliver services.
The FY2010 CHALENG report did not contain estimates of the number of homeless veterans,
stating that the homeless veterans supplement to the AHAR would be used for “the single Federal
estimate on homelessness among Veterans.”31
The ways in which POCs estimated the number of veterans who were homeless in their area in
the years prior to FY2010 varied, and most POCs used more than one source to arrive at their
estimates. These included HUD point-in-time counts, VA client data, information from local
homeless services providers, U.S. Census data, VA low-income population estimates, local
homeless census studies, and VA staff impressions.32
For the first six years in which the VA released CHALENG estimates (FY1998 through FY2003),
the VA asked POCs to estimate the number of veterans who were homeless at any time during the
year, so the estimate was meant to represent the total number of veterans who experience
homelessness during the course of a year. However, starting in FY2004 and continuing through
the FY2009 CHALENG report, the VA changed its methodology and asked POCs from each
medical center to provide estimates of the highest number of veterans who are homeless on any
given day during the year. The new methodology was a point-in-time count and was meant to
reflect the total number of veterans who might experience homelessness on a single day. The VA
considered the estimates using the point-in-time methodology to be more reliable than earlier
estimates.33
From FY2007 through FY2009, the VA updated the way in which estimates were compiled in
order to be more in line with HUD’s point-in-time count. The VA asked POCs to estimate the

30 Congress required the VA to issue the report as part of the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 1994, P.L. 103-
446 (38 U.S.C. §2065).
31 The Seventeenth Annual Progress Report on P.L. 105-114: Services for Homeless Veterans Assessment and
Coordination, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, July 5, 2011, p. 23, http://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/docs/chaleng/
CHALENG_Report_Seventeenth_Annual.pdf (hereinafter, Seventeenth Annual CHALENG Report).
32 John H. Kuhn and John Nakashima, The Sixteenth Annual Progress Report on P.L. 105-114: Services for Homeless
Veterans Assessment and Coordination, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, March 17, 2010, p. 23,
http://www1.va.gov/HOMELESS/docs/chaleng/chaleng_sixteenth_annual_report.pdf (hereinafter, Sixteenth Annual
CHALENG Report).
33 Government Accountability Office, Homeless Veterans Programs: Improved Communications and Follow-up Could
Further Enhance the Grant and Per Diem Program, GAO-06-859, September 2006, p. 13, http://www.gao.gov/
new.items/d06859.pdf.
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number of veterans experiencing homelessness on one night during the same one-week period
used in HUD point-in-time counts—the last week of January. For a summary of VA estimates
since 1998, see Table 2.
Table 2. VA CHALENG Estimates of Homeless Veterans
Fiscal Year
Estimate
Details of Estimates
1998 256,872
From FY1998 to FY2003, VA points of
contact estimated the total number of
1999 344,983
veterans experiencing homelessness at
2000 292,105
any time during the year.
2001 294,840
2002 299,321
2003 313,087
2004 192,368
In FY2004, the CHALENG report
changed methodology and went from
2005 194,254
an estimate of all veterans
2006 195,827
experiencing homelessness at some
point during the year to a point-in-
2007 153,584
time estimate of the highest number
2008 131,230
of veterans homeless on any given day
of the year. The VA considers the
2009 106,558
recent estimates to be more reliable.
Source: VA CHALENG estimates of homeless veterans provided by the VA Office of Homeless Veterans
Programs (FY1998 through FY2005) and VA CHALENG reports to Congress (FY2006 through FY2009).
Demographic Characteristics of Homeless Veterans
Until recently, the best data available regarding the demographics of homeless veterans preceded
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, HUD and the VA, in the Veterans Supplements to the
Annual Homeless Assessment Reports to Congress, include demographic data about veterans
living in shelter (the data don’t include information about those living on the streets or other place
not meant for human habitation). In addition, characteristics about those individuals served
through VA homeless programs are available from annual VA reports. Further, some of the older
reports still provide comprehensive, valuable information about the homeless veteran population
and may serve as a useful point of comparison to the more recent data. The next three sections
present some of this information.
Demographic Characteristics Reported in the Annual Homeless Assessment
Report
The 2010 AHAR provided demographic information about veterans experiencing homelessness
who were living in shelter, and who were included in local Homeless Management Information
Systems (HMIS) efforts to learn more about those who are homeless.34 The AHAR provided

34 FY2010 AHAR Veterans Supplement, pp. 7-11.
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comparisons of veterans in the homeless population to veterans living in poverty and veterans as
a percentage of the general population.
• Gender: Homeless veterans are predominantly men (92%), with women making
up 8% of homeless veterans. Women represent 6.8% of all veterans, and 10.2%
of veterans who are poor.
• Race and Ethnicity: African American veterans make up 35.1% of the homeless
veteran population, compared to 18.9% of veterans in poverty, and 10.4% of all
veterans. Hispanic veterans comprise 5.1% of homeless veterans, 4.1% of poor
veterans, and 3.4% of all veterans. Non-Hispanic White veterans made up 52.1%
of homeless veterans (compared to 70.3% of veterans in poverty and 81.5% of all
veterans).
• Age: While almost half of veterans in general are age 62 and older, veterans in
the 31-50 and 51-61 age groups have the greatest percentages of homeless
veterans. They are each almost equally represented at 41% of the homeless
veteran population. Veterans between 18 and 30 make up 8.8%, and veterans
again 62 and older make up 8.6%.
Demographic Characteristics of Veterans Served in VA Homeless Programs
The VA collects data from a number of programs that serve homeless veterans on VA medical
center campuses, in health clinics, and in the community. The programs include Health Care for
Homeless Veterans (HCHV), Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans (DCHV), and the
Compensated Work Therapy/Therapeutic Residences Program, all of which are described in more
detail later in this report (see the section entitled “Federal Programs that Serve Homeless
Veterans”). Each fiscal year, the VA publishes reports to Congress about veterans served in these
programs. While the demographics of the veterans served in these programs do not constitute a
representative sample of homeless veterans, and some veterans may be served in more than one
program, the information may give a picture of the veterans who seek assistance and/or receive
services.
Exact comparisons of the veteran population in general are not available for each demographic
category, but based on available data, some differences between homeless veterans served in VA
programs and veterans in general include the following:
• African American veterans are over-represented among veterans served in
homeless programs, making up 11.6% of the veteran population in 2011 but
representing more than 40% of those served in each program.35
• As previous studies have found, veterans who served in the post-Vietnam era but
prior to the Gulf War era are also over-represented among those served in the VA
homeless programs.36
• Veterans served in homeless programs have higher unemployment rates (ranging
between 20% and 25%) compared to veterans in general (8.1% in 2009).37

35 According to data from the National Center for Veteran Analysis and Statistics, African Americans made up 11.6%
of the veteran population in 2009. See http://www1.va.gov/VETDATA/docs/Demographics/5l.xls.
36 In 2009, veterans who served between the Vietnam and Gulf War eras comprised 14.8% of veterans. See
http://www.va.gov/VETDATA/docs/Demographics/2l.xls.
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• Both male and female veterans were married at a higher rate than veterans served
in the VA’s homeless programs—68% of men and 47% of women compared to
between 5% and 7% of those served in VA programs.38
Table 3, below, summarizes the data.
Table 3. Information About Veterans Served in VA Homeless Programs, FY2009
Domiciliary
Compensated Work
Health Care
Care for
Therapy Program/
for Homeless
Homeless
Therapeutic
Veterans
Veterans
Residences
Characteristics
(HCHV)
(DCHV)
(CWT/TR)
Veteran Population Surveyed
40,216a 6,311b 759c
Average Age
50.9
49.6
48.6
Marital Status
% Married
6.4
6.6
5.6
% Divorced/Separated/
64.2d 66.1
62.0
Widowed
% Never Married
29.4
27.3
32.4
Gender
% Men
95.4
95.1
95.4
% Women
4.6
4.9
4.6
Race/Ethnicity
% White, Non-Hispanic
46.4
48.5
48.7
% African American
42.8
43.6
43.9
% Hispanic
7.3
5.0
3.8
% American Indian/Alaskan
1.5
1.6
—e
% Asian/Pacific Islander
0.9
0.5
—e
% Other
1.0
0.8
3.6
Era Served
% Prior to Vietnam Era
3.2f 1.3g 0.3h
% Vietnam
35.9
30.6
26.0
% Post-Vietnam
43.7
50.3
53.7
% Persian Gulf (1991-Present)i 17.1 17.7
20.0
Employment Pattern over the Previous Three Years
% Employed Ful Time
20.6
37.2
45.8

(...continued)
37 Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation of Veterans 2009, March 12, 2010, http://www.bls.gov/
news.release/archives/vet_03122010.htm.
38 The marriage rates of veterans generally is from U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Profile of Veterans 2009,
January 2011, p. 7, http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SpecialReports/Profile_of_Veterans_2009_FINAL.pdf.
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Domiciliary
Compensated Work
Health Care
Care for
Therapy Program/
for Homeless
Homeless
Therapeutic
Veterans
Veterans
Residences
Characteristics
(HCHV)
(DCHV)
(CWT/TR)
% Employed Part Time
29.7
20.2
30.8
% Unemployed
24.4
23.0
20.1
% Retired or with Disability
23.9
18.7
2.8
% Other
1.5j 0.9
0.5
Mental Health and Substance Use Issues
% Substance Use Disorder
62.1
90.2
96.4
% Serious Psychiatric Problem
54.0
67.9
59.4
% Dually Diagnosedk 62.1
61.0
56.5
Sources: Wesley J. Kasprow, Timothy Cuerdon, Diane DiLello, Leslie Cavallaro, and Nicole Harelik, Healthcare
for Homeless Veterans Programs: Twenty-Third Annual Report (HCHV program report), U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs Northeast Program Evaluation Center, March 25, 2010; Catherine Leda Seibyl, Sharon Medak, Linda
Baldino, and Timothy Cuerdon, Twenty-First Progress Report on the Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans Program,
FY2009 (DCHV program report), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Northeast Program Evaluation Center,
March 24 2010; and Catherine Leda Seibyl, Sharon Medak, Linda Baldino, and Timothy Cuerdon, Compensated
Work Therapy/Transitional Residence (CWT/TR) Program FY2009 (CWT/TR program report), Department of
Veterans Affairs, Northeast Program Evaluation Center, June 2010.
a. The HCHV program report provides demographic information on clients assessed for program
participation. HCHV report, p. 24.
b. The DCHV program report provides information regarding veterans who completed treatment in the
program in FY2008; the information was collected at the time of admission. DCHV report, p. 11.
c. The CWT/TR program report provides demographic information on clients admitted into the program.
d. The HCHV program report separately breaks out the percentage of veterans separated (13.5%), divorced
(46.6%), and widowed (4.1%).
e. This information is not provided.
f.
For the HCHV program, the line showing the percentage of veterans serving prior to the Vietnam era
aggregates five eras: pre-WWII (0.2%), WWII (0.2%), pre-Korea (0.1%), Korea (0.7%), and pre-Vietnam
(2.0%). See HCHV report, p. 46.
g. For the DCHV program, the line showing the percentage of veterans serving prior to the Vietnam era
aggregates four eras: WWII (0.0%), pre-Korea (0.0%), Korea (0.2%), and pre-Vietnam (1.1%). See DCHV
report, p. 37.
h. For the CWT/TR program, the line showing the percentage of veterans serving prior to the Vietnam era
aggregates two eras: Korea (0.0%) and pre-Vietnam (0.3%).
i.
Each of the three programs use intake forms that specify the Persian Gulf Era as August 1990 to the
present. See HCHV program report, p. 314; DCHV program report, p. 19; and the CWT program report,
p. 15.
j.
The HCHV program report categorizes those assessed as student/service.
k. Dual diagnosis refers to having both a substance use disorder and a serious psychiatric diagnosis.
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Demographic Information from Studies Prior to the Iraq and Afghanistan
Wars
Some of the more rigorous studies that have compared homeless veterans to homeless men and
women who are nonveterans occurred during the 1980s and 1990s. So while these data do not
include recently separated veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, they provide a picture of
homeless veterans during past decades, and may act as a useful comparison as more data become
available about veterans who are currently homeless.
According to data from several studies during the 1980s, homeless male veterans were more
likely to be older and better educated than the general population of homeless men.39 However,
they were found to have more health problems than nonveteran homeless men, including AIDS,
cancer, and hypertension.40 They also suffered from mental illness and alcohol abuse at higher
rates than nonveterans. A study published in 2002 found similar results regarding age and
education. Homeless male veterans tended to be older, on average, than nonveteran homeless
men.41 Homeless veterans were also different in that they had reached higher levels of education
than their nonveteran counterparts42 and were more likely to be working for pay. They were also
more likely to have been homeless for more than one year, and more likely to be dependent on or
abuse alcohol. Family backgrounds among homeless veterans tended to be more stable, with
veterans experiencing less family instability43 and fewer incidents of conduct disorder,44 while
also being less likely to have never married than nonveteran homeless men.
Homeless women veterans have also been found to have different characteristics than nonveteran
homeless women. Based on data collected during the late 1990s, female veterans, like male
veterans, were found to have reached higher levels of education than nonveteran homeless
women, and were also more likely to have been employed in the 30 days prior to being
surveyed.45 They also had more stable family backgrounds, and lower rates of conduct disorder as
children.
Overrepresentation of Veterans in the
Homeless Population
Until the advent of the Veterans Supplement to the Annual Homeless Assessment Report, research
that captures information about homeless veterans had not been conducted on a regular,

