Homeless Veterans Fact Sheet + Resources

There should never be one veteran sleeping on any American street...Jerry Komar, Editor, Dedicated to Heroes

The State Of Homelessness Among America's Veterans

According to the North Dakota Department of Veteran affairs, there are 130,000-200,000 veterans (male + female) homeless on any given night (estimates vary). For Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans, their rate of homelessness doubled in the last two years alone. It is estimated approximately 27,000 veterans of both wars are homeless up from about 11,000 in 2010. The National Coalition For Homeless Veterans reports the following:

• 13% of adult homeless population are veterans.
• 20% of the male homeless population are veterans.

• The latest number we have for female homeless veterans is about 3400.
• 68% of homeless veterans live in principal cities while 32% reside in rural/suburban areas.
• 51% of individual homeless veterans have disabilities.
• 50% have serious mental illness.
• 70% have substance abuse problems.
• 51% are age 50 or older.
• The number of homeless Vietnam Era veterans exceed the number of soldiers who died in the war.
• Approximately 56% of all homeless veterans are either Black or Hispanic.

Resources For Homeless Veterans

The following is a list of resources to help veterans who are homeless:

• VA National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans. Contact 1.877-4AID-VET (877.424.3838)
• Make The Connection at http://maketheconnection.net
• Vet Crisis Line: 1.800.273.8255. Press #1
• Contact your local Stand Down coordinator. Your local VA center or Vet Center can assist you.
• American Legion: 800.433.3318
• Disabled American Veterans (DAV): 859.441.7300
• Contact your local community, county and state veteran assistance programs.