One in five homeless adults is a veteran.
In the United States, nearly 47,000 veterans are homeless on any given night and twice as many experience homelessness during a year. Right now, the number of homeless Vietnam-era veterans is higher than the number of service persons who died during the Vietnam war, and veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are already appearing among the homeless population.
Volunteers of America has a history of serving Veterans and their families. As homelessness reached crisis proportion in the 1980s, veterans began showing up in increasing numbers in our emergency shelters.
When the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs initiated support for homeless veteran services in 1987, Volunteers of America quickly partnered, opening new housing and support services. Today, Volunteers of America is at the forefront of the issue of homelessness for veterans—as a service provider and an advocate.
In Upstate NY, Volunteers of America Upstate NY offers homeless veterans access to safe, supportive housing. We also provide individualized support services to help address a variety of needs, including:
- Employment
- Medical & mental health
- Substance abuse
- Vocational
- Child care
- Permanent housing