Officials Cite Drop in Homelessness Among Veterans

Officials Cite Drop in Homelessness Among Veterans

The AP (12/13, Subscription Publication) reports that the Obama Administrations says "homelessness among the nation's veterans declined by about 12 percent during a one-year period ending January 2011." According to officials, "the drop is a sign of progress and that the administration is on track for reaching President Barack Obama's goal of eliminating homelessness among veterans by 2015." The AP notes that HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan "attributed much of the drop to getting more veterans to participate in a voucher program that greatly subsidizes their housing costs." Donovan is quoted saying, "At the time we came into office in 2009, even though we had about 20,000 of those vouchers available; fewer than 5,000 veterans were actually using them and had successfully moved from the streets or shelters into permanent housing."