Oregon — The Department of Veterans Affairs says it permanently housed 51,936 homeless Veterans nationwide in fiscal year 2025, the highest number recorded since VA began tracking individual Veterans housed seven years ago.
The total represents 4,011 more Veterans housed than in 2024 and includes 1,027 Veterans who secured permanent housing through the VA Portland Health Care System, which serves Veterans in northwest Oregon and southwest Washington.
VA officials say the numbers reflect a more accurate picture of progress because, since 2022, the agency has tracked “unique Veterans housed” rather than total housing placements, which could previously count the same person multiple times. When that method is applied retroactively, the 2025 results mark VA’s strongest year since 2019.
Under the updated metric, VA reports the following nationwide counts of unique Veterans being permanently housed:
2025: 51,936
2024: 47,925
2023: 46,051
2022: 39,868
2021: 38,401
2020: 44,048
2019: 48,133
In May 2025, VA launched its “Getting Veterans Off the Street” initiative, which required every VA health care system in the country to hold focused outreach surge events. Teams sought out unsheltered Veterans and offered immediate access to emergency or transitional housing, permanent housing programs, health care, behavioral health services, and VA benefits. According to VA, that effort helped move 25,065 unsheltered Veterans into interim or permanent housing.
“This is life-changing and in many cases life-saving work,” said Karla Azcuy, Director of the VA Portland Health Care System. “We are proud of the progress VA Portland Health Care System is making to get Veterans off the streets and are redoubling our efforts to continue this momentum moving forward.”
These efforts are aligned with President Trump’s May executive order establishing a National Center for Warrior Independence for Homeless Veterans on the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center campus. That center is intended to provide housing and support services for up to 6,000 homeless Veterans from across the country by 2028.
Day to day, VA staff and community partners help Veterans secure permanent housing, often in apartments or homes supported by rent subsidies. In some cases, the agency says, the path out of homelessness involves reconnecting Veterans with family or friends who can provide a stable place to live.
Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness can call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-4AID-VET (877-424-3838) or visit VA.gov/homeless for more information about housing programs and support services.
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