Homelessness
According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, 32,882 Veterans experienced homelessness in the United States in January 2024, of whom 13,851 were unsheltered. Both numbers were historic lows, capping a 55 percent total decrease in Veteran homelessness since 2010, but VA continues its pursuit of zero homeless Veterans.
HSR’s research program, aligned with its Housing First strategy, continues to look for ways to provide shelter and optimize care for Veterans. Investigations focus on understanding risk factors for homelessness and the impact of homelessness on Veteran health, evaluating care coordination and community care options, and developing and evaluating housing, support, screening, prevention, and other services.
Each section below is populated by a search of the HSR website. Search results are generated based on the search term "Homelessness" . Results are updated as new data are available.
VIEW: Citations | Publication Briefs | Studies | HSR Briefs, Reports, Newsletters | Cyberseminars | Videos | Podcasts | Other Resources
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Citations
(recent HOMELESSNESS publications)
- Skrine Jeffers K, Dzou T, Bilder RM, Mango JD, Pila J, Wells K. Live Opera Performances on Veteran Recovery from Homelessness and Post Traumatic Stress: Post- Discussion Qualitative Analysis. Community mental health journal. 2025 Nov 13 DOI: 10.1007/s10597-025-01532-2.
- Yoon J, Blonigen DM, Tsai J. Use of and Outcomes in Veterans Affairs and Other Hospitals Among Veterans Experiencing Homelessness After Expanded Access. Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.). 2025 Oct 17; appips20250122, DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.20250122.
- McCoy M, Lynch KA, Gabrielian S, Capone-Newton P, Altman L, DeFraites E, Aguilera Nunez MG, Gee G, Hamilton AB, Gelberg L. Encampment Medicine: Innovating Care Delivery in a Community of Tiny Shelters on Veterans Affairs Grounds. Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.). 2025 Oct 1; 76(10):926-929, DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.20240466.
- Yoon J, Wong EP, Weber JJ, Blonigen DM, Tsai J. Implementation of Mobile Medical Units for Veterans Experiencing Homelessness: A Mixed-Methods Study. Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974). 2025 Sep 7; 140(5-6):568-576, DOI: 10.1177/00333549251365173.
- Pocock K, Eisenman D, Kuhn R, Shannon EM. Curbside care in a warming world: street medicine as climate resilience for unhoused communities. Environmental health : a global access science source. 2025 Sep 1; 3(3):DOI 10.1088/2752-5309/adfc04.
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Publication Briefs
(recent HOMELESSNESS Publication Briefs )
- Short-Term Financial Assistance for Veterans Facing Housing Instability Is a Cost-Effective Strategy for Improved Housing Stability and Health-Related Quality of Life
This study used a simulation model to compare the costs, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and days of stable housing over two years for a hypothetical cohort of Veterans enrolled in Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) and experiencing housing insecurity who received temporary financial assistance (TFA) vs. those who did not. Findings showed that compared to SSVF without TFA for all...
Date: November 5, 2024
- VA's Comprehensive Approach to Ending Homelessness Brought Larger Gains than in the General Population
This analysis compared Veteran homelessness to homelessness in the general population during a 16-year study period. Findings showed that over the 13-year active period of Ending Veteran Homelessness initiative, there was a 55% decrease in homelessness among Veterans compared with a 9% decrease among the general population. Interviews with policy leaders suggest that adopting a “Housing First” pol...
Date: January 29, 2024
- Significant Increase in Telehealth for Primary Care among Homeless Veterans Following the Pandemic
This study sought to examine the extent to which homeless-experienced Veterans used telehealth services in primary care – and to characterize users before and after the onset of the pandemic. Findings showed that despite decreased access to health information technology and low pre-pandemic telehealth use, Veterans experiencing homelessness sustained a high use of telehealth in primary care post-p...
Date: January 22, 2024
- Homelessness Associated with Increased Rates of All-Cause Mortality among Veterans with Lung and Colorectal Cancer
This study sought to characterize the diagnosis, treatment, surgical outcomes, and mortality of unhoused compared to housed patients who received care in VA for lung, colorectal cancer (CRC), and breast cancer. Findings showed that homelessness was associated with increased rates of mortality for lung and colorectal cancer, as well as later stage at diagnosis for colorectal cancer. Veterans experi...
Date: December 21, 2023
- Veterans Do Not Always Receive Appropriate Continuation of OUD Medications During Surgical Hospitalizations
This study sought to describe practice patterns of perioperative buprenorphine use within VA – and patient outcomes up to 12 months following surgery. Findings showed that the majority of VA surgical patients in this study who received buprenorphine for opioid use disorder experienced a dose hold at some point during the perioperative period despite a trend in clinical guidelines recommending bupr...
Date: September 20, 2021
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Studies
(recent HOMELESSNESS projects
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| Project No. |
Title |
PI |
Funding End |
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RCS 23-080
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HSR&D Research Career Scientist Award |
Blonigen, Daniel |
2028-09-30 |
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IIR 22-171
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Reducing Evictions, Homelessness, and Poor Health Outcomes Among Washington State Veterans: Integrating Novel State Data into Analytic and Predictive Models of Housing Insecurity |
Zeliadt, Steven |
2028-07-31 |
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IIR 22-204
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Surveillance of Modifiable Social Determinants of Health for Prioritizing Wraparound Supports |
Yu, Hong |
2028-06-30 |
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IIR 19-395
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Impact of Combined Recovery Program and Home Telehealth Among Veterans with substance use disorders in the VA Inpatient Setting |
Santa Ana, Elizabeth |
2026-12-31 |
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IIR 20-040
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Evaluating Health Services for Justice-Involved Veterans to Improve Policy and Practice |
Finlay, Andrea |
2026-12-31 |
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HSR Briefs, Reports, Newsletters
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Cyberseminars
The most recent "Homelessness" seminars are displayed.
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| Date |
Title |
Presenter(s) |
| 5/8/2024 |
Tailoring Evidence Based Addiction Management to Veterans in the Homeless Program
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Ryder, Kathryn
Sonnier, Chava Eve
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| 5/4/2022 |
Innovative Applications of Video Telehealth in Veteran Healthcare: Two Projects
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Zeidler, Michelle
Garvin, Lynn
Sarmiento, Kathleen
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| 4/21/2020 |
Playing Cards and Graphic Medicine: Connecting Veterans to Housing and Mental Health Services through Innovative, Veteran-Facing Products
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Juhasz, Katherine
Bond, Allison
Williams, Elizabeth
Facundo, Ray
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| 2/12/2018 |
They’re Homeless in a Home: Retaining Veterans in VA Supported Housing
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Gabrielian, Sonya
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