(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced Thursday it housed 47,925 veterans experiencing homelessness in fiscal year 2024, besting an earlier goal.
That’s the largest number of veterans experiencing homelessness the federal agency has housed since fiscal year 2019 and 16.9% over its goal of 41,000.
The VA said it ensured that 96% of the veterans housed during this time did not return to homelessness.
VA has made housing veterans a top priority. Since fiscal year 2022, VA has permanently housed nearly 134,000 homeless veterans. The total number of veterans experiencing homelessness in the U.S. has fallen by more than 4% since early 2020 and by more than 52% since 2010, according the agency.
“Nearly 48,000 formerly homeless veterans now have a safe, stable place to call home – and there’s nothing more important than that,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said in a statement. “No veteran should experience homelessness in this nation they swore to defend. We are making real progress in this fight, and we will not rest until veteran homelessness is a thing of the past.”
The agency also reported specific progress in the Los Angeles area, where the largest share of homeless veterans live. The agency permanently housed 1,854 homeless veterans in the area in fiscal year 2024, the most of any city in America for the third year in a row.