SALEM, Va. – Thanks to the Salem Homeless Program, 125 veterans now have permanent homes, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
In the announcement made on Monday, officials said Virginia’s nationwide goal was to house 38,000 veterans experiencing homelessness in 2022 and that the Salem Homeless Program exceeded the goal by providing 125 permanent housing placements to veterans experiencing homelessness.
Salem’s program registered a placement rate of 121%, officials said. Across the nation, 40,401 veterans were housed, exceeding the national goal by 6.3%, according to the release.
“This goal was achieved through the hard work and dedication of our homeless program staff, our grantees, contractors and the extraordinary contributions of community partners,” said Rebecca Stackhouse, Salem VA HCS Executive Director. “The progress we’re seeing with Veteran homelessness shows we have the right solutions to end homelessness for Veterans. We are very fortunate to have an outstanding team that is laser-focused on the mission and that truly puts Veterans first.”
Those permanent housing placements included apartments or houses veterans could rent or own, with what officials said often came with a subsidy to help make housing more affordable.
Some veterans were even reunited with family and friends because of VA staff, the release said.
Officials said the estimated number of veterans without permanent homes has declined by 55.3% since 2010.