In 2013, the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) and the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness committed to the goal of ending Veteran homelessness in Minnesota as part of Heading Home: Minnesota’s Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. In 2014, MDVA created a dedicated leadership role to support progress on this goal, and developed and launched the Minnesota Homeless Veteran Registry, a vehicle for coordinating with many partners to find the fastest path to housing for every single Veteran facing homelessness. MDVA leveraged its LinkVet hotline, so that anyone can refer a Veteran to join the Registry by calling 888-LinkVet.

Since that time, MDVA and its partners have helped 819 Veterans transition from homelessness to housing. In fact, six of Minnesota’s 10 Continuum of Care regions are approaching an effective end to Veteran homelessness, meaning that those communities have a response to Veteran homelessness that is sufficient to prevent homelessness from happening, whenever possible, and to ensure that homelessness is rare, brief, and nonrecurring, when it does happen. Since 2010, Veteran homelessness has dropped statewide by 57 percent.

But there is more work to do. The progress across the state confirms that creating communities where Veteran homelessness is a thing of the past is not a “one-and-done” mission. It is a continuing mission, responding to changing needs, refining how Veterans are identified when facing housing crises, and rapidly connecting those Veterans with resources that can help. Creating communities that end Veteran homelessness truly requires community. It requires not only the Veteran-specific organizations and agencies, but a wide range of partners to be united in the belief that one Veteran without a place to call home is too many, and to act on that belief.

This kind of community commitment was on display on December 14, 2016, as many community members in St. Cloud attended the grand opening of Linden Grove Veterans Apartments. Located on the St. Cloud VA Medical Center campus, this apartment building is already providing supportive housing to 37 Veterans and their families. Several of these Veterans had been seeking a housing option for months or even years before Linden Grove opened. The packed room for the grand opening ceremony demonstrates what an engaged, community response to Veteran homelessness looks like, with representatives of Veteran organizations, volunteers, elected officials, funders, community members, and Veteran residents all united in creating that shared commitment in wood and brick.

We are on our way to achieve that same level of success across the state, through engaged partnerships and steadfast focus. To get connected in your local community’s efforts to end Veteran homelessness, please reach out to your County Veteran Service Officer, or contact MDVA’s new Homeless Veteran Coordinator, Ben Wilson, at ben.wilson@state.mn.us or (651) 201-8230. We thank you for your partnership on this urgent and ongoing mission.