Why ending Veteran homelessness requires more than individual services

Homelessness is one of our nation’s most complex challenges. Factors such as limited affordable housing, stagnant wages, health challenges and gaps in community resources have developed over decades, and no single program or organization can address these issues alone.

That is why helping Veterans access housing and support services during a difficult time is so critical. Immediate shelter, healthcare, employment services and other resources provide essential support to Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness. But while these resources are critical, providing services alone is not enough to end Veteran homelessness.

From services to shared outcomes

Historically, federal resources to address homelessness were largely distributed through grants that allowed communities across the country to build programs tailored to local needs. These efforts improved access to immediate support but also led organizations to focus heavily on individual program requirements and performance measures—especially since that was what was required to maintain their funding.

While program-level results remain important, ending Veteran homelessness requires communities to look beyond the success of individual programs and focus on collective progress toward a common goal.

According to the latest Point-in-Time (PIT) Count data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Veteran homelessness has decreased 56.1% since 2010. Yet, an estimated 32,495 Veterans experienced homelessness on a single night in January 2025. These numbers highlight what has been achieved so far and how much work remains.

Ending Veteran homelessness requires more than providing much-needed services. Rather, it requires communities to align around a common goal and ensure that Veterans are connected to the interventions most likely to help them achieve stability and independence. The challenge is not simply delivering services to “Veterans,” but ensuring each and every homeless Veteran is known, by-name, and connected to the resources most likely to help them succeed.

That is why VA and its partners have increasingly shifted toward a coordinated approach that keeps the goal of ending Veteran homelessness at the center of their work.

Learn about the seven essential elements to end Veteran homelessness.

One Team, one common goal

Veterans shouldn’t have to be experts at navigating VA and other systems to get help. VA’s One Team Operational Framework prioritizes coordinating services across programs and partners to make it easier for Veterans experiencing homelessness to access the right support at the right time.

VA fosters coordinated action across the agency and among VA-funded organizations, community partners and other stakeholders through four key elements:

• Building strong leadership teams to organize each intervention, so programs work efficiently both independently and together in support of homeless Veterans.
• Bringing together key decision-makers through regular coordination meetings to identify challenges, set improvement goals, align resources and develop strategies to help Veterans access housing more quickly.
• Using real-time data, including by-name lists, to identify Veterans experiencing homelessness and connect them with the housing and support services that best meet their individual needs.
• Removing barriers that delay housing by bringing partners together to solve challenges collaboratively.

Measuring what matters

The services provided every day across communities remain essential. Every meal served, every healthcare appointment attended, every employment opportunity secured and every housing placement can help a Veteran move closer to stability. But those efforts have the greatest impact when they serve the larger goal of ending Veteran homelessness.

Achieving this goal requires communities to align around shared outcomes rather than isolated organizational success metrics. Real success should not be measured by the volume of services delivered, but by whether fewer Veterans experience homelessness at any given time and whether those Veterans are connected to the resources they need most.

That is the purpose of One Team: uniting partners around a shared goal, a common understanding of success, and a collective commitment to ending Veteran homelessness once and for all.

Learn about VA programs

• If you are a Veteran who is homeless or at risk of homelessness, or need to connect with a Veterans justice outreach specialist, call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-424-3838.
• Learn more about how VA helps aging homeless Veterans.
• Visit the VA Homeless Programs website to learn about housing initiatives and other programs for Veterans exiting homelessness.
• Get involved in housing homeless Veterans.