Well, howdy there, Internet people? It's Bell again. So today, we're going to talk about

veterans, records, and what should be a template but may not be. One of the often repeated statements

anytime somebody wants a justification to oppose the government's efforts to help, well, anybody really, is that we

need to worry about homeless veterans first.

So on Veterans Day, let's check in on those numbers.

32,882.

That's how many homeless vets there were during the annual January count.

That seems like a high number, and it is.

But it's a record low.

It's more than a 55% reduction since 2010.

When it comes to unsheltered homeless vets, those are people actually living on the

streets. That number in 2023 was 15,507. Now it's 13,851. These declines are due to three years of direct intervention by the Biden administration.

There was a simple approach used.

When addressing homelessness, the problem isn't a lack of character or will or anything like

that.

It's the lack of a home.

This success is attributed to adopting a housing-first approach.

The CEO of the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans said, quote,

The return to decreases in veteran homelessness estimates reflects the power of community work,

the impact of housing-focused interventions,

and the tenacity we see every day from organizations on the front lines of responding to this emergency. The initiatives put 48,000 veterans in stable housing in fiscal year 2024.

Over the last three years, that number was 133,000.

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