Veteran Specific Highlights:

• 23% of homeless population are Veterans
• 33% of male homeless population are Veterans
• 47% Vietnam Era
• 17% post Vietnam
• 15% pre Vietnam
• 67% served three or more years
• 33% stationed in war zone
• 85% completed high school/GED compared to 56% of non-veterans
• 89% received Honorable Discharge
• 79% reside in central cities
• 16% reside in suburban areas
• 5% reside in rural areas
• 76% experience alcohol, drug, or mental health problems

Veterans make up one in four homeless people in the United States, though they are only 11 percent of the general adult population.

And homelessness is not just a problem among middle-age and elderly veterans. Younger Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are trickling into shelters and soup kitchens seeking services, treatment or help with finding a job.

Some advocates say the early presence of Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan at shelters does not bode well for the future. It took roughly a decade for the lives of Vietnam Veterans to unravel to the point that they started showing up among the homeless. Advocates worry that intense and repeated deployments leave newer Veterans particularly vulnerable. “We’re going to be having a tsunami of them eventually because the mental health toll from this war is enormous.” - Quoted by Daniel Tooth, Director of Veterans Affairs, Lancaster County, PA