39 Robert Rosenheck, Catherine A. Leda, and Linda K. Frisman, et al., “Homeless Veterans,” in Homelessness in
America, ed. Jim Baumohl (Phoenix: The Oryx Press, 1996), pp. 104-105 (hereinafter “Homeless Veterans”).
40 Ibid., p. 105.
41 Richard Tessler, Robert Rosenheck, and Gail Gamache, “Comparison of Homeless Veterans with Other Homeless
Men in a Large Clinical Outreach Program,” Psychiatric Quarterly 73, no. 2 (Summer 2002): 113-114.
42 Veterans averaged 12.43 years of education completed, versus 11.21 for nonveterans.
43 Family instability is measured by factors that include parental separation or divorce and time spent in foster care.
44 Conduct disorder is measured by factors such as school suspensions, expulsions, drinking, using drugs, stealing, and
fighting.
45 Gail Gamache, Robert Rosenheck, and Richard Tessler, “Overrepresentation of Women Veterans Among Homeless
Women,” American Journal of Public Health 93, no. 7 (July 2003): 1133-1134 (hereinafter “Overrepresentation of
Women Veterans Among Homeless Women”).
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systematic basis. However, in addition to HUD’s ongoing efforts to collect information about
homeless individuals, the VA’s relatively new National Center for Homelessness Among Veterans
is conducting a variety of research studies. One of the studies released by the VA research center
builds on earlier research about whether veterans are overrepresented in the homeless population
using 2009 data from Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS). This section
discusses previous studies regarding the overrepresentation of veterans in the homeless
population and the VA’s more recent findings.
Possibly the most comprehensive national data collection effort regarding persons experiencing
homelessness prior to HMIS took place in 1996 as part of the National Survey of Homeless
Assistance Providers and Clients (NSHAPC), when researchers interviewed thousands of
homeless assistance providers and homeless individuals across the country.46 Prior to the
NSHAPC, in 1987, researchers from the Urban Institute surveyed nearly 2,000 homeless
individuals and clients in large cities nationwide as part of a national study.47 The data from these
two surveys served as the basis for more in depth research regarding homeless veterans, but did
not include veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2012, the VA released research
using 2009 HMIS data from seven communities, called “Continuums of Care,” which included
veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.48
Results from a total of five studies are presented here. The studies all looked at veterans as a
percentage of the general population compared to veterans as a percentage of the homeless
population and determined the likelihood of veterans to be homeless compared to non-veterans.
The data in each of the studies relied on samples of homeless individuals, and adjustments were
made for such factors as age and race.
In each of the studies, both male and female veterans were more likely to be homeless than their
nonveteran counterparts.49 This was not always the case, however. Although veterans have always
been present among the homeless population, the studies from the 1980s and 1990s found that
cohorts serving in the Vietnam50 and post-Vietnam eras were overrepresented while veterans of
World War II and Korea were less likely to be homeless than their nonveteran counterparts.51 The
VA study using 2009 HMIS data also found that Vietnam and post-Vietnam veterans were
overrepresented.

46 Martha R. Burt, Laudan Y. Aron, et al., Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve: Findings of the
National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients, Technical Report, December 1999, available at
http://www.huduser.org/publications/homeless/homeless_tech.html.
47 Martha R. Burt and Barbara E. Cohen, America’s Homeless: Numbers, Characteristics, and Programs that Serve
Them (Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press, July 1989).
48 See Jamison Fargo, Stephen Metraux, and Thomas Byrne, et al., “Prevalence and Risk of Homelessness Among U.S.
Veterans,” Preventing Chronic Disease, vol. 9 (January 26, 2012), http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2012/11_0112.htm
(hereinafter Prevalence and Risk of Homelessness Among U.S. Veterans). In addition, preliminary information had
been made available on the National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans website, http://www.va.gov/
HOMELESS/docs/Center/Prevalence_Final.pdf.
49 See Gail Gamache, Robert Rosenheck, and Richard Tessler, “The Proportion of Veterans Among Homeless Men: A
Decade Later,” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 36, no. 10 (October 2001): 481 (hereinafter, “The
Proportion of Homeless Veterans Among Men: A Decade Later”). “Overrepresentation of Women Veterans Among
Homeless Women,” p. 1134; and Prevalence and Risk of Homelessness Among U.S. Veterans, Table 2.
50 Generally, the Vietnam era is defined as the period from 1964 to 1975. 38 U.S.C. §101(29)(B).
51 Alvin S. Mares and Robert A. Rosenheck, “Perceived Relationship Between Military Service and Homelessness
Among Homeless Veterans with Mental Illness,” The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 192, no. 10 (October
2004): 715.
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Overrepresentation of Male Veterans
Two earlier national studies—one published in 1994 using data from the 1987 Urban Institute
survey (as well as data from surveys in Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Chicago), and the other
published in 2001 using data from the 1996 NSHAPC—found that male veterans were
overrepresented in the homeless population. In addition, researchers in both studies determined
that the likelihood of homelessness depended on the ages of veterans.52 During both periods of
time, the odds of a veteran being homeless were highest for veterans who had enlisted after the
military transitioned to an all-volunteer force (AVF) in 1973. These veterans were age 20-34 at
the time of the first study, and age 35-44 at the time of the second study.
In the first study, researchers found that 41% of adult homeless men were veterans, compared to
just under 34% of adult males in the general population. Overall, male veterans were 1.4 times as
likely to be homeless as nonveterans.53 Notably, though, those veterans who served after the
Vietnam War were four times more likely to be homeless than nonveterans in the same age
group.54 Vietnam era veterans, who are often thought to be the most overrepresented group of
homeless veterans, were barely more likely to be homeless than nonveterans (1.01 times). (See
Table 4 for a breakdown of the likelihood of homelessness based on age.)
In the second study, researchers found that nearly 33% of adult homeless men were veterans,
compared to 28% of males in the general population. Once again, the likelihood of homelessness
differed among age groups. Overall, male veterans were 1.25 times more likely to be homeless
than nonveterans.55 However, the same post-Vietnam cohort as that in the 1994 study was most at
risk of homelessness; those veterans in the cohort were over three times as likely to be homeless
as nonveterans in the same cohort. Younger veterans, those age 20-34 in 1996, were two times as
likely to be homeless as nonveterans. And Vietnam era veterans were approximately 1.4 times as
likely to be homeless as their nonveteran counterparts. (See Table 4.)
The study produced by the VA using 2009 HMIS data from seven jurisdictions similarly found
higher rates of homelessness for male veterans than their presence in the general population
would indicate (13.6% of homeless adult men were veterans compared to 13.4% of the general
population), and that they were 1.3 times more likely to be homeless than males generally. In
addition, the study noted similar cohort effects to the earlier research. Veterans age 45-54, those
who served in the early years of the AVF, were generally at a higher risk of homelessness
compared to male veterans in other cohorts—African American veterans age 45-54 were 1.4
times more likely to be homeless, and non-Black veterans were 2.0 times as likely to be homeless
as their nonveteran counterparts.56 Table 4 contains results from the VA study, broken down by
age, race, and gender.

52 See Robert Rosenheck, Linda Frisman, and An-Me Chung, “The Proportion of Veterans Among Homeless Men,”
American Journal of Public Health 84, no. 3 (March 1994): 466 (hereinafter, “The Proportion of Homeless Veterans
Among Men”); “The Proportion of Veterans Among Homeless Men: A Decade Later,” p. 481.
53 “The Proportion of Homeless Veterans Among Men,” p. 467.
54 Ibid.
55 “The Proportion of Homeless Veterans Among Men: A Decade Later,” p. 483.
56 Prevalence and Risk of Homelessness Among U.S. Veterans, Table 2.
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Overrepresentation of Female Veterans
As with male veterans, research has shown that women veterans are more likely to be homeless
than women who are not veterans. A study published in 2003 examined two data sources, one a
survey of mentally ill homeless women, and the other the NSHAPC, and found that 4.4% and
3.1% of those homeless persons surveyed were female veterans, respectively (compared to
approximately 1.3% of the general population).57 Although the likelihood of homelessness was
different for each of the two surveyed populations, the study estimated that female veterans were
between two and four times as likely to be homeless as their nonveteran counterparts.58 Unlike
male veterans, all birth cohorts were more likely to be homeless than nonveterans. However, with
the exception of women veterans age 35-55 (representing the post-Vietnam era), who were
between approximately 3.5 and 4.0 times as likely to be homeless as nonveterans, cohort data
were not consistent between the two surveys. (See Table 4 for a breakdown of likelihood of
homelessness by cohort.)
The VA study that used 2009 HMIS data to determine the likelihood of homelessness among
veterans contains more detailed data on women veterans, including risk of homelessness broken
down by age and race (Black and non-Black). All women veterans, regardless of age or race, face
an increased risk of homelessness, according to the study. Overall, women veterans are 2.1 times
more likely to be homeless than their nonveteran counterparts.59 While women veterans of older
ages were more likely to be homeless than their age-group counterparts, researchers found that, in
general, younger women veterans, especially African American women, were more likely to be
homeless than older women veterans.60
Table 4. Results from Five Studies: Veterans as a Percentage of the Homeless
Population and Likelihood of Experiencing Homelessness
Odds Ratio (Likelihood
Veterans as a
Veterans as a
of Homelessness
Percentage of the
Percentage of the
among Veterans vs.
Veteran Group
General Populationa
Homeless Population
Nonveterans)
Men (data 1986-1987)b 33.6 41.2 1.38
Age
20-34
10.0
30.6
3.95
Age
35-44
36.9
37.2
1.01
Age
45-54
44.8
58.7
1.75
Age
55-64
69.9
61.7
0.69

Age 65 and Older
46.3
37.4
0.71
Men (data 1996)c 28.0
32.7
1.25
Age
20-34
7.7
14.5
2.04
Age
35-44
13.8
33.7
3.17
Age
45-54
38.4
46.5
1.39

57 “Overrepresentation of Women Veterans Among Homeless Women,” p. 1133.
58 Ibid., p. 1134.
59 Prevalence and Risk of Homelessness Among U.S. Veterans, Table 2.
60 Ibid., Discussion section.
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Odds Ratio (Likelihood
Veterans as a
Veterans as a
of Homelessness
Percentage of the
Percentage of the
among Veterans vs.
Veteran Group
General Populationa
Homeless Population
Nonveterans)

Age 65 and Older
0.6
1.4
2.6
Sources: Robert Rosenheck, Linda Frisman, and An-Me Chung, “The Proportion of Veterans Among Homeless
Men,” American Journal of Public Health 84, no. 3 (March 1994): 466-469; Gail Gamache, Robert Rosenheck, and
Richard Tessler, “The Proportion of Veterans Among Homeless Men: A Decade Later,” Social Psychiatry and
Psychiatric Epidemiology 36, no. 10 (October 2001): 481-485; Gail Gamache, Robert Rosenheck, and Richard
Tessler, “Overrepresentation of Women Veterans Among Homeless Women,” American Journal of Public Health
93, no. 7 (July 2003): 1132-1136; and Jamison Fargo, Stephen Metraux, and Thomas Byrne, et al., “Prevalence and
Risk of Homelessness Among U.S. Veterans,” Preventing Chronic Disease, vol. 9 (January 26, 2012),
http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2012/11_0112.htm.
a. Data are from the Current Population Survey.
b. Data are from the Urban Institute Study and three community surveys conducted between 1985 and 1987.
c. Data are from the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients (NSHAPC).
d. Data are from the Access to Community Care and Effective Services and Supports sample of women with
mental illness.
e. Data are from the NSHAPC.
f.
Not statistically significant.
g. Data are from the American Community Survey and from seven Continuums of Care: New York City; San
Jose/Santa Clara County, CA; Columbus/Franklin County, OH; Denver, CO; Tampa/Hillsborough County,
FL; Phoenix/Maricopa County, AZ; and Lansing/Ingham County, MI.
Why Are Veterans Overrepresented in the Homeless Population?
While data collection regarding the number and prevalence of veterans in the homeless
population has become robust, information about why homeless veterans are more likely to be
homeless than nonveterans is less investigated. The recent VA report about the risk and
prevalence of homelessness among veterans noted that
The presence of additional risk for homelessness specifically associated with Veteran status
is puzzling in that it occurs among a population that shows better outcomes on almost all
socioeconomic measures and that has exclusive access to an extensive system of benefits that
include comprehensive healthcare services, disability and pension assistance, and homeless
services. Explanations to account for this risk go beyond the basic demographic factors
explained here, and underscore the need for identifying other correlates of homelessness
among the Veteran population as the basis for prevention efforts.61
While researchers have attempted to explain why veterans are homeless in higher proportions
than their numbers in the general population, as with some of the studies already discussed in this
report, findings are somewhat dated and do not include veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
However, previous research, which has found that factors present both prior to military service

