LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Homelessness among veterans is up 7% nationwide, according to officials from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The problem here is getting worse but the VA has big goals in 2024 and looking to help people like Ray Allord. He tells me he is a Navy veteran and has been working to get back on his feet.
"I am looking for housing," he told me.
I asked him when he first experienced homelessness.
"It was a two-year hitch. Back then, I was allowed to grow my beard," Allord said.
Allord is staying at the Salvation Army at night but thinks more can be done to help all homeless vets get off the streets.
"Find other programs to assist with rent and furniture," he explained. "A bigger shelter for the homeless veterans here."
The homeless veteran population is a problem with no easy solution. According to the VA, 6% to 9% of the valley's homeless population are veterans, which is around 900 people.
"In Las Vegas, for example, there has been a 60% increase," said Tanya Bradsher, Deputy Secretary of the VA.
On Friday, Bradsher said the agency's goal is to help those 900 veterans finding housing this year.
"It is going to take community, going to take partnership and it is going to take an aggressive workforce," Bradsher said.
A new tool the agency plans on using is a mobile VA medical unit, one of just 25 in the nation. In just weeks, it will take medical help and resources to vets on the streets.
"I'd like to see this dealt with," Allord told me.
With rising inflation and the cost of living, Allord said he and many others are feeling the pain.
"It is expensive to live in Las Vegas."
