Decrease in homeless veterans in Hillsborough exceeds nation

The drop in the number of homeless veterans in Hillsborough County is even more dramatic than across the rest of the nation.

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Tuesday that the number of homeless veterans around the nation fell nearly 12 percent between January 2010 and January 2011.

In Hillsborough County, although the number of all homeless has nearly doubled since 2009, the number of homeless veterans has declined by nearly half, according to Rayme L. Nuckles, chief executive officer of the Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County.

Since 2005, the coalition has taken a count of the homeless in the county every other year. In 2009, more than 9,500 homeless people were counted in the county, more than 1,600 of whom identified themselves as veterans.

In the latest survey, conducted earlier this year, the number of homeless had jumped to more than 17,000, Rayme said, but those identifying themselves as veterans dropped to just below 900.

Nuckles attributed the large drop in homeless veterans in Hillsborough County to a number of factors. In addition to programs aimed at helping veterans, he said, the coalition suspects underreporting by the homeless veterans. Also, some local homeless support agencies have not collected data about veteran status, he said.

Despite those concerns, Rayme said there is good news.

"I think we have some underreporting in the community," Rayme said, "but there are good programs we are engaged in and the veterans are accessing those services."

The county, Rayme said, has a Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program that has helped veterans find housing. The Tampa Housing Authority has been part of the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program, which has enabled the authority to provide vouchers for veterans to use to obtain housing. Last year, the authority received 175 of those vouchers, he said.

Another program, called Outreach For Life, has a mobile medical van that reaches homeless veterans on the street.

The coalition also is taking part in a federal Veterans Homeless Prevention Demonstration Grant program. That went online earlier this year, after the most recent homeless count, so its impact has yet to be registered, Rayme said.

Nationally, more than 67,000 veterans were homeless in the United States on a single night in January 2011, according to the VA, down from last year's single night count of more than 76,000.

Since 2009, working with more than 4,000 community agencies, the VA and Department of Housing and Urban Development have housed more than 33,000 veterans in permanent housing with dedicated case managers and access to VA health care, according to the administration.

Not all the news is positive, however.

The problem of homeless women veterans is still acute, according to Tampa Crossroads, and homeless advocates say the numbers may increase as troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan.

"It's important to note that there are still veterans returning who will be in need of services," Rayme said.