This sample master list is meant to serve as a model for communities following the Alliances “Five Steps to End Veteran Homelessness.” Creating and maintaining a master list of homeless veterans in your community is meant to ensure that service providers and partners that are working together to end veteran homelessness are on the same page and have a clear set of people who require housing. Also included with the sample list are answers to several frequently asked questions.
Category: Veterans
Ending Veteran Homelessness Step Three: Setting Benchmarks
The national goal of ending homelessness among veterans by the end of 2015 is only about seven months away, for those of you keeping track. That’s not a lot of time. So it makes sense for communities like yours who are working toward it to keep track of the pace of their progress.
To reach that ultimate goal in your community, you’re going to need to set and meet benchmarks along the way. That’s why we made step three in our Five Steps to Ending Veteran Homelessness setting a clear numerical goal and timeline for reaching it. This should keep you and your partners focused on your progress and always mindful of how well you are doing.
Veteran Homelessness
This veteran homelessness fact sheet presents information on the number of of veterans experiencing homelessness, the demographics of the population, causes of homelessness among veterans, and federal programs that address the issue.
Here’s One Way You Can Show Support for Ending Veteran Homelessness
Have you heard of the #WithTheseHands campaign? It’s part of a national initiative to raise awareness of the issue of veteran homelessness and the fight to end it. (The campaign takes its name from the final verse of the Bruce Springsteen song, “My City of Ruins.”)
The people behind the campaign are Give US Your Poor, which is a group dedicated to bringing together homeless organizations, celebrity advocates, and people like you to end homelessness. With this latest campaign, they’re using music and art to dispel myths, show support, and foster action on veteran homelessness.
Ending Veteran Homelessness Step One: Creating a Master List
In order to house your homeless veterans in your community, you need to know who they are. That’s why creating a master list of homeless veterans in your community is step one on our Five Steps to Ending Veteran Homelessness. Creating a comprehensive list of homeless veterans in your community may sound daunting, but it could be easier than you think.
With coordinated assessment, regular and continuous outreach, and working with all your partners, your Continuum of Care should be able to create and maintain a list of veterans in your community who need to be housed. Here’s what we say in the 5 Steps.