61 The quote appeared in preliminary VA research using the 2009 HMIS data. See Jamison Fargo, Stephen Metraux,
and Thomas Byrne, et al., Prevalence and Risk of Homelessness Among U.S. Veterans: A Multisite Investigation, U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs , August 2011, p. 24, http://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/docs/Center/
Prevalence_Final.pdf (hereinafter Prevalence and Risk of Homelessness Among U.S. Veterans: A Multisite
Investigation).
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and those that developed during or after service are associated with veterans’ homelessness, could
also be applicable to today’s returning veterans.
Most of the evidence about factors associated with homelessness among veterans comes from
The National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS) conducted from 1984 to 1988.62
Researchers for the NVVRS surveyed 1,600 Vietnam theater veterans (those serving in Vietnam,
Cambodia, or Laos) and 730 Vietnam era veterans (who did not serve in the theater) to determine
their mental health status and their ability to readjust to civilian life. The NVVRS did not
specifically analyze homelessness. However, a later study, published in 1994, used data from the
NVVRS to examine homelessness specifically.63 Findings from both studies are discussed below.
Factors Present During and After Military Service
Although researchers have not found that military service alone is associated with
homelessness,64 it may be associated with other factors that contribute to homelessness. The
NVVRS found an indirect connection between the stress that occurs as a result of deployment and
exposure to combat, or “war-zone stress,” and homelessness. Vietnam theater and era veterans
who experienced war-zone stress were found to have difficulty readjusting to civilian life,
resulting in higher levels of problems that included social isolation, violent behavior, and, for
white male veterans, homelessness.65
The 1994 study of Vietnam era veterans (hereinafter referred to as the Rosenheck/Fontana study)
evaluated 18 variables that could be associated with homelessness. The study categorized each
variable in one of four groups according to when they occurred in the veteran’s life: pre-military,
military, the one-year readjustment period, and the post-military period subsequent to
readjustment.66 Variables from each time period were found to be associated with homelessness,
although their effects varied. The two military factors—combat exposure and participation in
atrocities—did not have a direct relationship to homelessness. However, those two factors did
contribute to (1) low levels of social support upon returning home, (2) psychiatric disorders (not
including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)), (3) substance use disorders, and (4) being
unmarried (including separation and divorce). Each of these four post-military variables, in turn,

62 The NVVRS was undertaken at the direction of Congress as part of P.L. 98-160, the Veterans Health Care
Amendments of 1983.
63 Robert Rosenheck and Alan Fontana, “A Model of Homelessness Among Male Veterans of the Vietnam War
Generation,” The American Journal of Psychiatry 151, no. 3 (March 1994): 421-427 (hereinafter, “A Model of
Homelessness Among Male Veterans of the Vietnam War Generation”).
64 See, for example, Alvin S. Mares and Robert Rosenheck, “Perceived Relationship Between Military Service and
Homelessness Among Homeless Veterans With Mental Illness,” Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 192, no. 10
(October 2004): 715.
65 Richard A. Kulka, John A. Fairbank, B. Kathleen Jordan, and Daniel S. Weiss, Trauma and the Vietnam War
Generation: Report of Findings from the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (Levittown, PA:
Brunner/Mazel, 1990), 142.
66 The first category consisted of nine factors: year of birth, belonging to a racial or ethnic minority, childhood poverty,
parental mental illness, experience of physical or sexual abuse prior to age 18, other trauma, treatment for mental
illness before age 18, placement in foster care before age 16, and history of conduct disorder. The military category
contained three factors: exposure to combat, participation in atrocities, and non-military trauma. The readjustment
period consisted of two variables: accessibility to someone with whom to discuss personal matters and the availability
of material and social support (together these two variables were termed low levels of social support). The final
category contained four factors: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), psychiatric disorders not including PTSD,
substance abuse, and unmarried status.
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contributed directly to homelessness.67 In fact, social isolation, measured by low levels of support
in the first year after discharge from military service, together with the status of being unmarried,
had the strongest association with homelessness of the 18 factors examined in the study.68
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Researchers examining factors related to homelessness have not found a direct relationship
between PTSD and homelessness. The Rosenheck/Fontana study “found no unique association
between combat-related PTSD and homelessness.”69 An unrelated study determined that homeless
combat veterans were no more likely to be diagnosed with PTSD than combat veterans who were
not homeless.70 However, the NVVRS found that PTSD was significantly related to other
psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, problems in interpersonal relationships, and
unemployment.71 These conditions can lead to readjustment difficulties and are considered risk
factors for homelessness.72
Factors that Pre-date Military Service
According to research, factors that predate military service also play a role in homelessness
among veterans. The Rosenheck/Fontana study found that three variables present in the lives of
veterans before they joined the military had a significant direct relationship to homelessness.
These were exposure to physical or sexual abuse prior to age 18; exposure to other traumatic
experiences, such as experiencing a serious accident or natural disaster, or seeing someone killed;
and placement in foster care prior to age 16.73 The researchers also found that a history of conduct
disorder had a substantial indirect effect on homelessness.74 Conduct disorder includes behaviors
such as being suspended or expelled from school, involvement with law enforcement, or having
poor academic performance. Another pre-military variable that might contribute to homelessness
among veterans is a lack of family support prior to enlistment.75
The conditions present in the lives of veterans prior to military service, and the growth of
homelessness among veterans, have been tied to the institution of the all volunteer force (AVF) in
1973. As discussed earlier in this report, the overrepresentation of veterans in the homeless
population is most prevalent in the birth cohort that joined the military after the Vietnam War. It is
possible that higher rates of homelessness among these veterans are due to “lowered recruitment
standards during periods where military service was not held in high regard.”76 Individuals who

67 “A Model of Homelessness Among Male Veterans of the Vietnam War Generation,” p. 424.
68 Ibid., p. 425.
69 “A Model of Homelessness Among Male Veterans of the Vietnam War Generation,” p. 425.
70 Robert Rosenheck, Catherine A. Leda, Linda K. Frisman, Julie Lam, and An-Me Chung, “Homeless Veterans” in
Homelessness in America, ed. Jim Baumohl (Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1996), 99 (hereinafter, “Homeless Veterans”).
71 Robert Rosenheck, Catherine Leda, and Peggy Gallup, “Combat Stress, Psychosocial Adjustment, and Service Use
Among Homeless Vietnam Veterans,” Hospital and Community Psychiatry 42, no. 2 (February 1992): 148.
72 “Homeless Veterans,” p. 98.
73 “A Model of Homelessness Among Male Veterans of the Vietnam War Generation,” p. 426.
74 Ibid.
75 Richard Tessler, Robert Rosenheck, and Gail Gamache, “Homeless Veterans of the All-Volunteer Force: A Social
Selection Perspective,” Armed Forces & Society 29, no. 4 (Summer 2003): 511 (hereinafter, “Homeless Veterans of the
All-Volunteer Force: A Social Selection Perspective”).
76 Testimony of Robert Rosenheck, M.D., Director of Northeast Program Evaluation Center, Department of Veterans
(continued...)
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joined the military during the time after the implementation of the AVF might have been more
likely to have characteristics that are risk factors for homelessness.77
Federal Programs that Serve Homeless Veterans
The federal response to the needs of homeless veterans, like the federal response to homelessness
generally, began in the late 1980s. Congress, aware of the data showing that veterans were
disproportionately represented among homeless persons,78 began to hold hearings and enact
legislation in the late 1980s. Among the programs enacted were Health Care for Homeless
Veterans, Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans, and the Homeless Veterans Reintegration
Program. Also around this time, the first national group dedicated to the cause of homeless
veterans, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, was founded by service providers that
were concerned about the growing number of homeless veterans.
While homeless veterans are eligible for and receive services through programs that are not
designed specifically for homeless veterans, the VA funds multiple programs to serve homeless
veterans. The majority of homeless programs are run through the Veterans Health Administration
(VHA), which administers health care programs for veterans.79 The Veterans Benefits
Administration (VBA), which is responsible for compensation and pensions,80 education
assistance,81 home loan guarantees,82 and insurance, operates one program for homeless veterans.
In addition, the Department of Labor (DOL) is responsible for programs that provide employment
services for homeless veterans while the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
collaborates with the VA on two additional programs. Many of these programs are summarized in
this section.
The Department of Veterans Affairs
The majority of programs that serve homeless veterans are part of the Veterans Health
Administration (VHA), one of the three major organizations within the VA (the other two are the
Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and the National Cemetery Administration).83 The VHA
operates hospitals and outpatient clinics across the country through 21 Veterans Integrated

(...continued)
Affairs, Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, 103rd Cong., 2nd sess., February 23, 1994.
77 “Homeless Veterans of the All-Volunteer Force: A Social Selection Perspective,” p. 510.
78 Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, Veterans’ Administration FY1988 Budget, the Vet Center Program, and
Homeless Veterans Issues, 100th Cong., 1st sess., S.Hrg. 100-350, February 18 & 19, 1987, p. 2-6.
79 For more information about the VHA, see CRS Report R41944, Veterans’ Medical Care: FY2012 Appropriations,
by Sidath Viranga Panangala.
80 For more information about veterans benefits, see CRS Report RS22804, Veterans’ Benefits: Pension Benefit
Programs, by Christine Scott and Carol D. Davis and CRS Report RL34626, Veterans’ Benefits: Benefits Available for
Disabled Veterans, by Christine Scott, Carol D. Davis, and Libby Perl.
81 For more information about educational assistance, see CRS Report R40723, Educational Assistance Programs
Administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, by Cassandria Dortch.
82 For more information about VA home loan guarantees, see CRS Report RS20533, VA-Home Loan Guaranty
Program: An Overview, by Bruce E. Foote.
83 For more information about the organization of the VA, see U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2010
Organizational Briefing Book, June 2010, http://www4.va.gov/ofcadmin/docs/vaorgbb.pdf.
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Service Networks (VISNs). Each VISN oversees between five and eleven VA hospitals as well as
outpatient clinics, nursing homes, and domiciliary care facilities. In all, there are 157 VA
hospitals, 750 outpatient clinics, 134 nursing homes, and 42 domiciliary care facilities across the
country. Many services for homeless veterans are provided in these facilities. In addition, the
VBA has made efforts to coordinate with the VHA regarding homeless veterans by placing
Homeless Veteran Outreach Coordinators (HVOCs) in its offices in order to assist homeless
veterans in their applications for benefits.
Health Care for Homeless Veterans
The first federal program to specifically address the needs of homeless veterans, Health Care for
Homeless Veterans (HCHV), was initially called the Homeless Chronically Mentally Ill veterans
program.84 The program was created as part of an emergency appropriations act for FY1987 (P.L.
100-6) in which Congress allocated $5 million to the VA to provide medical and psychiatric care
in community-based facilities to homeless veterans suffering from mental illness.85 Through the
HCHV program, VA medical center staff conduct outreach to homeless veterans, provide care and
treatment for medical, psychiatric, and substance use disorders, and refer veterans to other needed
supportive services.86 Although P.L. 100-6 provided priority for veterans whose illnesses were
service-connected, veterans with non-service-connected disabilities were also made eligible for
the program. Within two months of the program’s enactment, 43 VA Medical Centers had
initiated programs to find and assist mentally ill homeless veterans.87 Currently, 132 VA sites have
implemented HCHV programs.88 The HCHV program is authorized through December 31,
2012.89
Program Data
The HCHV program itself does not provide housing for veterans who receive services. However,
the VA was initially authorized to enter into contracts with non-VA service providers to place
veterans in residential treatment facilities so that they would have a place to stay while receiving
treatment. In FY2003, the VA shifted funding from contracts with residential treatment facilities
to the VA Grant and Per Diem program (described later in this section).90 Local funding for
residential treatment facilities continues to be provided by some VA medical center locations,

