A new report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development found that veteran homelessness has decreased by 24 percent since 2010, a much higher drop than the mere 6 percent decrease of overall homelessness. There were nearly 58,000 homeless veterans in January 2013, with 60 percent of them staying in shelters or transitional housing programs. Only about 4,400 of the homeless veterans were women.
"We are on track in the fight to end homelessness among veterans" Secretary of Veteran Affairs Eric Shinseki said in a statement. "While this trend is encouraging news, we know that there is more work to do."
The Department of Veterans Affairs has been working to end veteran homelessness by 2015 through various programs. According to The Washington Post, the VA partnered with HUD to issue $70 million in grants for clinical services, case management and rental assistance for veterans. This week, the department also announced that $14 million in funding has been put toward renovating shelter for homeless veterans, as well as transportation services and funding for special groups, such as the elderly and mentally ill.