For the last few years, Boston has been trying to do what a few other big cities already have: Effectively wipe out homelessness among veterans living there. And so far, they've made incredible strides.
Since July 2014, the Boston Homes for the Brave initiative has put more than 530 homeless veterans who were previously relying on emergency shelters into permanent housing, according to a report from public radio station WBUR. By the city's count, that leaves some 79 veterans still without homes, and of that group 25 have to be considered "chronically homeless," mostly due to mental illness or problems with addiction.
"Homeless vets are coming into the system basically one per day," Sheila Dillon, director of the city's Department of Neighborhood Development, told the station. "So our goal is to meet them at the door, find out what they need, and then get them back on track as quickly as possible."
This is a problem that many local governments are now starting to tackle in earnest, but there are still some 50,000 homeless veterans nationwide who remain in need of plenty of help. However, many organizations – governmental or otherwise – now exist to provide assistance to veterans in need.