84 In 1992, the VA began to refer to the program by its new name. VA FY1994 Budget Summary, Volume 2, Medical
Benefits, p. 2-63.
85 Shortly after the HCHV program was enacted in P.L. 100-6, Congress passed another law (P.L. 100-322) that
repealed the authority in P.L. 100-6 and established the HCHV program as a pilot program. The program was then
made permanent in the Veterans Benefits Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-114). The HCHV program is now codified at 38
U.S.C. §§2031-2034.
86 38 U.S.C. §2031, §2034.
87 Veterans Administration, Report to Congress of member agencies of the Interagency Council on Homelessness
pursuant to Section 203(c)(1) of P.L. 100-77, October 15, 1987.
88 Wesley J. Kasprow, Timothy Cuerdon, Diane DiLello, Leslie Cavallaro, and Nicole Harelik, Healthcare for
Homeless Veterans Programs: Twenty-Third Annual Report, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Northeast Program
Evaluation Center, March 25, 2010, Executive Summary, p. i (hereinafter, Healthcare for Homeless Veterans
Programs: Twenty-Third Annual Report).
89 The program was most recently authorized in the Veterans Health Care Facilities Capital Improvement Act of 2011
(P.L. 112-37).
90 FY2004 VA Budget Justifications, p. 2-163.
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however. According to data from the VA, 2,472 veterans stayed in residential treatment facilities
in FY2009, with an average stay of about 68 days.91 The HCHV program as a whole treated
approximately 77,696 veterans in that same year.92
Of veterans screened for admission to HCHV, 54% had a severe psychiatric problem, about 60%
were dependent on alcohol and/or drugs, and 37% had both a psychiatric problem and a substance
use disorder.93 Housing outcomes reported for veterans who lived in residential treatment
facilities were as follows: 37.6% of residents moved into an apartment, room, or house
(unspecified whether on their own or shared with another); 36.7% moved into a halfway house or
other transitional housing; 8.2% did not identify a housing situation; and the whereabouts of
another 17.5% were unknown.94 Regarding employment, 16.1% of those who left residential
treatment facilities were engaged in full- or part-time employment, 14.3% were involved in
veterans industries, 29.6% had a disability or were retired, and 34.2% were unemployed. The
outcomes include veterans who are considered to have both successful and unsuccessful
discharges from the program. Successful discharge is one where “the discharge was mutually
agreed-upon and the Veteran participated in accordance with program rules and treatment
goals.”95 See Table 5.
Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans
Domiciliary care consists of rehabilitative services for physically and mentally ill or aged
veterans who need assistance, but are not in need of the level of care offered by hospitals and
nursing homes. Congress first provided funds for the Domiciliary Care program for homeless
veterans in 1987 through a supplemental appropriations act (P.L. 100-71). Prior to enactment of
P.L. 100-71, domiciliary care for veterans generally (now often referred to as Residential
Rehabilitation and Treatment programs) had existed since the 1860s. The program for homeless
veterans was implemented to reduce the use of more expensive inpatient treatment, improve
health status, and reduce the likelihood of homelessness through employment and other
assistance. Congress has appropriated funds for the DCHV program since its inception.
Program Data
The DCHV program operates at 42 VA medical centers and has 2,152 beds available.96 In
FY2009, the number of veterans completing treatment was 6,311.97 Of those admitted to DCHV
programs, 90.2% were diagnosed with a substance use disorder, more than two-thirds (67.9%)
were diagnosed with serious mental illness, and 61.0% had both diagnoses.98 The average length

91 Healthcare for Homeless Veterans Programs: Twenty-Third Annual Report, pp. 121-122.
92 Ibid., p. 23.
93 Ibid., p. 26.
94 Ibid., p. 144.
95 Ibid., p. 123.
96 Catherine Leda Seibyl, Sharon Medak, Linda Baldino, and Timonthy Cuerdon, Twenty-First Progress Report on the
Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans Program, FY2009, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Northeast Program
Evaluation Center, March 24, 2010, p. 2 (hereinafter, Twenty-First Progress Report on the Domiciliary Care for
Homeless Veterans Program).
97 Ibid., p. 7.
98 Ibid., pp. 8-9.
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of stay for veterans in FY2009 was 112 days, during which they received medical, psychiatric,
and substance abuse treatment, as well as vocational rehabilitation. Upon discharge, the VA
reported that 30.5% of veterans went to live in their own apartment, room, or house; 25.1%
moved in with a family member or friend; 26.7% continued treatment in a halfway house,
transitional housing program, nursing home, or another domiciliary program; 5.8% were
homeless upon discharge; 1.1% were discharged to jail or prison; and the location of 7.7% of
participants was unknown.99 In the area of employment, 22.0% of veterans were in part- or full-
time employment, 23.6% had a disability or were retired, 25.0% were unemployed, and 19.0%
were engaged in vocational training or the VA’s Compensated Work Therapy program. See Table
5.
Compensated Work Therapy/Transitional Residence Program
The Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) Program has existed at the VA in some form since the
1930s.100 The program was authorized in P.L. 87-574 as “Therapeutic and Rehabilitative
Activities,” and was substantially amended in P.L. 94-581, an act that amended various aspects of
veteran health care programs.101 The CWT program is permanently authorized through the VA’s
Special Therapeutic and Rehabilitation Activities Fund.102
The goal of the CWT program is to give veterans with disabilities work experience and skills so
that they may re-enter the workforce and maintain employment on their own. The VA either
employs veterans directly (in FY2009, 47.6% of veterans in the CWT program worked for the
VA103), finds work for veterans at other federal agencies, or enters into contracts with private
companies or nonprofit organizations that then provide veterans with work opportunities.
Veterans must be paid wages commensurate with those wages in the community for similar work,
and through the experience the goal is that participants will improve their chances of living
independently and reaching self sufficiency. In 2003, the Veterans Health Care, Capital Asset, and
Business Improvement Act (P.L. 108-170) added work skills training, employment support
services, and job development and placement services to the activities authorized by the CWT
program.
In 1991, as part of P.L. 102-54, the Veterans Housing, Memorial Affairs, and Technical
Amendments Act, Congress added the Therapeutic Transitional Housing component to the CWT
program. The housing component is authorized through December 31, 2012.104 The purpose of
the program is to provide housing to participants in the CWT program who have mental illnesses
or chronic substance use disorders and who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.105 Although
the law initially provided that both the VA itself or private nonprofit organizations, through

99 Ibid., p. 9.
100 Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, report to accompany S. 2908, 94th Cong., 2nd sess., S.Rept. 94-1206, September
9, 1976.
101 The CWT program is codified at 38 U.S.C. §1718.
102 38 U.S.C. §1718(c).
103 Sandra D. Resnick, Richard Kaczynski, Debbie Sieffert, et. al., Thirteenth Progress Report on the Compensated
Work Therapy (CWT) Program, Fiscal Year 2009, Department of Veterans Affairs Northeast Program Evaluation
Center, Table 29 (hereinafter, Thirteenth Progress Report on the Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) Program).
104 The program was last authorized as part of the Veterans Health Care Facilities Capital Improvement Act of 2011
P.L. 112-37. See 38 U.S.C. §2031.
105 The VA’s authority to operate therapeutic housing is codified at 38 U.S.C. §2032.
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contracts with the VA, could operate housing, the law was subsequently changed so that only the
VA now owns and operates housing.106 The housing is transitional—up to 12 months—and
veterans who reside there receive supportive services. As of FY2009, the VA operated 42
transitional housing facilities with 633 beds.107
Program Data
In FY2009, 11,385 veterans were admitted into the CWT program, 52% of whom were homeless.
Similar to those veterans who enter into the VA’s Health Care for Homeless Veterans and
Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans programs, large percentages of veterans engaged in the
CWT program in FY2009 suffered from mental illness and substance abuse issues. Of those
admitted to the CWT program, 72.9% of veterans had a substance abuse problem, 67.5% had
serious mental illness, and 46.6% were dually diagnosed (i.e., had both a substance abuse issue
and mental illness).108 In addition, 80.1% of participants were found to have a disabling medical
condition, with nearly all participants (99.8%) having a psychiatric disorder or disabling medical
condition or both.109
Of those who were discharged from the program (10,895 veterans), more than half (53.7%) left
through a mutually agreed upon or planned discharge.110 27.3% were in full or part-time
employment.111 Approximately 13.2% were involved in activities including training,
volunteering, interning, or continuing in VA-supported work; 16.1% retired or were considered
disabled; and 43.2% were unemployed.112 The reported housing situations of those discharged
from the program were as follows: 43.0% were living in their own apartment, house, or room;
19.5% were living with family or friends; another 19.5% were in transitional housing or a
halfway house; 3.3% were in a nursing home or domiciliary facility; 4.1% had no available
residence, and the location of the remaining participants (10.6%) was unknown.113 See Table 5.
Grant and Per Diem Program
Initially called the Comprehensive Service Programs, the Grant and Per Diem program was
introduced as a pilot program in 1992 through the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Services
Act (P.L. 102-590). The law establishing the Grant and Per Diem program, which was made
permanent in the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Services Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-95),
authorizes the VA to make grants to public entities or private nonprofit organizations to provide
services and transitional housing to homeless veterans.114

106 The provision for nonprofits was in P.L. 102-54, but was repealed by P.L. 105-114, §1720A(c)(1).
107 Catherine Leda Seibyl, Sharon Medak, Linda Baldino, and Timothy Cuerdon, Compensated Work
Therapy/Transitional Residence (CWT/TR) Program Fiscal Year 2009, Department of Veterans Affairs, Northeast
Program Evaluation Center, June 2010, report summary.
108 Ibid., Table 4.
109 Ibid.
110 Thirteenth Progress Report on the Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) Program, Table 5.
111 Ibid., Table 6.
112 Ibid.
113 Ibid.
114 The Grant and Per Diem program is codified at 38 U.S.C. §§2011-2013.
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The Grant and Per Diem program had been permanently authorized at $150 million (P.L. 110-
387). However, as part of the Veterans Health Care Facilities Capital Improvement Act of 2011
(P.L. 112-37), Congress increased the authorization level to $175 million for FY2010, $218
million for FY2011, and $250 million for FY2012. The higher authorization levels comport with
amounts that the VA estimates are needed for the program in each of the three fiscal years.115
Beginning in FY2013 and thereafter, P.L. 112-37 provides that the authorization level will return
to $150 million.
The program has two parts: grant and per diem. Eligible grant recipients may apply for funding
for one or both parts. The grants portion provides capital grants to purchase, rehabilitate, or
convert facilities so that they are suitable for use as either service centers or transitional housing
facilities. The capital grants will fund up to 65% of the costs of acquisition, expansion or
remodeling of facilities.116 Grants may also be used to procure vans for outreach and
transportation of homeless veterans. The per diem portion of the program reimburses grant
recipients for the costs of providing housing and supportive services to homeless veterans. The
supportive services that grantees may provide include outreach activities, food and nutrition
services, health care, mental health services, substance abuse counseling, case management, child
care, assistance in obtaining housing, employment counseling, job training and placement
services, and transportation assistance.117 Organizations may apply for per diem funds alone
(without capital grant funds), as long as they would be eligible to apply for and receive capital
grants.
Program Rules and Data
The per diem portion of the Grant and Per Diem program pays organizations for the housing and
services that they provide to veterans at a fixed dollar rate for each bed that is occupied.118
Organizations apply to be reimbursed for the cost of care provided, not to exceed the current per
diem rate for domiciliary care. The per diem rate increases periodically; the current rate is $38.90
per day.119 The per diem portion of the program also compensates grant recipients for the services
they provide to veterans at service centers. Grantee organizations are paid at an hourly rate of
one-eighth of either the cost of services or the domiciliary care per diem rate. Any per diem
payments are offset by other funds that the grant recipient receives, so the per diem program can
be thought of as a payer of last resort, covering expenses after grantees have used funds from
other sources. The Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans has recommended that the per
diem reimbursement system be revised to take account of service costs and geographic disparities
instead of using a capped rate, and to allow use of other funds (such as those authorized under the
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants) without offset.120

