Veteran Homelessness Pushes Higher
(stock photo courtesy: Pixabay/Leroy Skalstad)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowINDIANAPOLIS – The number of military veterans who are considered homeless in Indiana has increased about 6% since last year, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
That’s in contrast to the national trend which registered a 2.1% decline in HUD’s Annual Homeless Assessment Report.
“We’ve made great progress in our efforts to end veteran homelessness, but we still have a lot of work to do to ensure our heroes have access to affordable housing,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson.
While the Hoosier State registered an increase from 2018, HUD says veteran homelessness in the state has declined 25-percent since 2010.
HUD Midwest Administrator Joe Galvan says the one-year increase signals efforts to proactively seek out homeless veterans and to provide help.
“We can do better for those who put their lives on the line so we that we could remain the land of the free and home of the brave,” said Galvan.
HUD estimates among the total number of reported veterans experiencing homelessness in 2019, 22,740 veterans were found in sheltered settings while volunteers counted 14,345 veterans living in places not meant for human habitation.