Veterans Day is a time to thank every man and woman who has served this country in the military. As we honor our veterans, let us pay particular attention to the nearly 200,000 veterans who are homeless on any given night. America's homeless veterans are not a monolithic group - while too many single men sleep on the streets, we are seeing an increase in homelessness among female veterans, many of whom have children living with them. We also see homeless veterans of all different ages - from Vietnam era veterans who are aging to young veterans who have recently returned from Iraq and Afghanistan.
We must set a national goal of ensuring that no new veterans become homeless, while working to provide housing for all veterans who are already homeless. The new Administration should take two early steps to move towards these goals.
First - the President should direct the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration to ensure that nobody is discharged from military service without a place to live, and that every discharged soldier is immediately connected with VA services to meet their needs, including mental health counseling and case management. Second, Congress should swiftly pass the Homes for Heroes Act. This legislation, drafted by President-elect Obama as he served in the Senate, would provide new permanent housing vouchers for disabled homeless veterans, while also establishing a new HUD program to build housing for a broader range of low income veteran families.
Homes for Heroes is non-controversial - it passed the House this year by a vote of 412-9. We urge the House to re-approve the bill early in 2009, and ask that the Senate quickly follow.
We look forward to working with the new Administration to swiftly implement these ideas. Our veterans have protected us - it is time for us to protect them.