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VA ESTIMATES FEWER HOMELESS VETERANS -- The estimate

was reached by reviewing health utilization data among veterans

and counts and surveys conducted by local communities.

It appears there is a pattern to the VA's "estimates."

On the number of vets from Iraq and Afghanistan who would need care...VA estimates were LOW.

On the number of troops with traumatic brain injury...VA estimates were LOW.

On the number of troops with PTSD...VA estimates were LOW.

On the number of veterans who would need any form of mental health care...VA estimates were LOW.

On their own budget...VA estimates were LOW, and Congress had to pump in more money.

Now, VA wants us to believe that the number of homeless veterans has declined.

Given the VA's history of "estimates," I wouldn't believe this!

For more about homeless veterans, use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.php?q=homeless&op=and

We have two pieces of information...first a story from the AP, then a VA press release.

AP story here... http://ap.google.com/article/A
LeqM5iYnszzVzBGsnZ2wksP-S2d6ocwwwD8V7T05O0

Story below:

-------------------------

VA Estimates Fewer Homeless Vets

By KIMBERLY HEFLING

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of homeless veterans has declined to just over 150,000, the government says.

The Veterans Affairs Department estimates that on any given night last year, 154,000 veterans were homeless, about a 20 percent decrease from 195,827 in the agency's 2006 estimate.

The decrease comes even as Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are trickling into shelters. The VA has seen about 500 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in homeless-specific programs, and the number is increasing as the pool of troops who fought in the wars grows, said Pete Dougherty, the VA's director of homeless programs.

VA and community programs targeting homelessness, a decline in the number of living World War II, Korean and Vietnam veterans, and an improvement in the way the annual estimate was taken so fewer people were counted more than once were all credited as reasons behind the overall decline.

The estimate, which was made public Thursday, was reached by reviewing health utilization data among veterans and counts and surveys conducted by local communities.

Veterans overall have a high rate of homeownership, but a percentage historically has struggled with homelessness.

About 45 percent of participants in the VA's homeless programs have a diagnosable mental illness and more than three out of four have a substance abuse problem, while 35 percent have both, Dougherty said.

For many years, Dougherty said it was estimated that on any given night 250,000 veterans were homeless, and in the early 1980s, an estimated 40 percent of the homeless were veterans. Today, it is estimated that about one in five people who are homeless are veterans.

In 1987, the VA started its first program specifically targeting homeless veterans. This year, it will spend an estimated $300 million on such programs, although homeless advocates have said more funding is needed.

The estimated decline in homeless veterans appears to coincide with overall national trends. Last fall, the government said the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals had declined from 2005 to 2006.

The 500 homeless veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who have been identified are among about 1,800 veterans identified from the recent wars through the VA's homeless outreach programs in the past three years, Dougherty said. About half the total had a place to stay and a job, but they were at a soup kitchen or other service agency getting help, he said.

"Obviously, war is not a good thing, so we clearly expect we will see some of these veterans," Dougherty said. "The difference for us is we're hoping we're going to see them early, we're going to be able to do good preventative health care with them and they're going to get on with their lives and never face homelessness again."

-------------------------

VA press release here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/vap08/vap030608-1.htm

Press release below:

-------------------------

Number of Homeless Vets Drops 21 Percent

March 6, 2008

Peake Selected to Chair Federal Homeless Task Force

WASHINGTON – The number of veterans homeless on a typical night has declined 21 percent in the past year, thanks to the services offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and its partners in community- and faith-based organizations, plus changing demographics and improvements in survey techniques.

The reduction of homeless veterans from more than 195,000 to about 154,000 was announced as Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake was elected to chair the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Peake’s election to head the council coordinating the federal response to homelessness came as VA released the fourteenth annual Community Homeless Assessment, Local Education and Networking Group (CHALENG) report on homeless veterans.

“We are seeing significant progress in the fight against homelessness,” said Peake. “This success should encourage all those concerned about homeless veterans, for it shows we can make a difference in the lives of these veterans through our services and with our community partners.”

The decline in veterans’ homelessness was attributed, in part, to VA’s success in providing more services for homeless veterans and improved coordination of federal, state and local efforts.

VA provides health care to about 100,000 homeless veterans, and compensation and pensions to nearly 40,000 annually. The Department offers homeless veterans employment assistance and help obtaining foreclosed homes and excess federal property, including clothes, footwear, blankets and other items.

The Department has already approved funding for more than 12,000 beds in transitional housing programs, and provides about 5,000 veterans each year with residential services in VA hospital-based programs.

Other factors in the decline of homeless veterans include the substantial reduction in the number of poor veterans -- from 3 million in 1990 to 1.8 million in 2000 -- and improvements in counting homeless people.

The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness is the coordinating entity within the federal government composed of 20 cabinet secretaries and agency heads that creates partnerships at every level of government and the private sector to end homelessness.

-------------------------

posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org

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