This is why veteran homelessness has dropped so dramatically.
No one should be sleeping on a sidewalk — especially our vets.
Good news, America: Far fewer veterans are sleeping on our streets.
Like, far fewer.
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.
Since 2010, vet homelessness has plunged 47%, according to data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
That includes a 17% drop just between January 2015 and January 2016.
Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images.
Hooray! But really, though ... how did we do it?
Multiple factors contributed to the decline, of course, and no one answer should take all the credit. But here are three of the key variables to note:
The first major player? The first lady.
Michelle Obama has led efforts to encourage mayors to take on vet homelessness at the local level. And it's working.
Photo by Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images.
Her initiative, aptly dubbed the Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness, has prompted hundreds of local officials to commit to effectively ending homelessness among those who've served. Since its launch two years ago, the challenge has done just that in 27 communities across the country, including Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Houston.
These cities have shown that, yes, you can get every last vet into stable housing. Heck, even two states — Virginia and Connecticut — proved it can be done.
A second key factor? Opening the door to homeless vets, so to speak.
Ending veteran homelessness has been a big component of the Obama administration's Opening Doors plan — the federal government's first-ever comprehensive strategy to get a roof over every American's head. Key partnerships within the strategy have helped more than 360,000 vets and their families find housing in the past six years alone, thanks to services from HUD and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.
And a third reason for the big drop? Housing First.
The evidence is mounting (and has been for a while now) that the Housing First approach to homelessness is the way to go. The White House-backed strategy — which provides a person with a home, first and foremost, and then provides helpful services (as opposed to a person obtaining housing only if certain behavioral conditions are met beforehand) — is being adapted by more and more nonprofits and agencies across the country.
It's how Utah was able to get its chronic homelessness rate slashed by more than 90% in just one decade.
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.
Make no mistake: There's still a lot more that needs to get done before we can consider this work a success.
After all, the president failed to reach his original goal, set six years ago, of ending veteran homelessness by 2015. And as the official point-in-time survey found earlier this year, there are still roughly 40,000 vets sleeping on the street in America on any given night — a figure far too high for any of us to feel OK throwing in the towel.
Volunteers count how many people are homeless in Los Angeles. Photo by David McNew/Getty Images.
But still — a 47% drop is no small potatoes.
Seeing dramatic progress on an overwhelming issue is great news. It's even better, however, knowing how we did it.
There was no magic fix. No savior swept in and snapped their fingers. No billionaire sighed, wrote a check, and saved the day.
Our country made huge gains helping the homeless who've served because enough people — from the first lady down to the mayors of small towns everywhere — cared enough to make a difference.
And that's America at its greatest.
An easy, actionable way to let President Trump know you're paying attention.
Put on your active citizen hat because the Department of Housing and Urban Development is seeking public comments on a proposed rule.
First, a little background.
In October 2016, HUD published a final rule, "Equal Access in Accordance with an Individual's Gender Identity in Community Planning and Development Programs."
It ensures people have equal access to HUD programs and shelters funded by HUD's Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) regardless of their gender identity. It's actually an expansion of a 2012 rule that provided equal access to shelters and programs regardless of sexual orientation.
Sounds good so far, right?
A person walking by an East Harlem public housing complex. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.
The rule is great but only if people — especially those seeking emergency shelter or resources — know it exists.
As part of the rule, HUD is proposing owners and operators of CPD-funded buildings, housing units, and shelters post this rule in public places in their facilities (like bulletin boards and in the lobby) where people can see it. HUD would provide the content of the notice and the owners would just have to print it out and post it. HUD estimates the task will take six minutes.
Just print and post. That's what HUD is suggesting. Photo by Newburyport Public Library/Flickr.
Here's where all of us come in. HUD is seeking public comment on four things:
1. Whether the printout is necessary and useful.
2. Whether the six-minute estimate is accurate.
3. How to improve the quality, usefulness, or clarity of the document.
4. How to minimize the burden on people required to print out the document.
If you believe it's a good idea for HUD shelters and housing units to post this information, you can submit your comments electronically or by mail until Feb. 23, 2017.
Think giving feedback on something like this is trivial and unnecessary? Ask the genderqueer teen living on the streets who needs a place to crash and doesn't know if they're welcome at a local emergency shelter. Ask the transgender woman who was worried she'd be denied access to a home-buying program.
It may seem small, but to the individuals and families looking for resources and reassurance, it's significant.
Homeless grandmother Valencia Terrell arrives with her grandchild to stay temporarily at a friend's home in Atlantic City in 2015. Photo by John Moore/Getty Images.
More comments and feedback on the issues and proposed policies let the administration know we are paying attention.
This is only the first week of the new administration, and President Trump and his team have set several potentially devastating plans into motion. There's the unsanctioned gag order at the USDA, the devastating executive action prohibiting U.S. aid groups from funding NGOs that advise on or provide abortions, revival of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines, not the mention the promise to begin moving on his border wall.
President Donald Trump signs one of five executive orders related to the oil pipeline industry. Photo by Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images.
You may not have the time or emotional energy to respond to every issue or proposal and that's OK.
With so much going on, it's easy to get discouraged and zone out. We have to persist. When we stop speaking up, reading, or getting involved, the administration's decisions go ignored and unchecked. There's just too much at stake to risk that.
Pick your issue: write a comment, make a call, attend a town hall, send a letter. Let Congress and Trump know you won't be silenced, bullied, or ignored. They work for us, and it's time they get a reminder.
People listen at a town hall meeting on Latin American and immigration policy in Los Angeles. Photo by David McNew/Getty Images.
Get ready. Your active citizen hat is going to be on for a while.