The homeless population is diverse, 30% of the homeless population are veterans and 20% of those veterans are drug or alcohol dependent studies indicate that up to 1/3 of adult …show more content…
20% of patients in the VA inpatient acute mental health care facilities on a single day were literally homeless and an additional 15% were doubled up temporarily. The average annual cost of healthcare for homeless Veterans is $27,206 or 13.3% higher than costs of care of Veterans who are not homeless. The cause of homelessness among Veterans are similar to cause of homelessness among non-Veterans (interrelated economic and personal factors and shortage of affordable housing). Nearly half a million Veterans pay more than half their income for rent. More than half the Veterans in the U.S. have incomes well below then federal poverty