Va st. Louis health care system homeless program exceeds goals | va st louis health care | veterans affairs

St. Louis , MO — VA St. Louis Health Care System (VASTLHCS) Homeless Programs, in collaboration with community partners, exceeded local permanent housing targets for area Veterans set by the

Veterans Health Administration Homeless Programs Office. For the second year in a row, St. Louis joined VA homeless programs throughout the United States, exceeding VA Secretary Denis

McDonough's goal of placing 38,000 homeless Veterans into permanent housing. Following up on a strong 2022, more than 40,000 homeless Veterans were housed nationwide, with 2023 results

even better: 46,552 homeless Veterans found housing, exceeding 2023's goal by more than 22 percent. In the St. Louis area, Hope Recovery Center staff assisted 343 Veterans in finding

safe and stable housing, and ensured they remained housed. Just over 95 percent of these Veterans were still housed at the end of the year. And for Veterans who did lose their housing, 94

percent of them were re‐housed or placed on a path to re‐housing through VA services. The Secretary also made it a special priority to increase engagement with unsheltered Veterans in 2023.

By Dec. 31, homeless program team members met with 385 unsheltered St. Louis‐area Veterans, exceeding the initial goal of 290 unsheltered Veterans by more than 133 percent. Shaleen

Robertson, Homeless Program Director at VASTLHCS' Hope Recovery Center, attributes these numbers to many agencies banding together with the one goal of helping the area's

unsheltered Veterans. "None of this would have been possible without commitment and teamwork alongside our talented community partners and the unwavering belief we share that every

Veteran should have a safe place to call home." Robertson explained how the VA St. Louis Homeless Program team took on a substantial increase in their initial target to support other

homeless programs in the region to obtain lower, more manageable targets. “We crushed the increased target and directly supported other homeless programs in the (region) in meeting theirs.

Incredible teamwork.” Robertson said her team doesn’t plan to slow down. "We are so grateful to work with such a supportive Veteran Community." said Robertson. " We look

forward to rising to the challenge again in 2024 to support our Veteran community." Homeless Veterans can contact the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 1‐ 877‐424‐3838) for

assistance.