Over the past several years, state and federal lawmakers nationwide have focused their attention on trying to end the scourge of veteran homelessness.
And while recent data suggests the Obama administration got only halfway toward that goal, the fact is that thousands of veterans are now off the streets.
Since 2010, when the efforts were first unveiled, the number of homeless vets across the country is down 47 percent, but that still leaves about 40,000 homeless on any given night.
That includes 13,000 or so who actually live on the streets, though even that latter number is down 56 percent.
The government continues to say that its goal is to reduce veteran homelessness to zero, though it’s now more difficult to predict when that will actually happen.
However, any efforts to help veterans when they run into difficult situations like homelessness will likely go a long way toward improving individuals’ lives.