NLIHC and CBPP Issue New Reports on Veterans’ Housing Needs

NLIHC and the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities each released new reports on the housing needs of veterans. NLIHC’s report, Housing Instability Among Our Nation’s Veterans, explores the issue of housing instability among veteran households. The authors found that 1.5 million veteran households suffered from severe housing cost burden in 2011, spending more than 50% of their income on housing, and that there were significant disparities among veteran households. The CBPP report focuses on the use of rental assistance among veterans and finds that more than 300,000 veterans are recipients of rental assistance nationwide, but many more veterans remain unassisted and in need of housing aid.   NLIHC’s report provides a deeper understanding of the housing needs of veterans by examining several characteristics, including household income, race/ethnicity, family type, service-related disabilities, and period of military service. Data used for the analysis was drawn from 2011 Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) population and housing files of the American Community Survey.   According to the NLIHC report, seven in ten extremely low income (ELI) veteran households were severely cost burdened nationwide in 2011. However, nearly nine in ten ELI households headed by a veteran who served after 9/11 were severely cost burdened. The report also shows that veteran households headed by a racial minority, women, and those with a disability were more likely to be cost burdened than their counterparts. For example, more than half of low income black, non-Hispanic veteran households were cost burdened, compared to 36% of white, non-Hispanic, and 48% of Hispanic veteran households in the same income category. Further, 82% of very low income (VLI) family households headed by a single female were cost burdened, compared to just 59% of married-couple households.   NLIHC also found that the veteran population is changing, with increasing numbers of racial minorities and women, as well as veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan, who have unique needs. NLIHC urges the federal government to focus on preventing homelessness among these populations. One way to help achieve this goal is by funding the National Housing Trust Fund.   CBPP’s report emphasizes the important role of rental assistance in reducing homelessness among veterans. In particular, several studies have found that receiving a voucher through the Department of Housing and Urban Development – Veterans’ Administration Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program reduces the time that a homeless veteran with psychiatric or substance abuse disorders spends on the streets. HUD-VASH vouchers are a component of the larger Housing Choice Voucher Program that targets chronically homeless veterans with disabilities. However, the Housing Choice Voucher Program faces cuts due to sequestration. If funding does not increase for the Housing Choice Voucher program in 2014, an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 veterans could lose access to housing assistance.   CBPP found that a large number of veterans receiving rental assistance are poor, or have incomes below the poverty line. Nearly a third (31%) of assisted veterans resided in households with incomes below the poverty line, and 83% of assisted veterans lived in households below 200% of the poverty line. For these veterans, rental assistance reduces severe hardship, and allows them to direct resources towards food and health care.   The author urges Congress to increase funding for rental assistance, including both the Housing Choice Voucher program, and the HUD-VASH program. The CBPP report also supports reforming the housing finance system in order to fund the National Housing Trust Fund, and establishing a renters’ tax credit to support veterans and other low income people who are homeless or at high risk of homelessness.   NLIHC is grateful to the Home Depot Foundation for its support of NLIHC’s work the housing needs of U.S. veterans. View Housing Instability Among Our Nation’s Veterans at: www.nlihc.org/veterans  View Rental Assistance Helps More Than 300,000 Veterans Afford Homes, but Large Unmet Needs Remain at: http://bit.ly/1dU9JhG