OKLAHOMA CITY – U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson announced that veteran homelessness in the U.S. continued to decline in 2019. According to HUD’s Annual Homeless Assessment Report, the total number of reported veterans experiencing homelessness in 2019 decreased 2.1 percent, with 793 more veterans now having a roof over their heads.

In Oklahoma, veteran homelessness declined by 10.5 percent in 2019, with an overall decline of 40.9 percent since 2011.   

“Our nation’s veterans have sacrificed so much for our country and now it’s our duty to make certain they have a home to call their own,” said Carson. “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.”

Each year, thousands of local communities around the country conduct one-night  “Point-in-Time” estimates of the number of persons experiencing homelessness—in emergency shelters, transitional housing programs and in unsheltered locations.

HUD estimates among the total number of reported veterans experiencing homelessness in 2019, 203 Oklahoma veterans were found in sheltered settings while volunteers counted 77 veterans living in places not meant for human habitation, for a total of 280.

These declines, both nationally and in Arkansas, are the result of intense planning and targeted interventions, including the close collaboration between HUD and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Both agencies jointly administer the HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program, which combines permanent HUD rental assistance with case management and clinical services provided by the VA.

HUD-VASH is complemented by a continuum of VA programs that use modern tools and technology to identify the most vulnerable veterans and connect them to the interventions to become and remain stably housed. This year to date, more than 11,000 veterans, many experiencing chronic forms of homelessness, found permanent housing and critically needed support services through the HUD-VASH program.

To date, 78 local communities and three states have declared an effective end to veteran homelessness, creating systems to ensure that a veteran’s homelessness is rare, brief, and a one-time encounter. More information about VA’s homeless programs is available at VA.gov/homeless.