Florida's still a very bad place for homeless veterans, but the data has good news
We're No. 2: First, let's start with the good news behind Florida's high homeless veterans ranking: Over the last decade, the numbers of homeless veterans have actually dropped in the Sunshine State and throughout the country.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress, Florida has 7% of the nation's homeless veterans — roughly 2,279 veterans, either sleeping on a friend or family's couch or living on the streets. California, Texas, Washington and Oregon round out the top five worst states for homeless veterans.
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The HUD report also found that an overwhelming number of states' share of homeless vets was 5% or less and that 25 states and the District of Columbia had less than 1%. Between 2009 and 2022, HUD found the number of homeless veterans decreased in 47 states and Washington, D.C., with the largest drops occurring in California, New York and Florida.
Challenges still remain, from COVID-19's impact on counting homeless veterans in 2021 to the lack of reasonably priced housing. Still, the long-range trend of keeping veterans off the street is promising. The issue is important to Florida, given the fact that the state is home to 1.5 million veterans, the third highest concentration of former military personnel in the country.
Credit U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs efforts in conducting street outreach programs to identify and help veterans overcome barriers to obtaining healthcare, social services and housing. Over the years, these peer-to-peer programs have helped, along with community partnerships to find housing for homeless veterans.
The state of Florida has made strides, too. From Fiscal Year 2019 – 2020 through FY 2023-2024, the state has invested nearly $12.8 million in veterans’ homeless projects across the state. New laws and initiatives have helped veterans find jobs, assisted with mortgage payments and addressed mental health issues, particularly suicide prevention. The Florida Department of Veterans Affairs continues to help veterans transition from military service to civilian life and local community initiatives, like the “100 vets off the street in 111 days,” a collaboration between HUD, VA, Palm Beach County and Stand Down, a West Palm Beach-based nonprofit. Programs like these are needed to reduce homelessness among veterans.
Still, helping homeless veteran remains a daunting challenge. In the state Veterans Affairs own assessment, the 2020 Forward March Report, the agency found that the lack of a unified system to track veterans in Florida makes it extremely difficult to gather information on homeless veterans, which hinders evaluating how well community or statewide efforts are really addressing the problem.
Department officials have set an ongoing goal of making the state VA the best source of program information to help all veterans living in Florida. State lawmakers and the Governor should insist that the department fully funds the outreach needed to help those men and women who once proudly wore the uniform and now find themselves homeless.
CONSIDER THE SOURCE: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is a cabinet level agency of the federal government. Its primary responsibilities include addressing housing needs, improving the planning and development of communities and enforcing fair housing laws.
Editor's Note: RANKING FLORIDA is a series of editorials using national rankings to show where the state stands on a variety of issues that resonate with Floridians.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida still a problem for homeless veterans, but there's good news
