If you want to know whether Housing First really works, look at what happened with our veterans. It’s the closest thing we have to a real-world test, and the results are hard to argue with.
What began as a pilot program in 1992 and expanded massively in 2008 changed the way we support unhoused veterans. Instead of asking veterans to “get better” before they could earn a home, we implemented a Housing First approach, housing them first, then bringing services to keep them housed. The program is called HUD-VASH. It pairs a housing voucher from HUD with support and case management from the VA, and it doesn’t require our veterans to be sober or in treatment to qualify, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Healthcare, mental health treatment, and substance abuse disorder counseling are all supported through the V.A. after the veteran is housed.
The idea is simple: start with a roof, and the support needed gets more consistent and more approachable for both the veteran and the service provider. Those who are housed first don’t have to worry about where they’ll sleep, how to sleep safely, or how to keep themselves sheltered. The focus can then turn to working on themselves and the causes that led them to become unhoused.
What Happened With a Housing First Approach?
The number of unhoused veterans has dropped 55.6% since 2010, according to the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. In addition, the numbers are continuing to trend downward. On a single night in early 2024, about 32,882 veterans were homeless, down from 35,574 the year before, according to the same council.
Systems Make the Difference
In some places, the problem has basically been solved. As of October 2024, three states, Connecticut, Delaware, and Virginia, plus 85 communities had announced they’d effectively ended veteran homelessness, according to the VA. These communities built a system that houses those veterans who need it, spots those at risk of becoming unhoused again, and gets them back into a home fast. In the communities that have implemented these systems, homelessness is rare and brief instead of a way of life.
That’s what veterans taught us: when we commit to housing them first and actually fund it, homelessness goes down. It isn’t a mystery or a miracle. It’s a method, and we’ve watched it work in real cities, with real people.
Which raises an obvious question, and it’s the one we’ll take on next: if this works so well for veterans, why not for everyone? The answer starts with clearing up the biggest myth about why people lose their housing in the first place. Housing is the answer, and we’ll get to that myth in the next post, It’s Not Addiction, It’s Rent: The Real Cause of Homelessness.
Other Posts in the Housing First Series:
Housing First, Explained: The Simple Idea That Stability Starts With a Home
What The Research Actually Shows About Housing First
Sources
1. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “What Is HUD-VASH, and How Does It Help Homeless Veterans?” VA Homeless Programs. va.gov
2. U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), news release, November 11, 2024. usich.gov
3. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “Achieving an Effective End to Veteran Homelessness,” VA Homeless Programs (data as of October 2024). va.gov
