Exciting news! City and state officials recently announced they will aim to end veteran homelessness in Minnesota this year. With about 350 homeless veterans counted in the entire state last year, it is an attainable goal.
Liz Kuoppala, Executive Director of the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, stated:
“We applaud the commitment to ending veteran homelessness in our state. There is an increasing recognition across Minnesota that stable housing is the foundation for reaching broader goals–in education, health, and economic development. We know family and youth homelessness can be sharply reduced as well.”
The number of homeless veterans in St. Paul and Minneapolis has been reduced by half since 2009. Phoenix and Salt Lake City were the first cities to end veteran homelessness; Minnesota is poised to be the first state to end veteran homelessness. Ending homelessness is not only possible, it’s in our near future.
The Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless will be working with Homes for All to invest $100 million in bonds for housing this session. Investments would be used to build, rehab, and preserve affordable housing units across the state.