{"id":67703,"date":"2017-06-02T13:21:53","date_gmt":"2017-06-02T13:21:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/06\/02\/va-drops-goal-of-zero-homeless-veterans\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:31:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:31:43","slug":"va-drops-goal-of-zero-homeless-veterans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/2017\/06\/02\/va-drops-goal-of-zero-homeless-veterans\/","title":{"rendered":"VA drops goal of zero homeless veterans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The new Veterans Affairs administration is backing off the department\u2019s 7-year-old target of reaching zero homeless veterans across America, but insists they aren\u2019t giving up on the cause. In an interview with Military Times this week, VA Secretary David Shulkin said he no longer sees zero as “the right goal” for his department\u2019s efforts, and instead is focused on cutting the current number of homeless veterans down from about 40,000 to somewhere below 15,000. For the last seven years, VA officials have focused on completely eliminating homelessness among veterans. The original plan was to reach the milestone by the end of 2015. Federal estimates say the number dropped by more than half from 2010 to 2016, but the goal of reaching zero remains far off. “When VA Secretary (Eric) Shinkseki set this (homelessness) goal in 2010, he did the right thing,” Shulkin said. “He set the most ambitious goal and timeline, and I think you need to do that. “But I think what we learned in this situation is that being able to reach zero is not necessarily the right number. There is going to be a functional zero, essentially somewhere around 12,000 to 15,000 that despite being offered options for housing and getting them off the street, there are a number of reasons why people may not choose to do that.“We do have to respect the wishes of people who are adults and able to make their own decisions.”Shulkin\u2019s comments came after his address to the annual National Coalition for Homeless Veterans conference, which brings together hundreds of housing advocates each year to discuss strategies for dealing with issues of mental health care, veterans unemployment and affordable housing. Attendees this year also talked about uncertainty surrounding the effort with the change in White House administrations. President Trump\u2019s fiscal 2018 budget includes boosts in funding to help house veterans but severe cuts in other areas of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Shulkin said he is confident the budget decisions won\u2019t harm the VA\u2019s efforts to continue helping those destitute veterans. “This is going to be a continued commitment,” he said. “The issue of homelessness isn\u2019t solved when you put a person into a home. It\u2019s a constant, vigilant battle to make sure you maintain the conditions for them to maintain housing permanently.”<\/span>He also defended the shift away from the zero target. As recently as last fall, Shulkin\u2019s predecessor \u2014 then-VA Secretary Bob McDonald \u2014 said he was unsure when the VA could reach the zero milestone, but remained fixated on that goal. Shulkin compared the change in philosophy to the VA\u2019s handling of hepatitis C treatments within the department. Although VA officials hope to eliminate the virus in all patients, several thousand veterans have opted to skip treatments in recent years for personal reasons.\u00a0\u00a0