HUD: Homeless veteran numbers drop this year in Pennsylvania
Veteran homelessness in Pennsylvania dropped by nearly 13% in 2019, according to the annual Homeless Assessment Report by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Those numbers mirror the national trend, which HUD officials say continues to decline.
“In Pennsylvania, we’ve made great strides over the years in our efforts to end veteran homelessness, with the commonwealth estimate dropping 40.5% since 2010,” said department regional administrator Joseph DeFelice. “We will continue to collaborate with our state, local and federal partners to make progress because one homeless veteran is one too many.”
This year’s estimate finds that 37,085 veterans experienced homelessness in January 2019, compared to 37,878 reported in January 2018. The agency estimates that among the total number of reported veterans experiencing homelessness in 2019, 22,740 veterans were found in sheltered settings while volunteers counted 14,345 veterans living in places not meant for human habitation.
Officials from the agency as well as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) said the declines are the result of intense planning and targeted interventions between the two.
Both agencies jointly administer the HUD-VA Supportive Housing Program, which combines permanent rental assistance with case management and clinical services provided by the VA.
To date, 78 local communities and three states — Virginia, Connecticut and Delaware — have declared an effective end to veteran homelessness, according to the housing agency.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
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