The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that 40,056 veterans are homeless on any given night. Despite making up only 6.2% of the U.S. population, veterans make up about 13% of homeless people.
The nonprofit Mission Roll Call aims to address issues affecting veterans across the US, including homelessness, post-traumatic stress disorder, and the difficult transition to civilian life.
Mission Roll Call surveys its veteran membership across the country to get data that directly reflects veterans’ opinions on policy issues like homelessness. In its most recent survey, 90.75% of veterans answered “no” to the question, “Do you think enough is being done to address veteran homelessness?”
“We know that at this very moment, there are thousands of veterans experiencing homelessness,” Mission Roll Call CEO and retired Army Lt. Col. Jim Whaley said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
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Retired Army Lt. Col. Jim Whaley salutes at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Memorial Day last month. (Mission roll call)
“Every night, between 40,000 and 50,000 people could be homeless. These are staggering figures. It’s a disgrace for a country like ours and it needs to be addressed.”
Whaley also received the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Assault Medal and the Humanitarian Service Medal.
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Whaley said he believes helping veterans needs to start early.
“The other challenge with homelessness is, if you start from the beginning, you’ll find that 24 percent of active duty military, I repeat 24 percent, almost a quarter of all active duty military, have food insecurity issues.”
“These are not statistics from the MRC. They come from a Department of Defense report. Clearly, we are not paying our active duty military, especially our junior soldiers, the pay they need to live and thrive. This is shameful.”
Veterans come together for a Stand Down event designed to support homeless and housing unstable veterans in Chicago. The biannual event connects veterans with services to provide housing for them. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
While the VA housed more than 46,000 veterans in 2023, organizations like Mission Roll Call are trying to draw attention to homeless veterans who have fallen through the gaps in government assistance.
“It is a tragedy when even one veteran becomes homeless. We have made progress in recent years toward solving this issue, but we still have a long way to go,” a VA spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
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If you or someone you know is a veteran experiencing homelessness, the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 877-424-3838.
