Fewer than 2% of people experiencing homelessness in New York are veterans, according to a 2025 report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
That percentage is low compared with most of the nation, but it still amounted to more than 1,200 veterans without homes in the state.
For many, the battle does not end with deployment.
“Servicemembers coming home almost don’t speak the same language as people who live here every day. It’s very hard for them to get networked and to find good people to help them out,” said Navy veteran Bernard Saberon.
Saberon was experiencing homelessness about a year and a half ago. Then he connected with the Oneonta Veterans Outreach Center.
“The housing crisis here is very evident,” said case manager Kerri Lincoln.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which also works to support veterans, says on its website that homelessness is the result of “a perfect storm where personal struggles collide with inadequate resources that haven’t provided the support needed.”
In New York, that struggle is complicated by the state’s geography. Solutions that work in an urban area may not work in a rural one.
Lincoln said transportation is often the biggest barrier. Many unhoused veterans don’t have a vehicle, she said, so even when affordable housing is available in rural communities outside Oneonta, placing clients there can cut them off from the services they need.
But organizations like the Oneonta Veterans Outreach Center are working to bridge those gaps — and data shows they’re making progress. According to a 2023 report from the state Comptroller’s Office, veteran homelessness in New York fell 83% between 2010 and 2022.
Saberon said that with his case worker’s help, he now has a home, an income, a new car and a new outlook.
“Before, I was very introverted. I couldn’t speak to people or look at too many. I couldn’t even fill out a form. I had really hit a bottom. And it really wasn’t for drinking or anything else like that, just psychologically of being poor and being homeless and what it does to a person,” Saberon said. “And that all turned around when I came to the vet center here. This really gives veterans all a place to be together and be in community.”