Thought Leadership

The Hill, April 15, 2020 In Pursuit of Housing that Works Harder for Veterans (continued)

5. Employ veterans in your ranks. Where there is a position for which a vet is qualified, it is in everyone’s best interest to give the candidate a shot. Our military members are trained and dedicated. A Pew Research Center report finds vets of service in the post-9/11 era credit their military experience as useful in finding jobs outside the military. The report also found that “today’s veterans of prime working age generally fare at least as well in the U.S. job market as non-veterans, though there are some differences in the work they do and in which industries.”

services saves time and resources. Successful resident service providers put in the time to get to know residents and their needs. For example, a recent study found that returning veterans often can secure food and health care but need legal assistance to fight evictions, receive an accurate military discharge status or restore a driver’s license. 4. Help dispel falsehoods about veteran tenancy. While many veterans do need help navigating the affordable housing system, once stably housed, they tend to stay. The HUD-VASH study analyzes how veterans moved through the program from homelessness to stable housing and why they exit the program. Approximately one-half of veterans remained in VASH housing for at least one year, and approximately two-thirds of those who left the program moved into independent housing. A later study found that 93 percent of a sample of veterans remained in VASH housing for a year.