Statistics
Statistics on Homeless Veterans In The US:
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There are a variety of reasons for such a large percentage of homeless being veterans. Studies show that the veteran population is 2x more likely to become chronically homeless than other American groups. There are many reasons veterans make up such a large percentage of the homeless population. Contributing factors include long periods of unemployment, foreclosure, mental illness, and poverty.
Here are some numbers to back up the contributing factors:
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Over 968,000 veterans lived in poverty in the last year.
20,000 veterans with government sponsored mortgages lost their homes in 2010.
76% of homeless veterans experience alcohol, drug, or mental health issues.
30.2% of veterans ages 18-24 are unemployed.
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It's easy to jump to conclusions, but we shouldn't. Here is some surprising information about homeless veterans:
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89% received an honorable discharge.
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67% served 3 years or more.
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47% are Vietnam veterans 15% served before Vietnam
5.5% are Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
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Almost 9 out of 10 received an honorable discharge.
2 out of 3 served at least 3 years. Those stats should be enough to know these veterans did their job honorably and likely performed at a reasonably high level.
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11% of the homeless adult population are veterans
20% of the male homeless population are veterans
68% reside in principal cities
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32% reside in suburban/rural areas
51% of individual homeless veterans have disabilities
50% have serious mental illness
70% have substance abuse problems
57% are white males, compared to 38% of non-veterans
50% are age 51 or older, compared to 19% non-veterans
Statistics on Homeless Veterans In Georgia:
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Nationally, the veteran population includes 18.8 million men and women who have served in active duty — there are more than 641,267 veterans in the state of Georgia, according to the U.S. Census of November 10, 2016.
The Atlanta City Council had voted to authorize Invest Atlanta to issue a $26 million Homeless Opportunity Bond to be matched by a $25 million gift from the United Way of Greater Atlanta. The Atlanta City Council also authorized the adoption of a five-year strategic plan to permanently house all homeless individuals in the city.
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US Poverty:
In 2016, 40.6 million people lived in Poverty USA. That means the poverty rate for 2016 was 12.7%.
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In 2016, the poverty rate for people living with a disability was 21.0%. That's more than 4 million people living with a disability—in poverty.
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In 2016, 21.2% of all children (15.3 million kids) lived in Poverty USA—that's almost 1 in every 5 children.
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In 2014, the National Center on Family Homelessness analyzed state-level data and found that nationwide, 2.5 million children experience homelessness in a year.
Though the official census data gives seniors a 2016 poverty rate of only 9.3%, the Supplemental Poverty Measure, which accounts for expenses such as the rising costs of health care, raises the senior poverty rate to 14.5%. Poverty thresholds are determined by the US government, and vary according to the size of a family, and the ages of its members.
In 2016, the poverty threshold also known as the poverty line for an individual was $12,228. For two people, the weighted average threshold was $15,569.
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In 2016, an estimated 74.8% of men with earnings and 62.2% of women with earnings worked full time, year-round.
However, in 2016, the earnings of women who worked full time, year-round were only 80.5% of that for men working full time, year-round.
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