Virginia Becomes The First State To End Veteran Homelessness
A huge victory has just been won in an ongoing war right here on our home turf: the war against veteran homelessness.
Last week, Virginia announced that it has met the federal definition of ending homelessness among veterans. According to Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, there are no veterans without a roof to sleep under, except for vets who refused their offer.
The state has no shortage of veterans, either.
From Mic:
Virginia, which has the seventh largest veteran population in the country, has matched more than 1,400 homeless veterans with permanent housing in the past year, McAuliffe’s office said.
While Virginia is the first state to reach the milestone, other major cities in the nation have found homes for their less fortunate veterans.
Virginia’s announcement on Veterans Day corresponded with other city-level announcements. The city of Las Vegas; the city of Syracuse, New York; and the city of Schenectady, New York, will also announce that they have ended veteran homelessness in their cities, according to a release from the White House, which has championedthese programs.
Oh, and thanks, Obama. (We mean it this time).
In 2010, the Obama administration unveiled a national plan to end homelessness, with a focus on veterans. In the past year, Houston, Phoenix, New Orleans and a number of other major cities have successfully been able to pull all of their homeless veterans off of the streets using the housing-first model, funded in part by housing vouchers provided by the federal government.
Veteran homelessness has declined by 36% between 2010 and January, according to the White House.
Gotta give credit where credit is due.
It’s a terrible reality that a nation will leave a man to shiver on the streets he risked his life to defend, and it’s comforting to know that we are taking massive strides towards eradicating the problem.
Too many of our veterans have suffered enough abroad. Glad we’re giving more and more of them a home to come back to..
[via Mic]
Image via YouTube
RFM
10 years ago at 3:44 pmYour move, other 49 states.
10 years ago at 3:46 pmMissouri should be the next target state. They need something good to go for them.
10 years ago at 4:07 pmI don’t know about all the cities, but at least in Columbia I know for a fact that they offer housing for the veterans. Just a lot of veterans prefer not to live in them for many reasons.
10 years ago at 4:37 pmIf that’s the case, that means they’re probably in bad condition. Which should be handled if possible.
10 years ago at 4:45 pmPROUD TO BE A VIRGINIAN.
10 years ago at 5:07 pmGood job. Next step ending homelessness all together by improving the mother fing job market.
10 years ago at 3:49 pmThe vast majority of homelessness (for vets included) is due to either drug addiction or mental illness. While I think we can all agree that improving the job market would be great, it wouldn’t help the homeless problem too much.
10 years ago at 5:01 pmGod bless our troops and God bless America.
10 years ago at 3:50 pmI am very glad its about fucking time. Many Americans dont realize but our government treats vets pretty poorly often times leaving them scared from their service unable to earn income because of a disability. Instead we give our money to foreigners as we LOVE immigrants so much so we short the vet who served so Amir ron Akkbad can come here with his wife and 50 kids and get taken care of, while the vet is kicked to the curb.
10 years ago at 11:04 pmI would rather have bamboo spikes stuck up my fingernails than thank Obumer.
10 years ago at 3:51 pmThat can be arranged
10 years ago at 4:07 pmI’m sure it’d be great for your back pain too, make you sit straight up no problem
10 years ago at 4:21 pmDefinitely something a “chiropractor” would recommend
10 years ago at 4:34 pmOnly thing I like more than veterans are boobies
10 years ago at 3:52 pmI’m a big lover of Vets too. But are you really going as far to say you like them more than your own mother and father? More than booze? More than America in general? More than “Born in The USA” by Bruce Springsteen?
Really think about that statement bucko.
10 years ago at 3:59 pmI like veterans more than Mizzou protestors
10 years ago at 4:09 pmOk. That’s a statement I can get behind.
10 years ago at 4:18 pmObama and Congress finally doing something right. TFM
10 years ago at 3:53 pmSadly, this article is in accurate. As much as I would want this to be true, I know this is not the complete truth because my company is currently working on helping solve the homeless problem for veterans. It’s a huge issue and it desperately needs more attention but the state of VA is not solving the problem. Make me take laps but facts are facts….
10 years ago at 3:56 pmYeah this sounds like a little Bernie Sanders propaganda. Theres a lot of work to do. And don’t get me wrong, I dont like that socialist, but he does try and help out vets every chance he gets and I commend that.
10 years ago at 4:03 pmHe and John McCain worked on a Veterans health bill, but it ended up failing. Bernie’s not as bad as people around here think, at least he’s not Hillary.
10 years ago at 5:26 pmStill, the only (major) Dems to choose from are a criminal and a socialist.
10 years ago at 5:38 pmAnd that just covers Hillary.
10 years ago at 7:10 pmExpound a bit?
10 years ago at 4:17 pmHomeless people (not including vets) are what would make the Purge worthwhile.
10 years ago at 3:58 pmSooooo what you’re saying is that you are a psycho…
10 years ago at 4:05 pmYou are a jackass
10 years ago at 4:18 pmAsshole Joff is back!
10 years ago at 4:19 pmNew Orleans actually became the first city to do so. Glad to see this movement taking is taking place.
10 years ago at 4:18 pmFuck major grammar error…..
10 years ago at 4:19 pm