VETERAN HOMELESSNESS IN OKLAHOMA DECLINES 10.5 PERCENT IN 2019
Since 2011, overall State decline is 40.9 percent

OKLAHOMA CITY - U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson today announced that veteran homelessness in the U.S. continued to decline in 2019. According to HUD's Annual Homeless Assessment Report, the total number of reported veterans experiencing homelessness in 2019 decreased 2.1 percent, with 793 more veterans now having a roof over their heads.

In Oklahoma, veteran homelessness declined by 10.5 percent in 2019, with an overall decline of 40.9 percent since 2011. For data for specific Oklahoma Continuums of Care click here: View local estimates of veteran homelessness (www.hudexchange.info/resource/5877/2019-pit-estimate-of-veteran-homelessness-in-the-us).

"Our nation's veterans have sacrificed so much for our country and now it's our duty to make certain they have a home to call their own," said Secretary Carson. "We've made great progress in our efforts to end veteran homelessness, but we still have a lot of work to do to ensure our heroes have access to affordable housing."

Each year, thousands of local communities around the country conduct one-night "Point-in-Time" estimates of the number of persons experiencing homelessness—in emergency shelters, transitional housing programs and in unsheltered locations.

HUD estimates among the total number of reported veterans experiencing homelessness in 2019, 203 Oklahoma veterans were found in sheltered settings while volunteers counted 77 veterans living in places not meant for human habitation, for a total of 280.

These declines, both nationally and in Oklahoma, are the result of intense planning and targeted interventions, including the close collaboration between HUD and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Both agencies jointly administer the HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program, which combines permanent HUD rental assistance with case management and clinical services provided by the VA.

HUD-VASH is complemented by a continuum of VA programs that use modern tools and technology to identify the most vulnerable Veterans and rapidly connect them to the appropriate interventions to become and remain stably housed. This year to date, more than 11,000 veterans, many experiencing chronic forms of homelessness, found permanent housing and critically needed support services through the HUD-VASH program.

To date, 78 local communities and three states have declared an effective end to veteran homelessness, creating systems to ensure that a veteran's homelessness is rare, brief, and a one-time encounter. Read more (www.usich.gov/communities-that-have-ended-homelessness).

HUD and VA have a wide range of programs that prevent and end homelessness among veterans, including health care, housing solutions, job training and education. More information about VA's homeless programs is available at VA.gov/homeless (www.va.gov/homeless). More information about HUD's program is available here. Veterans who are homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless should contact their local VA Medical Center and ask to speak to a homeless coordinator or call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 1-877-4AID-VET.

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and https://espanol.hud.gov.

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