FACT SHEET: New Point-in-Time Data Reveals Decrease in Veteran Homelessness

November 3, 2022

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), along with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), released initial results from HUD's 2022 Point-in-Time (PIT) count. The data point to an 11% decline in homelessness among veterans between 2020 and 2022, the largest drop in homelessness for veterans in more than five years. This drop in veteran homelessness coincides with the historic resources in President Biden's American Rescue Plan and a return to evidence-based, Housing First practices under the Biden-Harris Administration. The results below reflect a two-year interval due to disruptions in the 2021 PIT count due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to 2010, when the Obama-Biden Administration first set a national goal to end veteran homelessness, homelessness among veterans has declined by 55%.

These data reflect the veteran-specific results from the 2022 PIT count, which are being shared in advance of a report that will be released later this year and will include the full results on homelessness overall and sub-populations. The PIT count is a rollup of data from local HUD partners across the nation who conduct a count of people experiencing homelessness in a specific geographic area. The count takes into consideration whether or not individuals or families being counted are sheltered or unsheltered, veteran status, and other characteristics. The definition of sheltered includes those who are living in a public or private shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangements. A person is considered unsheltered if they have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a sleeping accommodation. To learn more about guidelines for the PIT count, click here (www.hudexchange.info/programs/hdx/guides/pit-hic/#pit-count-methodology-guide-and-other-hic-and-pit-count-guides-and-tools).

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