How a Historic Crisis in Benefits Fueled Homelessness and What the VA Did to Fix It
Veteran homelessness is intrinsically linked to conflict-related disabilities, and all former soldiers face falling into dire straits as a result. Learn more about how 2024 turned out a record-high disability claim backlog and what government leaders did to reduce that record by 44% in just under a year.
Sleeping on the Streets in a Wheelchair is What Patriotism Looks Like in America
Hollywood Blvd. is a bustling tourist destination that draws in almost 10 million people yearly, but not everyone on the Blvd. is enjoying the Walk of Fame.
In December 2015, Invisible People reporters shuffled past several unsheltered homeless people who slept on those star-studded streets. One of them was Douglas, a wheelchair-bound veteran with a warm, easy smile and a story to tell. He was already missing one leg and suffering cellulitis in the other.
Douglas didn’t dwell on his time in the military, nor did he lament over losing a limb. Rather, he described himself as an avid patriot, despite the fact that he had been sleeping outside for eight months and had been recently robbed before the interview.
“I love my country. I’m a patriot,” Douglas proudly proclaimed from his wheelchair.
This is the way our country treats its soldiers once they’re deemed too damaged to benefit the war machine. And while it has been this way for centuries, there has been a subtle, rarely spoken of shift in the number and severity of disabilities.
Post 2001 Veterans Suffer Higher Rates of Disabilities and Their Disabilities Are More Severe
Studies show that veterans who were on active duty after 2001 incurred disabilities at higher rates than soldiers who served in all the US’ previous wars. Not only were these disabilities more severe, but they were also more abundant.
We have spoken at length about how this statistic alone puts young veterans at an even higher risk of homelessness. But other issues tie into the problem and exacerbate veteran homelessness as well, and one of them is a backlog of disability claims.
Backlogs in Disability Claims Adversely Affect Disabled Homeless Veterans of All Ages
Disability benefits are a vital resource for preventing and reducing veteran homelessness. When disability claims are addressed, former members of the US military enjoy access to some or all of the following:
- Affordable housing
- Employment and education opportunities
- Supportive services
- Financial assistance
- Mental health services
- Community resources and much more
These are all pathways to permanent housing solutions. However, when backlogs in disability claims overwhelm the system, this causes obstacles for all veterans on that waitlist, regardless of their age. It also serves as a shining example of how new problems have consequences for older veterans as each generation touches the next.
When we entered 2024, the backlog of veteran disabilities hit a decade-long high, and our country was inundated with veteran homelessness. The streets became a dismal landscape dotted with makeshift shelters and tattered American flags as 417,855 veteran disability claims slipped through the cracks. Experts claim the backlog spawned from the following factors:
- COVID-19 shutdowns and stalled processing
- Inability to keep up with the ever-changing digital system – A snail’s paced conversion into the digital realm hindered efforts as paperwork was replaced with computer-operated systems
- Increased number of claims in general
- Outdated Veterans Benefits Management System
- High staff turnover rates and more
Probably the most ruinous of these was the increased number of general disability claims which peaked at over a million in November 2023 and stood firmly at 1,096,839 as we edged into 2024. Imagine a million human beings who fought under a banner called human rights and returned home disabled only to be denied the most basic civil liberties.
“It really is frustrating for them. They are in and out of the crisis center putting their lives on hold, and the claims process is unfathomably slow,” said Mobile Crisis Supervisor Bruce Lockett in an interview with Invisible People reporters.
The Good News: The Backlog Has Been Drastically Reduced
As it turns out, there is still a light at the end of the tunnel. In an unexpectedly timely fashion, the VA rectified the problem and reduced the disability backlog by 44% in under a year. They also developed an initiative to process all claims within a 125-day window and at an enhanced level of accuracy.
They strive for a 98% accuracy level or better and claim that the switch from paper to digital was ultimately a sweeping success. Incidentally, at around the same time, veteran homelessness began trending downward once more. This is evidence that when we prioritize a problem and take the necessary steps toward solving it, we can succeed.
We Can End Homelessness in All of Its Various Forms. Remind Your Local Legislators.
Here, we see how problems are solved by addressing their root cause and implementing innovative solutions. We must now take that same approach and apply it on a broader scale.
We must end homelessness by addressing the leading cause, which continues to be a lack of affordable housing. Contact your local legislators today and ask them why so many former soldiers are still living outside on the streets or sharing cramped spaces in unsafe shelters all across the country they vowed to protect.