115 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, FY2012 Congressional Budget Justification, Volume II, Medical Programs
and Information Technology, p. 1H-12, http://www.va.gov/budget/docs/summary/Fy2012_Volume_II-
Medical_Programs_Information_Technology.pdf.
116 38 U.S.C. §2011(c).
117 38 CFR §61.1.
118 38 CFR §61.33.
119 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website, Frequently Asked Questions, accessed March 8, 2011,
http://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/GPD_FAQ.asp.
120 2009 Annual Report of the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans, July 1, 2009, p. 9, http://www1.va.gov/
advisory/docs/ReportHomeless2009.pdf (hereinafter, 2009 Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans Report).
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According to VA data, more than 400 Grant and Per Diem programs were funded in FY2009.
These providers had a total of 11,645 beds available for veterans and admitted 17,008 veterans
during the fiscal year.121 Veterans stayed an average of 172 days in Grant and Per Diem
transitional housing.122 The maximum amount of time a veteran may remain in housing is 24
months, with three total stays, though clients may stay longer “if permanent housing for the
veteran has not been located or if the veteran requires additional time to prepare for independent
living.”123 Majorities of veterans admitted into the program and later discharged during FY2009
reported alcohol problems (72.5%), drug problems (64.4%), and mental illness (72.9%).124 Of all
the veterans who received treatment through the program, 46% of treatment episodes were
considered successful, meaning that veterans “actively participated in accordance with treatment
goals.”125 Of those discharged, 52.5% were living in an apartment, room, or house,126 and 26.2%
had full- or part-time employment.127 See Table 5.
Grant and Per Diem for Homeless Veterans with Special Needs
In 2001, Congress created a demonstration program to target grant and per diem funds to specific
groups of veterans (P.L. 107-95). These groups include women, women with children, the frail
elderly, those veterans with terminal illnesses, and those with chronic mental illnesses. The
program was initially authorized at $5 million per year for FY2003 through FY2005. The Special
Needs grants have continued to be authorized at $5 million through FY2012, most recently as part
of the Veterans Health Care Facilities Capital Improvement Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-37).
Table 5. Selected Outcomes for Veterans Served in VA Homeless Programs
FY2009
Health
Domiciliary
Compensated
Care for
Care for
Work
Grant and
Homeless
Homeless
Therapy
Per Diem
Veterans
Veteransa
Program
Program
Outcomes
(HCHV)
(DCHV)
(CWT)
(GPD)
Veteran Population Surveyed
2,463b 6,311c 10,895d 15,906e
Housing Outcomes
% Apartment, Room, House
37.6
55.6
62.5
52.5
Own Housing
—
30.5 43.0 —
Family or Friend
—
25.1 19.5 —
% Halfway House/Transitional Housing
36.7
20.7
19.5
19.5
% Hospital, Nursing Home, Domiciliary Care
—
6.0f 3.3 —
% None Identified
8.2
5.8g 4.1 7.5

121 Healthcare for Homeless Veterans Programs: Twenty-Third Annual Report, Table 5-1, p. 193.
122 Ibid., p. 173.
123 38 C.F.R. §61.80(d) and §61.33(e).
124 Healthcare for Homeless Veterans Programs: Twenty-Third Annual Report, Table 5-11, p. 231.
125 Ibid., p. 174.
126 Ibid., Table 5-13, p. 235.
127 Ibid., Table 5-14, p. 239.
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Health
Domiciliary
Compensated
Care for
Care for
Work
Grant and
Homeless
Homeless
Therapy
Per Diem
Veterans
Veteransa
Program
Program
Outcomes
(HCHV)
(DCHV)
(CWT)
(GPD)
% Prison or Jail
—
1.1
—
—
% Unknown
17.5
7.7
10.6
20.6
Employment Outcomes
% Ful -Time Employment
8.9
17.9
21.3
18.8
% Part-Time Employment
7.2
4.1
6.0
7.4
% Veterans Industries/CWT
14.3h 18.1 5.7i —
% Retired or with Disability
29.6
23.6
16.1
32.3
% Unemployed
34.2
25.0
43.2
28.3
% Training, Volunteer, Student
0.6
2.4
7.5
6.3
% Unknown
5.3j 6.9 15.5 6.9
Source: Healthcare for Homeless Veterans Programs: Twenty-Third Annual Report, Table 4-9 (HCHV) and Table 5-11
(GPD), Twenty-First Progress Report on the Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans Program, FY2009, Table 9; and
Thirteenth Progress Report on the Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) Program, Table 6.
a. In both housing and employment outcomes, the DCHV report is the only one of the four to contain an
“other” category. For housing, this category was 3.1% of the total, and for employment it was 2.2%.
b. HCHV program outcomes are for veterans who resided in residential treatment facilities.
c. DCHV outcomes are for veterans who were discharged from the program.
d. The CWT program reports outcomes for individuals discharged from the program.
e. Those in the GPD program include all individuals discharged.
f.
The DCHV further breaks this information down into those discharged to hospitals or nursing homes
(3.4%) and those who enter another domiciliary care program (2.6%).
g. DCHV reports this category as “shelter/outdoors.”
h. HCHV refers to veterans working in “veterans industries.”
i.
For the CWT program, this category is for veterans engaged in the Incentive Therapy program.
j.
HCHV includes “other” with unknown employment outcome.
Supportive Services for Veteran Families
In the 110th Congress, the Veterans’ Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008
(P.L. 110-387) authorized a program of supportive services to assist very low-income veterans
and their families who either are making the transition from homelessness to housing or who are
moving from one location to another. The law specified that funds be made available for the new
program from the amount appropriated for VA medical services—$15 million for FY2009, $20
million for FY2010, and $25 million for FY2011. Entities eligible for funds are private nonprofit
organizations and consumer cooperatives, and funds are made available through a competitive
process. Those organizations that assist families transitioning from homelessness to permanent
housing are given priority for funding under the law. Among the eligible services that recipient
organizations may provide are case management, health care services, daily living services,
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assistance with financial planning, transportation, legal assistance, child care, and housing
counseling.
The first grants awarded under the program were announced on July 26, 2011, with $60 million
distributed to 85 nonprofit organizations in 40 states and the District of Columbia.128 The VA
released the Notice of Funding Availability for FY2011 in December 2011, with an additional
$100 million available for new grants and to renew existing grants.129 In addition, the Veterans
Health Care Facilities Capital Improvement Act of 2011(P.L. 112-37), signed by the President on
October 5, 2011, authorized the program through FY2012 at $100 million.
Enhanced Use Leases
Since 1991, the VA has had the authority to enter into leases with homeless service providers
(among others organizations) to use VA property for a period of time. The arrangement, called
Enhanced Use Leases (EULs), was made possible as part of the Veterans’ Benefits Programs
Improvement Act (P.L. 102-86).130 Generally, the VA may enter into a lease that furthers the
mission of the VA and enhances the use of the property or that would result in the improvement of
medical care and services to veterans in the geographic area.131 The lease may last for up to 75
years, and the VA must charge “fair consideration” for the lease, which may include in-kind
payment such as goods and services that benefit the VA as well as improvements to and
maintenance of VA facilities.132 According to VA budget documents, of the 60 EULs that have
been awarded, 16 are classified as homeless services, transitional housing, or single room
occupancy housing,133 while several additional projects to serve homeless veterans are approved
priority projects.134 Further, as part of the Building Utilization Review and Repurposing (BURR)
Initiative, the VA identified an additional 34 properties suitable for use as transitional or
permanent housing for homeless veterans in which it will enter into EULs.135
Acquired Property Sales for Homeless Veterans
The Acquired Property Sales for Homeless Veterans program is operated through the Veterans
Benefits Administration (VBA). The program was enacted as part of the Veterans Home Loan
Guarantee and Property Rehabilitation Act of 1987 (P.L. 100-198). The current version of the
program was authorized in P.L. 102-54 (a bill to amend Title 38 of the U.S. Code), and is
authorized through December 31, 2012.136

128 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “VA Launches New Prevention Initiative to Serve 22,000 Veteran Families at
Risk of Homelessness,” press release, July 26, 2011, http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2139.
129 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “Fund Availability Under the Supportive Services for Veteran Families
Program,” 76 Federal Register 74850, December 1, 2011.
130 38 U.S.C. §§8161-8169.
131 38 U.S.C. §8162.
132 Ibid.
133 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, FY2012 Congressional Budget Justification, Volume IV: Construction and the
10 Year Capital Plan, Appendix E, http://www.va.gov/budget/docs/summary/Fy2012_Appendix-10_Year_Plan.pdf.
134 Ibid., Appendix F.
135 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “VA to Expand Housing for Homeless Veterans and Their Families,” press
release, June 8, 2011, http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2113.
136 The program was most recently authorized in the Veterans Health Care Facilities Capital Improvement Act of 2011
(continued...)
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Through the program, the VA is able to dispose of properties that it has acquired through
foreclosures on its loans so that they can be used for the benefit of homeless veterans.
Specifically, the VA can sell, lease, lease with the option to buy, or donate, properties to nonprofit
organizations and state government agencies that will use the property only as homeless shelters
primarily for veterans and their families.
VA and HUD Collaborations
HUD-VASH
The HUD-VA Supported Housing (HUD-VASH) program began in 1992 as a collaboration
between the VA and HUD whereby HUD provided housing to homeless veterans through a set-
aside of Section 8 vouchers and the VA provided supportive services. The program targeted
veterans with severe psychiatric or substance use disorders and distributed approximately 1,753
Section 8 vouchers to veterans over three years.137 Through the program, local Public Housing
Authorities (PHAs) administered the Section 8 vouchers while local VA medical centers provided
case management and clinical services to participating veterans. After the initial voucher
distributions, no new vouchers were made available to homeless veterans for approximately 15
years—until FY2008, when HUD-VASH was revived by Congress. This section of the report
discusses the program’s progression.
HUD initially distributed Section 8 vouchers to PHAs through three competitions, in 1992, 1993,
and 1994. Prior to issuing the vouchers, HUD and the VA had identified medical centers with
Domiciliary Care and Health Care for Homeless Veterans programs that were best suited to
providing services. PHAs within the geographic areas of the VA medical centers were invited to
apply for vouchers. In the first year that HUD issued vouchers, 19 PHAs were eligible to apply,
and by the third year the list of eligible VA medical centers and PHAs had expanded to 87.138
HUD has not separately tracked these Section 8 vouchers, and over the years, when veterans have
left the program and returned their vouchers to PHAs, the vouchers are not necessarily turned
over to other veterans. The VA keeps statistics on veterans with vouchers who receive treatment
through the VA, however. In FY2008, the VA reported that there were 522 veterans actively
enrolled in HUD-VASH.139
In 2001, Congress codified the HUD-VASH program (P.L. 107-95) and authorized the creation of
an additional 500 vouchers for each year from FY2003 through FY2006.140 A bill enacted at the
end of the 109th Congress (P.L. 109-461) also provided the authorization for additional HUD-
VASH vouchers. However, it was not until FY2008 that Congress provided funding for additional

(...continued)
(P.L. 112-37). The program is codified at 38 U.S.C. §2041.
137 The first announcement of voucher availability was made in the Federal Register. See U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development, “Invitation for FY1992 Section 8 Rental Voucher Set-Aside for Homeless Veterans with
Severe Psychiatric or Substance Abuse Disorders,” 57 Federal Register no. 55, p. 9955, March 20, 1992.
138 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, “Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Section 8 Set-Aside
for Homeless Veterans with Severe Psychiatric or Substance Abuse Disorders,” 59 Federal Register no. 134, p. 36015,
July 14, 1994.
139 Healthcare for Homeless Veterans Programs: Twenty-Second Annual Report, p. 279.
140 42 U.S.C. §1437f(o)(19).
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vouchers: the Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 110-161) included $75 million to fund
Section 8 vouchers for homeless veterans for one year (after the first year, funding for the
vouchers is absorbed into the tenant-based Section 8 account). Congress continued to fund new
vouchers in FY2009 (P.L. 111-8), FY2010 (P.L. 111-117), FY2011 (P.L. 112-10), and FY2012
(P.L. 112-55) as well, appropriating $75 million in both FY2009 and FY20010, $50 million in
FY2011, and another $75 million in FY2012. Language in each of the appropriations acts
specified that the VA and HUD would determine the allocation of vouchers based on geographic
need as determined by the VA, PHA administrative performance, and other factors that HUD and
the VA may specify. Each law also provided that the vouchers must be given to another veteran
upon turnover.
The appropriations laws for HUD-VASH allow HUD to waive any statutory or regulatory
provision regarding the vouchers141 if it is necessary for the “effective delivery and
administration” of assistance. Pursuant to this provision, in the guidance governing the FY2008
funds for vouchers, HUD waived the statutory requirement that vouchers be made available only
to those veterans with mental illnesses and substance use disorders.142 In administering the
vouchers, local VA medical centers determine veteran eligibility for the program and veterans are
then referred to partnering PHAs. The PHAs review applicants only for income eligibility and to
ensure that they are not subject to lifetime sex offender registration.
The FY2008 and FY2009 appropriations funded 10,150 and 10,290 new vouchers, respectively,
and were distributed to recipient housing authorities located in all 50 states, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam.143 In FY2010, HUD announced four separate distributions of
HUD-VASH vouchers; three of the distributions were made through VA and HUD consultation,
while the fourth distribution was a competitive process for project-based vouchers (described in
the next section). On June 3, 2010, HUD announced the allocation of 7,705 vouchers to PHAs in
48 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam (Hawaii and Wyoming were not part of the first
distribution).144 Two weeks later, HUD announced that another 1,255 vouchers would be
distributed to PHAs in 19 states (including Hawaii and Wyoming) and Puerto Rico.145 The third
round of funding was announced on September 28, 2010, with PHAs in 19 states receiving
funding sufficient to support 550 vouchers.146 Most recently, HUD announced the distribution of
6,790 vouchers funded through the FY2011 appropriation; vouchers are to be distributed to all 50
states and the District of Columbia.147 According to the VA, as of November 2011, 27,500

