Santa Clara County’s homeless veterans population has hit a milestone: the numbers have dropped to their lowest level since tracking began 20 years ago.
There are 378 veterans who are homeless, with 298 unsheltered and 80 who are sheltered, according to the point-in-time count conducted in January. That’s a 21% decrease from the 479 homeless veterans from two years ago. The number of homeless veterans has been trending down since 2023 after fluctuating around the 600s and 700s for the past decade. The county had the highest count at 1,195 in 2005, according to the earliest data available.
In the past year, 264 veterans were placed into permanent housing, while 149 were assessed for housing, according to data provided by the county.
“Because of the efforts of multiple agencies and the resources we have available for veterans, we consistently are housing more veterans every month than are becoming homeless,” Santa Clara County Office of Supportive Housing Director Kathryn Kaminski told San José Spotlight.
This is described as “functional zero” for homeless veterans, a trend seen in the county since 2020.
There has been a concerted effort to house veterans since 2015, when nonprofit Destination: Home launched the “All the Way Home” campaign and brought together the office of supportive housing, the Santa Clara County Housing Authority, Veterans Administration and other stakeholders to end veteran homelessness. Since then, 3,230 veterans have been permanently housed in the region, according to county data.
Veterans face unique challenges that lead to homelessness, according to the homeless census report prepared for the county. These challenges include high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, substance use and more, which can hinder veterans from functioning at their highest level. The primary reason for homelessness is job loss, with 24% of veterans in the county stating that reason.
Family issues are the second highest reason for homelessness, at 22%, followed by health-related issues, at 16%. Ten percent of veterans state alcohol or drug use as a reason for their homelessness, according to the report.
Veteran Hank Provost thinks there are more homeless vets than who was counted. Provost was living at the veteran’s homeless shelter at 10 Kirk Ave. in East San Jose, but he and a handful of veterans were moved to a hotel in February so the county could renovate the aging building.
The county purchased the facility in November 2023 for $14.5 million. It also switched service providers from the Homeless Veterans Emergency Housing Facility, a nonprofit led by CEO Irvin Goodwin, to Abode Services. The 4.26-acre complex is made up of eight, single-story buildings with the capacity to house 150 veterans, but there were only about a dozen veterans onsite at the beginning of the year due to the switch in providers.
The county recently completed renovations on two of the buildings, providing about 30 shelter beds for veterans. But Provost said Abode has not provided them any information about when he and the others at the hotel can move back in.
Kaminski said the two renovated buildings at the veterans facility are nearly full since the reopening.
“Staff will be working with residents in the coming weeks on options for returning to 10 Kirk,” she told San José Spotlight.
The county also plans to renovate a couple more buildings, including the community building. The long-term plan includes redeveloping the property, and community engagement is underway to determine what will go on the site, Kaminski said. The county will likely build permanent housing for veterans there.
Provost said it would be hard to estimate the true number of homeless veterans without having the facility operating at full capacity, as the local U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs office would often place homeless veterans at 10 Kirk Ave. He also said when Goodwin ran the facility, he sent people out to look for homeless veterans.
“Irvin made an aggressive effort to find veterans on the streets. We used to go out in the street and hunt for them,” Provost told San José Spotlight. “You have to go out and seek out those veterans. Because there’s pockets (of homeless veterans) all over the place.”
While officials recognize the point-in-time count has its limitations, the county’s focus on housing those who served has cut the number by nearly half since 2015, when there were 703 homeless veterans.
Provost has also noticed an improvement in how Veterans Affairs assists people with getting into the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program (HUD-VASH), or housing vouchers specifically for veterans. He now has a housing specialist who can take him apartment hunting.
“Just from what I’m seeing, they are pretty aggressive on getting people on HUD-VASH,” Provost said. “A lot of people who are homeless don’t have cars so (it’s) really kind of hard to find a place.”
Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected] or @joyce_speaks on X.