Veterans are 12% of Mass. homeless

[unhappycamper]

Veterans are 12% of Mass. homeless
State House News Service / February 11, 2011

On any given night, there are roughly 1,890 veterans living on Massachusetts streets, putting the Bay State in line with the national average for homelessness among veterans, according to an analysis published by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

According to the study, veterans account for 12 percent of the state’s homeless population, which totaled 15,482 people at any given time in 2009. The study, “Veteran Homelessness: A Supplemental Report to the 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress,’’ is the first-ever attempt by both federal agencies to gauge the extent and nature of homelessness among veterans.

According to HUD and the VA, nearly 76,000 veterans nationwide lacked shelter on a given night in 2009 with about 136,000 spending at least one night in a shelter during the year. Of those veterans without a home, 57 percent lived in a shelter or a transitional housing program, while 43 percent lived on the street.

Nationally, 12 percent of all people experiencing homelessness were identified as a veteran. In Massachusetts, veterans account for 6.8 percent of the population.