141 With the exception of those involving fair housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, and the environment.
142 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, “Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers: Implementation of the
HUD-VA Supportive Housing Program,” 73 Federal Register 25027, May 6, 2008.
143 For a list of how the FY2008 and FY2009 vouchers were allocated to local housing authorities, see
http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/hcv/vash/docs/vash-awards.xls.
144 A table of the vouchers allocated to each housing authority is available at http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/
HUD/documents/hud-vash2010round1.pdf.
145 A table showing the allocation of the second round of vouchers is available at http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/
portal/HUD/documents/hudvash2010.pdf.
146 The funding chart is available on HUD’s website at http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/documents/hud-
vashr3_fundingchart.pdf.
147 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, “HUD, VA to Provide Permanent Housing and Support to
Thousands of Homeless Veterans,” press release, July 14, 2011, http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/
press_releases_media_advisories/2011/HUDNo.11-150.
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vouchers were under lease, with another 5,200 veterans undergoing program approval or
searching for housing.148
Project-Based HUD-VASH Vouchers
HUD allows PHAs to project base their HUD-VASH vouchers. When vouchers are project based,
they are attached to a specific unit of housing and do not move when the tenant moves. This may
be desirable in housing markets where it is difficult to find housing providers who accept
vouchers, and it may be a more efficient arrangement for providing supportive services. Initially,
HUD limited the number of project-based vouchers to 50% of a PHA’s total VASH allocation, but
on September 15, 2011, HUD released a notice removing the 50% limit.149 However, PHAs must
still adhere to the requirements that the funding allocated for project-based vouchers does not
exceed 20% of the PHA’s tenant-based voucher budget, and that the local VA medical center must
agree to the plan. If a veteran lives in a unit where HUD-VASH vouchers have been project based
and wants to move, the PHA must provide the tenant with a Section 8 voucher or other tenant-
based assistance.
On the same day that the third FY2010 voucher funding announcement was made, HUD released
a notice of available funding for project-based HUD-VASH vouchers from the remaining FY2010
appropriation.150 Funding for these project-based vouchers was awarded competitively, and any
PHA that received an allocation of HUD-VASH vouchers in FY2008, FY2009, or FY2010 was
eligible to apply. On June 13, 2011, HUD announced the award of 676 vouchers to PHAs in 18
states.151 Another three PHAs that had applied for vouchers from the FY2010 appropriation
received 99 vouchers funded through the FY2011 allocation. The VA announced the award on
September 19, 2011, stating that the award was made “to fund additional applications that
received high scores through HUD and VA’s review process.”152
Program Evaluations
The VA is collecting and evaluating data regarding the HUD-VASH vouchers that were funded
beginning in FY2008, but has not yet released information.153 However, some outcomes are
available regarding participants who received vouchers in the early stages of the program. Long-
term evaluations of the HUD-VASH program have shown both improved housing and improved
substance abuse outcomes among veterans who received the vouchers over those who did not.154

148 VA summary of HUD-VASH voucher performance provided to CRS.
149 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Notice PIH 2011-50, Project-Basing HUD-Veterans Affairs
Supportive Housing Vouchers, September 15, 2011, http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=11-
50pihn.doc.
150 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Notice PIH 2010-40, Set-Aside Funding Availability for
Project-Basing HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Vouchers, September 28, 2010, http://portal.hud.gov/portal/
page/portal/HUD/program_offices/administration/hudclips/notices/pih/files/10-40pihn.pdf.
151 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, “HUD, VA to Provide Permanent Housing, Case
Management to Nearly 700 Homeless Veterans Across the U.S.,” press release, June 13, 2011, http://portal.hud.gov/
hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2011/HUDNo.11-118.
152 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “HUD, VA to Provide Permanent Housing, Case Management to Nearly 100
Homeless Veterans,” press release, September 19, 2011, http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2173.
153 Healthcare for Homeless Veterans Programs: Twenty-Second Annual Report, p. 277.
154 Robert Rosenheck, Wesley Kasprow, Linda Frisman, and Wen Liu-Mares, “Cost-effectiveness of Supported
(continued...)
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Veterans who received vouchers experienced fewer days of homelessness and more days housed
than veterans who received intensive case management assistance or standard care through VA
homeless programs alone.155 Analysis also found that veterans with HUD-VASH vouchers had
fewer days of alcohol use, fewer days on which they drank to intoxication, and fewer days of
drug use.156 HUD-VASH veterans were also found to have spent fewer days in institutions.157
Over the long term, veterans who received vouchers had a lower risk of returning to homelessness
than those who received intensive case management or standard assistance.158 Factors that
increased the risk of returning to homelessness were alcohol or drug dependence and a diagnosis
of PTSD.159 Lower risk was found among those with psychiatric problems, possibly due to
supportive services to assist those individuals with their housing.160
Demonstration Program to Prevent Homelessness Among Veterans
As part of the FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act (P.L. 111-8), Congress appropriated $10
million through the HUD Homeless Assistance Grants account to be used for a pilot program to
prevent homelessness among veterans. The appropriation law required that the program be
operated in a limited number of sites, at least three of which were to have a large number of
individuals transitioning from military to civilian life, and at least four of which were to be in
rural areas.
In July 2010, HUD issued a notice of implementation of the new demonstration program.161
HUD, in consultation with the VA and DOL, selected five geographic areas in which local
Continuums of Care (CoCs) will assign a grantee to carry out the prevention program. The areas
were chosen based on the number of homeless veterans reported by the local CoC and VA
Medical Center, the number of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom
veterans accessing VA health care, the presence and diversity of military sites in the area (e.g.,
representation of different branches of the military, National Guard, and Reserves), availability of
VA health care, type of geographic area (urban versus rural), and the community’s capacity to
administer the prevention program. The five areas and corresponding military bases selected are
(1) San Diego, CA (Camp Pendleton); (2) Killeen, TX (Fort Hood); (3) Watertown, NY (Fort
Drum); (4) Tacoma, WA (Joint Base Lewis-McChord); and (5) Tampa, FL (MacDill Air Force
Base).

(...continued)
Housing for Homeless Persons with Mental Illness,” Archives of General Psychiatry 60 (September 2003): 940
(hereinafter, “Cost-effectiveness of Supported Housing for Homeless Persons with Mental Illness”). An-Lin Cheng,
Haiqun Lin, Wesley Kasprow, and Robert Rosenheck, “Impact of Supported Housing on Clinical Outcomes,” Journal
of Nervous and Mental Disease 195, no. 1 (January 2007): 83 (hereinafter, “Impact of Supported Housing on Clinical
Outcomes”).
155 “Cost-effectiveness of Supported Housing for Homeless Persons with Mental Illness,” p. 945.
156 “Impact of Supported Housing on Clinical Outcomes,” p. 85.
157 Ibid.
158 Maria J. O'Connell, Wesley Kasprow, and Robert A. Rosenheck, “Rates and Risk Factors for Homelessness After
Successful Housing in a Sample of Formerly Homeless Veterans,” Psychiatric Services, vol. 59, no. 3 (March 2008),
pp. 268-275.
159 Ibid., p. 270.
160 Ibid., p. 273.
161 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Notice of FY2009 Implementation of the Veterans
Homelessness Prevention Demonstration Program, July 14, 2010, http://www.hudhre.info/documents/
VetsHomelessPreventionDemo.pdf.
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The prevention program is to operate much like the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-
Housing Program that was created as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L.
111-5). Funds may be used for short-term rental assistance (up to three months) or medium-term
rental assistance (4-18 months), for up to six months of rental arrears, for security or utility
deposits, utility payments, and help with moving expenses.162 Recipients may also use funds for
supportive services that help veterans and their families find and maintain housing such as case
management, housing search and placement, credit repair, child care, and transportation.163 To be
eligible, veterans and their families must meet the following criteria:164
• have income at or below 50% of the area median income;
• be experiencing short-term homelessness or be at risk of losing housing;
• lack the resources or support networks to obtain housing or remain housed; and
• be experiencing instability as evidenced by one of the following: (1) living on the
street or in shelter for less than 90 days, (2) being at least one month behind in
rent, (3) facing eviction within two weeks, (4) being discharged from an
institution, (5) living in condemned housing, (6) being behind on utility payments
by at least a month, (7) paying greater than 50% of income for housing, or (8)
facing a sudden and significant loss of income.
The Department of Labor
The Department of Labor (DOL) contains an office specifically dedicated to the employment
needs of veterans, the office of Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS). In addition
to its program for homeless veterans—the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP)—
VETS funds employment training programs for all veterans. These include the Veterans
Workforce Investment Program and the Transition Assistance Program.
Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program
Established in 1987 as part of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (P.L. 100-77), the
HVRP was authorized most recently through FY2012 as part of the Veterans Health Care
Facilities Capital Improvement Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-37), which was signed into law on October
5, 2011. In 2010, the Veterans’ Benefits Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-275) created a separate HVRP for
women veterans and veterans with children. The new program, which includes child care among
its services, is authorized from FY2011 through FY2015 at $1 million per year.
The HVRP program has two goals. The first is to assist veterans in achieving meaningful
employment, and the second is to assist in the development of a service delivery system to
address the problems facing homeless veterans. Eligible grantee organizations are state and local
Workforce Investment Boards, local public agencies, and both for- and non-profit
organizations.165 Grantees receive funding for one year, with the possibility for two additional

162 Ibid., pp. 9-11.
163 Ibid., p. 11.
164 Ibid., pp. 13-14.
165 U.S. Department of Labor, Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, Solicitation for Grant Applications, Urban
and Non-Urban Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP) Grants For Program Year (PY) 2010, March 26,
(continued...)
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years of funding contingent on performance and fund availability.166 The DOL awards grants
separately for urban and non-urban areas.
HVRP grantee organizations provide services that include outreach, assistance in drafting a
resume and preparing for interviews, job search assistance, subsidized trial employment, job
training, and follow-up assistance after placement. Recipients of HVRP grants also provide
supportive services not directly related to employment such as transportation, provision of
assistance in finding housing, and referral for mental health treatment or substance abuse
counseling. HVRP grantees often employ formerly homeless veterans to provide outreach to
homeless veterans and to counsel them as they search for employment and stability. In fact, from
the inception of the HVRP, it has been required that at least one employee of grantee
organizations be a veteran who has experienced homelessness.167
In program year (PY) 2007 (from July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008), HVRP grantees were
expected to serve a total of 13,446 homeless veterans, of whom an estimated 9,061, or 67%, were
expected to be placed in employment.168 In 2007, DOL predicted that 64.5% of veterans who
were placed in employment would maintain employment for six months.169 The previous year,
64% of veterans maintained employment for at least six months.
Stand Downs for Homeless Veterans
A battlefield stand down is the process in which troops are removed from danger and taken to a
safe area to rest, eat, clean up, receive medical care, and generally recover from the stress and
chaos of battle. Stand Downs for Homeless Veterans are modeled on the battlefield stand down
and are local events, staged annually in many cities across the country, in which local Veterans
Service Organizations, businesses, government entities, and other social service organizations
come together for up to three days to provide similar services for homeless veterans. Items and
services provided at stand downs include food, clothing, showers, haircuts, medical exams, dental
care, immunizations, and, in some locations where stand downs take place for more than one day,
shelter. Another important facet of stand downs, according to the National Coalition for Homeless
Veterans, is the camaraderie that occurs when veterans spend time among other veterans.
Although stand downs are largely supported through donations of funds, goods, and volunteer
time, the DOL VETS office may award both HVRP grant recipient organizations or other
organizations that would be eligible up to $10,000 to fund stand downs.170

