© 2024 KOSU
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Homelessness Among Veterans Declines, But Thousands Still In Streets

Disabled veteran Gloria Montes pets her dog Cache in her Bronx apartment November 9, 2015 in New York. Montes, who was forced to sleep in a car or on friends' floors until she found a place at a housing unit in the Bronx in September 2014, says she wants the military to do more to help veterans adjust to civilian life, and navigate the benefits that are open to them. (Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images)
Disabled veteran Gloria Montes pets her dog Cache in her Bronx apartment November 9, 2015 in New York. Montes, who was forced to sleep in a car or on friends' floors until she found a place at a housing unit in the Bronx in September 2014, says she wants the military to do more to help veterans adjust to civilian life, and navigate the benefits that are open to them. (Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images)

In 2009, President Obama and then-Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki announced a lofty goal of zero percent homelessness among veterans by 2015. They haven’t reached that goal, but they have made notable gains, decreasing homelessness by more than 30 percent in the past five years.

NPR veterans correspondent Quil Lawrence speaks with Here & Now’s Eric Westervelt about how the government has been able to curb homelessness among veterans, but also where there is still work left to be done.

Guest

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eric Westervelt is a San Francisco-based correspondent for NPR's National Desk. He has reported on major events for the network from wars and revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa to historic wildfires and terrorist attacks in the U.S.
Quil Lawrence is a New York-based correspondent for NPR News, covering veterans' issues nationwide. He won a Robert F. Kennedy Award for his coverage of American veterans and a Gracie Award for coverage of female combat veterans. In 2019 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America honored Quil with its IAVA Salutes Award for Leadership in Journalism.
KOSU is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.
Related Content