The Economic Consequences of Homelessness in The US

5National 1National Estimates
Homeless Veterans
Homelessness in the United States
Data source: PIT 2009–2017
EXHIBIT 5.1: PIT Estimates of
Homeless Veterans
By Sheltered Status, 2009–2017
73,367 74,087
43,409 43,437
65,455
40,033
60,579
55,619
49,689
29,958 30,650
25,422 25,436
35,143 34,909
32,119
47,725
39,471
40,056
households without children who were white
(52%). One-third of veterans experiencing
homelessness were African American, and five
percent were multiracial.
• Veterans experiencing homelessness were
nearly half as likely to be Hispanic as
individuals experiencing homelessness (10%
compared to 19%) and less than half as likely
as all people experiencing homelessness (10%
compared to 22%).
20,710
17,570
31,505
16,220
26,404
13,067
24,690
15,366
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Homeless Veterans
Sheltered Veterans
Unsheltered Veterans
On a Single Night in January 2017
• 40,056 veterans were experiencing
homelessness in the U.S., just over nine percent
80000
of all homeless adults.
70000 • Three in five homeless veterans (62% or 24,690
veterans) were staying in emergency shelters
60000 or transitional housing programs, while two
50000 in five (38% or 15,366 veterans) were found in
places not suitable for human habitation.
40000 • Almost all veterans were experiencing
30000
homelessness in households without children
(98% or 39,101 veterans). About two percent
20000 (955) were veterans who were homeless as
part of a family.
10000
Demographic Characteristics
• Nine in ten veterans experiencing
homelessness were men (91% or 36,302
veterans).
• Nearly six in ten veterans experiencing
homelessness (57%) were white, higher
than the percent of all people experiencing
homelessness who were white (47%), and
slightly higher than the percentage of people in
Since 2016
• The number of homeless veterans increased by
585 people between 2016 and 2017.
• This 2016-2017 increase was driven entirely
by an 18 percent increase in the number
of veterans experiencing homelessness in
unsheltered places (2,299 more veterans).
Partly offsetting the increase in unsheltered
veterans, the number of sheltered veterans
decreased by 1,714 people (or 7%).
• The number of homeless veterans who were
women increased by seven percent (243
additional female veterans), and the number
of veterans who were men increased by one
percent (347 additional male veterans). These
increases were driven by increases in the
unsheltered population for both genders.
• The number of veterans who were Hispanic
increased between 2016 and 2017, by 586
people (or 17%). Hispanic veterans comprise 10
percent of all homeless veterans and 15 percent
of unsheltered veterans, up from 9 percent and
13 percent in 2016.
• Increases among veterans experiencing
homelessness were due entirely to increases
among veterans in households without children.
The number of veterans in families declined
overall (by 16%), among sheltered veterans (by
11%) and unsheltered veterans (by 29%).
52