(...continued)
2010, p. 21, http://www.dol.gov/vets/grants/2010/HVRP%20PY%202010%20SGA%20%28PDF%29.pdf.
166 Ibid., p. 18.
167 “Procedures for Preapplication for Funds; Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, FY1988” Federal
Register vol. 53, no. 70, April 12, 1988, p. 12089.
168 U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Assistance Secretary for Veterans’ Employment and Training, FY2006 and
FY2007 Annual Report to Congress, May 21, 2008, p. 10,.
169 U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Veterans’ Employment and Training, FY2008 VETS Annual Report to
Congress, p. 5, http://www.dol.gov/vets/media/FY2008_Annual_Report_To_Congress.pdf.
170 U.S. Department of Labor, Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, “FY2011 through FY2013 Stand Down
Grant Requests,” 76 Federal Register 13236-13239, March 10, 2011.
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Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program
The Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Assistance Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-95) instituted a
demonstration program to provide job training and placement services to veterans leaving
prison.171 The program expired on January 24, 2006, but was extended by Congress through
FY2012 as part of the Veterans’ Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008 (P.L.
110-387). The new law removed the program’s demonstration status, expanded the number of
sites able to provide services to 12, and changed the name slightly to “Referral and Counseling
Services: Veterans at Risk of Homelessness Who Are Transitioning from Certain Institutions.”
Both the FY2010 and FY2011 Department of Labor budget documents state that of the funds
requested for HVRP, up to $4 million would be used for this program.172 On May 5, 2010, DOL
published a solicitation for grant applications that was expected to fund at least 12 grants.173
While in its demonstration phase, the program awarded $1.45 million in initial grants to seven
recipients. DOL extended these seven grants through March 2006 with funding of $1.6 million,
and then again for an additional 15 months, though June 30, 2007, with $2 million in funding.174
The Department of Labor reported that these grant recipients enrolled 2,191 veterans in the
transition program in FY2004 through FY2006 and that of these enrollees, 1,104, or 54%, entered
employment.175 The average wage for those veterans entering employment was $10.00 per hour.
Funding for Homeless Veterans Programs
Table 6, below, shows historical funding levels for six programs that target services to homeless
veterans. Following Table 6, Table 7 shows funding for housing provided through the HUD-VA
collaboration known as HUD-VASH. HUD has funded Section 8 vouchers for homeless veterans
since FY1992, but after the initial appropriation for the vouchers, HUD does not separately report
the amount of funds necessary to provide rental assistance for each of the vouchers in subsequent
years. Unlike programs included in Table 6, then, it is not possible to provide annual budget
authority or obligations for HUD-VASH. Table 7 contains information regarding the initial
budget authority needed to support the vouchers in the first year of appropriations.

171 38 U.S.C. §2023.
172 U.S. Department of Labor, FY2010 Congressional Budget Justification, Volume III, Veterans’ Employment and
Training Service, p. VETS-26, http://www.dol.gov/dol/budget/2010/PDF/CBJ-2010-V3-06.pdf; FY2011 Congressional
Budget Justification, Volume III, Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, p. VETS-37, http://www.dol.gov/dol/
budget/2011/PDF/CBJ-2011-V3-05.pdf.
173 The solicitation is available at http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/ivtp/main.htm.
174 Vets Employment and Training Service FY2006 and FY2007 Annual Report to Congress, p. 12.
175 Ibid., 13.
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Table 6. Funding for Selected Homeless Veterans Programs, FY1988-FY2012
(dollars in thousands)
Budget
Authority
(DOL
Obligations (VA Programs)
Program)
Compensated
HUD-VA
Health Care
Domiciliary
Work
Supported
Homeless
for
Care for
Therapy/
Grant and
Housing
Veterans
Fiscal
Homeless
Homeless
Therapeutic
Per Diem
(Supportive
Reintegration
Year
Veteransa
Veterans
Residence
Program
Services)b
Program
1988 12,932 15,000c NA NA NA 1,915
1989 13,252 10,367
NA
NA
NA 1,877
1990 15,000 15,000
NA
NA
NA 1,920
1991 15,461d 15,750
—d NA NA
2,018
1992 16,500d 16,500
—d NA
2,300
1,366
1993 22,150 22,300
400

NA 2,000 5,055
1994 24,513 27,140 3,051
8,000 3,235 5,055
1995 38,585e 38,948 3,387
—e 4,270 107f
1996 38,433e 41,117 3,886
—e 4,829
0
1997 38,063e 37,214 3,628
—e 4,958
0
1998 36,407 38,489 8,612
5,886 5,084 3,000
1999 32,421 39,955 4,092 20,000 5,223 3,000
2000 38,381 34,434 8,068 19,640 5,137 9,636
2001 58,602 34,576 8,144 31,100 5,219 17,500
2002 54,135 45,443 8,028 22,431 4,729 18,250
2003 45,188 49,213 8,371 43,388 4,603 18,131
2004 42,905 51,829 10,240 62,965 3,375 18,888
2005 40,357 57,555 10,004 62,180 3,243 20,832
2006 56,998 63,592 19,529 63,621 5,297 21,780
2007 71,925 77,633 21,514 81,187 7,487 21,809
2008 77,656 96,098 21,497 114,696 4,854 23,620
2009 80,219 115,373 22,206 128,073 26,601 26,330
2010 109,727 175,979 61,205 175,057 71,137 36,330
2011g 135,932 140,949 52,788 217,639 151,069 36,257h
2012 — — — — —
38,185i
Sources: Department of Veterans Affairs Budget Justifications, FY1989-FY2012, VA Office of Homeless
Veterans Programs, and Department of Labor Budget Justifications FY1989-FY2012.
a. Health Care for Homeless Veterans was originally called the Homeless Chronically Mentally Ill veterans
program. In 1992, the VA began to use the title “Health Care for Homeless Veterans.”
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b. This column contains only the funding al ocated from the VA for supportive services and does not include
the cost of providing housing.
c. Congress appropriated funds for the DCHV program for both FY1987 and FY1988 (P.L. 100-71), however,
the VA obligated the entire amount in FY1988. See VA Budget Summary for FY1989, Volume 2, Medical
Benefits, p. 6-10.
d. For FY1991 and FY1992, funds from the Homeless Chronical y Mental y Ill veterans program as wel as
substance abuse enhancement funds were used for the Compensated Work Therapy/Therapeutic
Residence program.
e. For FY1995 through FY1997, Grant and Per Diem funds were obligated with funds for the Health Care for
Homeless Veterans program. VA budget documents do not provide a separate breakdown of Grant and Per
Diem Obligations.
f.
Congress appropriated $5.011 mil ion for HVRP in P.L. 103-333. However, a subsequent rescission in P.L.
104-19 reduced the amount.
g. The obligation amounts for FY2011 are estimates.
h. The FY2011 Department of Defense and Ful -Year Continuing Appropriations Act (P.L. 112-10) imposed an
across-the-board rescission of 0.2% on all discretionary accounts. The level for HVRP reflects this
rescission.
i.
The FY2012 appropriation for the Departments of Labor, HHS, and Education contained an across-the-
board rescission of 0.189% on all discretionary accounts. The level for HVRP reflects this rescission.
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Table 7. Funding for HUD-VASH
Number of
Years
Amount
Vouchers
Provided
Tenant-Based
Project-Based
Supported
(dollars in
Vouchers
Vouchers
with Amount
Fiscal Year
Public Law
millions)
Supported
Supported
Provided
1992 NAa 17.9b 750
—
5
1993 NAa 19.1c 750
—
5
1994 NAa 18.4d 700
—
5
2008 P.L.
110-161
75.0
10,150e — 1
2009 P.L.
111-8
75.0
10,290e — 1
2010 P.L.
111-117
75.0
9,510e 676f 1
2011 P.L.
112-10
50.0
6,815g 99h 1
2012 P.L.
112-55
75.0
—
—
1
Total

405.4 38,965i 775

Source: Sources for each voucher distribution are noted in the table notes, below.
a. Funding for FY1992 through FY1994 was set aside from Section 8 tenant-based appropriations.
b. The FY1992 announcement of the amount set aside and number of vouchers available was made in the
Federal Register. See U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, “Invitation for FY1992 Section 8
Rental Voucher Set-Aside for Homeless Veterans with Severe Psychiatric or Substance Abuse Disorders,”
57 Federal Register no. 55, pp. 9955-9968, March 20, 1992.
c. The announcement of the availability of funding and amount of vouchers to be funded in 1993 was made in
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, “Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Fiscal
Year 1993, for the Section 8 Set Aside for Homeless Veterans With Severe Psychiatric or Substance Abuse
Disorders,” 58 Federal Register no. 188, pp. 51191-51206, September 30, 1993.
d. The announcement of 1994 vouchers was made in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
“Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Section 8 Set-Aside for Homeless Veterans with Severe Psychiatric or
Substance Abuse Disorders,” 59 Federal Register no. 134, pp. 36007-36015, July 14, 1994.
e. For a list of how the FY2008 through FY2010 tenant-based vouchers were al ocated to local housing
authorities, see http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/hcv/vash/docs/vash-awards.xls.
f.
The list of project-based vouchers for FY2010 is available at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/
huddoc?id=HUD-VASHPBVFY2010AWARDEES.PDF. See also, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development, “HUD, VA to Provide Permanent Housing, Case Management to Nearly 700 Homeless
Veterans Across the U.S.,” press release, June 13, 2011, http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/
press_releases_media_advisories/2011/HUDNo.11-118.
g. A list showing how FY2011 tenant-based vouchers were distributed is available at http://portal.hud.gov/
hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=HUD-VASH2011CHART.PDF. See also, U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, “HUD, VA to Provide Permanent Housing and Support to Thousands of Homeless
Veterans,” press release, July 14, 2011, http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/
press_releases_media_advisories/2011/HUDNo.11-150.
h. See Department of Veterans Affairs, “HUD, VA to Provide Permanent Housing, Case Management to
Nearly 100 Homeless Veterans,” press release, September 19, 2011, http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/
pressrelease.cfm?id=2173.
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i.
Vouchers that were funded in FY1992-FY1994 may not have been provided to homeless veterans upon
turnover. As a result, not all tenant-based vouchers in the total are necessarily still being used by homeless
veterans.
Issues Regarding Veterans and Homelessness
The VA Plan to End Veteran Homelessness
On November 3, 2009, the VA announced a plan to end homelessness among veterans within five
years.176 The VA outlined six areas of focus for the new plan in its FY2011 budget justifications:
(1) outreach and education, (2) treatment, (3) prevention, (4) housing and supportive services, (5)
employment and benefits, and (6) community partnerships.177 In both the FY2011 and FY2012
budget documents, the VA laid out program expansions and implementation of new programs to
address homelessness:
• In FY2012, the VA planned to expand some of the existing homeless programs
discussed in this report. Specifically, the Grant and Per Diem Program would
serve 20,000 veterans (in FY2008, the program discharged 15,511 veterans), the
Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans program planned to open five new 40-
bed facilities in FY2012, and the HUD-VASH program was to receive (and did
receive) additional vouchers.
• The VA-HUD pilot to prevent veteran homelessness and the VA program of
supportive services for very low-income veteran families have both gotten
underway, with grants awarded to service providers. The VA expects to serve
1,900 veterans between 2011 and 2014 in the prevention pilot and 19,000
veterans in the SSVF program.
• The VA established a National Homeless Registry to keep records of veterans
served in homeless-specific programs and measure outcomes achieved. The VA
also established a National Call Center for homeless veterans that expects to
serve 15,500 veterans in 2012.
During the last several years, estimates of homeless veterans have fallen. VA estimates of the
number of veterans who were homeless on a given day fell from 154,000 in FY2007 to 131,000
in FY2008, and then to 107,000 in FY2009. The Veterans Supplement to HUD’s Annual
Homeless Assessment Report estimated that in 2011 the number had fallen to about 67,000, a
nearly 9,000-person reduction from the previous year’s estimate. (For more information, see the
section of this report entitled “Estimates of the Number of Homeless Veterans.”)
During this same time period, the need for permanent housing, as reported by homeless veterans
and those who provide services, has also declined. The VA’s annual CHALENG report surveys
homeless veterans, as well as government and community service providers, about the most
pressing unmet needs among homeless veterans. Through FY2006, the highest priority unmet

176 See U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “Secretary Shinseki Details Plan to End Homelessness for Veterans,”
press release, November 3, 2009, http://www1.va.gov/OPA/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1807.
177 FY2011 VA Budget Justifications, p. 1K-11.
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need according to all respondents in the CHALENG reports was long-term permanent housing.178
However, in the FY2007 report, permanent housing was the second-highest unmet need, behind
child care.179 In FY2008 and FY2009, it fell to the fourth-highest unmet need,180 and in FY2010,
long-term housing was the ninth in the list of unmet needs for veterans.181
One of the reasons that estimates of homeless veterans are declining and that the highest unmet
need is no longer housing could be an increasing emphasis on permanent supportive housing for
veterans. The permanent supportive housing model promotes stability by ensuring that residents
receive services tailored to their particular needs, including health care, counseling, employment
assistance, help with financial matters, and assistance with other daily activities that might
present challenges to a formerly homeless individual.
Historically, homeless programs targeted to veterans did not provide permanent supportive
housing (although veterans were eligible for housing through HUD’s homeless programs).
Instead, programs such as Grant and Per Diem offered transitional housing to help veterans
become stable, find employment, and eventually transition to permanent housing. However, after
leaving transitional housing, veterans competed with other needy groups—including elderly
residents, persons with disabilities, and families with young children—for government assisted
housing.182 With the advent of HUD-VASH (discussed earlier in this report), thousands of units of
permanent supportive housing funded through the federal government have been targeted to
homeless veterans for the last five fiscal years. Congress has appropriated $350 million for the
program, an amount sufficient to fund more than 40,000 vouchers for one year.183 The additional
Section 8 vouchers, as well as increased funding through VA programs interventions (see Table
6), could be making a difference in the number of veterans experiencing homelessness.
Veterans of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
As veterans return from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF),
just as veterans before them, they face risks that could lead to homelessness. The VA reported that
in FY2009, it assessed almost 2,300 veterans who served in the OEF/OIF theaters of operations
for participation in its Health Care for Homeless Veterans Program.184 Approximately 1.40
million OEF/OIF troops have been separated from active duty and become eligible for VA health
benefits since 2003.185 If the experiences of the Vietnam War are any indication, the risk of

178 The Fifteenth Annual CHALENG Report, p. 14.
179 The Fourteenth Annual CHALENG Report, p. 8.
180 The Fifteenth Annual CHALENG Report, p. 10, and The Sixteenth Annual CHALENG Report, p. 12.
181 Seventeenth Annual CHALENG Report, p. 12.
182 According to a 2007 GAO study, veteran households were underrepresented in HUD-assisted housing. GAO
estimated that 11% of low-income veteran renter households received HUD rental assistance compared to 19% of low-
income nonveteran renter households. Government Accountability Office, Information on Low-Income Veterans’
Housing Needs Conditions and Participation in HUD’s Programs, GAO-07-1012, August 17, 2007, p. 29, available at
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d071012.pdf.
183 See the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 110-161), the FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act (P.L.
111-8), the FY2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 111-117), the FY2011 Department of Defense and Full-
Year Continuing Appropriations Act (P.L. 112-10), and the FY2012 Consolidated and Further Continuing
Appropriations Act (P.L. 112-55).
184 Healthcare for Homeless Veterans Programs: Twenty-Third Annual Report, p. 46.
185 Since October 2003, DOD’s Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) has periodically (every 60 days) sent VA an
updated personnel roster of troops who participated in OEF and OIF, and who have separated from active duty and
(continued...)
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becoming homeless continues for many years after service. One study found that after the
Vietnam War, 76% of Vietnam era combat troops and 50% of non-combat troops who eventually
became homeless reported that at least 10 years passed between the time they left military service
and when they became homeless.186
A number of studies have examined the mental health status of troops returning from Iraq and
Afghanistan. According to one study of troops returning from Iraq published in the New England
Journal of Medicine, between 15% and 17% screened positive for depression, generalized
anxiety, and PTSD.187 Another study, conducted by the RAND Corporation, found that, of
veterans surveyed, 14% reported screening positive for PTSD and 14% for major depression.188
Veterans returning from Iraq also appear to be seeking out mental health services at higher rates
than veterans returning from other conflicts.189 Research has also found that the length and
number of deployments of troops in Iraq result in greater risk of mental health problems.190
Access to VA health services could be a critical component of reintegration into the community
for some veterans, and there is concern that returning veterans might not be aware of available VA
health programs and services.191
The VA has multiple means of reaching out to injured veterans and veterans currently receiving
treatment through the Department of Defense (DOD) to ensure that they know about VA health
services and to help them make the transition from DOD to VA services.192 However, for some
veterans, health issues, particularly mental health issues, may arise later. A study of Iraq soldiers
returning from deployment found that a higher percentage of soldiers reported mental health
concerns six months after returning than immediately after returning.193

(...continued)
become eligible for VA benefits. The roster was originally prepared based on pay records of individuals. However, in
more recent months it has been based on a combination of pay records and operational records provided by each
service branch. The current separation data are from FY2002 through December 2011. Note that the total includes
veterans who died in-theater (5,584).
186 See “Homeless Veterans,” p. 105.
187 Charles W. Hoge, Carl A. Castro, Stephen C. Messer, and Dennis McGurk, “Combat Duty in Iraq and Afghanistan,
Mental Health Problems, and Barriers to Care,” New England Journal of Medicine 351, no. 1 (July 1, 2004): Table 3.
188 Terri Tanielian and Lisa H. Jaycox, eds., Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their
Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery (Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2008) 96.
189 Charles W. Hoge, Jennifer L. Auchterlonie, and Charles S. Milliken, “Mental Health Problems, Use of Mental
Health Services, and Attrition from Military Service After Returning from Deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan,” JAMA
295, no. 9 (March 1, 2006): 1026, 1029.
190 Office of the Surgeon Multi-National Force-Iraq and Office of the Surgeon General United States Army Command,
Mental Health Advisory Team V, February 14, 2008, pp. 42-43, 46-47, available at http://www.armymedicine.army.mil/
reports/mhat/mhat_v/MHAT_V_OIFandOEF-Redacted.pdf.
191 See, for example, Amy Fairweather, Risk and Protective Factors for Homelessness Among OIF/OEF Veterans,
Swords to Plowshares’ Iraq Veteran Project, December 7, 2006, p. 6.
192 For more information about transition services, see the National Resource Directory,
http://www.nationalresourcedirectory.gov/.
193 Charles S. Milliken, Jennifer L. Auchterlonie, and Charles W. Hoge , “Longitudinal Assessment of Mental Health
Problems Among Active and Reserve Component Soldiers Returning from the Iraq War,” JAMA 298, no. 18
(November 14, 2007): 2141, 2144.
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Women Veterans
The number and percentage of women enlisted in the military have increased since previous wars.
In FY2009, approximately 14.1% of enlisted troops in the active components of the military
(Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines) were female, up from approximately 3.3% in FY1974 and
10.9% in FY1990.194 The number of women veterans can be expected to grow commensurately.
According to the VA, there were approximately 1.2 million female veterans in 1990 (4% of the
veteran population) and 1.6 million in 2000 (6%).195 In 2010, approximately 1.8 million veterans
were women.196 The VA predicted that there would be 1.9 million female veterans (10% of the
veteran population) in 2020. At the same time, the number of male veterans is expected to
decline.197
Women veterans face challenges that could contribute to their risks of homelessness. A study of
women veterans in the Los Angeles area compared homeless women veterans to women veterans
who were housed and found that the characteristics most associated with homelessness were
unemployment, having a disability, and being unmarried.198 Additional factors associated with
homelessness were screening positive for PTSD, experiencing military sexual trauma, suffering
from an anxiety disorder, and having fair or poor health.
Experts have found that female veterans report incidents of sexual assault that exceed rates
reported in the general population.199 A study of all returning OEF/OIF veterans who used VA
mental and/or primary health care found that 15.1% of female veterans reported experiencing
sexual assault or harassment while in the military (referred to by the VA as military sexual
trauma).200 Veterans who had experienced military sexual trauma were more likely than other
veterans to have been diagnosed with a mental health condition, including depressive disorders,
PTSD, anxiety disorders, alcohol and substance use disorders, and adjustment disorders.201 In
particular, the relationship between military sexual trauma and PTSD among women was stronger
than it was for men.202 According to another study released in 2004, the percentage of all female
veterans seeking medical care through the VA (not just those returning from Iraq or Afghanistan)

194 U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Personnel and Readiness, Population
Representation in the Military Services, FY2010, Appendix D, Table D-13, http://prhome.defense.gov/MPP/
ACCESSION%20POLICY/PopRep2010/appendixd/d_13.html. Female enlistment reached its peak in FY2002 and
FY2003 at 15.0%.
195 Robert A. Klein, Women Veterans: Past, Present, and Future, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of the
Actuary, updated September 2007, pp. 8-9, available at http://www1.va.gov/vetdata/docs/
Womenveterans_past_present_future_9-30-07a.pdf.
196 U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 Statistical Abstract, Table 521, http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/
12s0520.pdf.
197 Women Veterans: Past, Present, and Future, pp. 8-9.
198 Donna L. Washington, Elizabeth M. Yano, and James McGuire, et al., “Risk Factors for Homelessness among
Women Veterans,” Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 21, no. 1 (January 2010), pp. 81-91.
199 Jessica Wolfe et al., “Changing Demographic Characteristics of Women Veterans: Results from a National Sample,”
Military Medicine 165, no. 10 (October 2000): 800.
200 Rachel Kimerling, Amy E. Street, and Joanne Pavao, et al., “Military-Related Sexual Trauma Among Veterans
Health Administration Patients Returning From Afghanistan and Iraq,” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 100,
no. 8 (August 2010), pp. 1409-1412.
201 Ibid., p. 1411. The study looked at both male and female veterans who had reported experiencing military sexual
trauma. The percentage of men who so reported was 0.7%.
202 Ibid.
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who reported that they have experienced sexual assault ranged between 23% and 29%.203 These
factors can increase the difficulty with which women veterans readjust to civilian life, and could
be risk factors for homelessness (see earlier discussion in this report).
Women veterans are estimated to make up a relatively small, but growing, proportion of the
homeless veteran population. According to the 2010 Veterans Supplement to the Annual
Homeless Assessment Report, homeless women veterans represented 8% of veterans living in
shelter.204 As a result, programs serving homeless veterans may not have adequate facilities for
female veterans at risk of homelessness, particularly transitional housing for women and women
with children. Currently, six Grant and Per Diem programs funded through the Special Needs
Grant target women veterans,205 and in FY2009, 4.4% of individuals placed in Grant and Per
Diem programs were women206 while 4.9% of veterans served in the Domiciliary Care for
Homeless Veterans program in FY2009 were women.207 The program that serves the highest
percentage of female veterans is HUD-VASH; approximately 11% of veterans who have received
vouchers are women.208
The need for assistance among younger women veterans, in particular, appears to be increasing. A
report released by the VA about the risk and prevalence of homelessness among veterans noted
the increased risk of homelessness among young, female veterans, and that intervention upon
return from service and during the transition to civilian life could benefit this group.209 It is also
noteworthy that child care was the highest unmet need reported by homeless veterans and service
providers as part of the last four VA CHALENG reports.
In the 110th Congress, the Veterans’ Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008
(110-387) added a provision to the statute governing the Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans
program requiring the Secretary to “take appropriate actions to ensure that the domiciliary care
programs of the Department are adequate, with respect to capacity and with respect to safety, to
meet the needs of veterans who are women.” In the 111th Congress, the Veterans’ Benefits Act of
2010 (P.L. 111-275), signed into law on October 13, 2010, created an HVRP grant program
specifically targeted to serve women veterans and veterans with children. The new program, like
HVRP, will provide job training, counseling, and job placement services, but will also provide
child care for participants. The program is authorized from FY2011 through FY2015 at $1 million
per year.

203 Anne G. Sandler, Brenda M. Booth, Michelle A. Mengeling, and Bradley N. Doebbeling, “Life Span and Repeated
Violence Against Women During Military Service: Effects on Health Status and Outpatient Utilization,” Journal of
Women’s Health 13, no. 7 (2004): 800.
204 FY2010 AHAR Veterans Supplement, p. 7.
205 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Advisory Committee on Women Veterans Report 2010, September 2010, p. 6,
http://www1.va.gov/WOMENVET/docs/ACWV_Report_2010.pdf.
206 Healthcare for Homeless Veterans Programs: Twenty-Third Annual Report, Table 5-3, p. 202.
207 Twenty-First Annual Progress Report on the Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans Program, p. 9.
208 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Homeless Women Veterans: Actions Needed to Ensure Safe and
Appropriate Housing, GAO-12-182, December 2011, p. 28, http://www.gao.gov/assets/590/587334.pdf.
209 Prevalence and Risk of Homelessness Among U.S. Veterans: A Multisite Investigation, p. 25.
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Author Contact Information

Libby Perl

Specialist in Housing Policy
eperl@crs.loc.gov, 7-7806

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