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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Maria Elena Baca, Hennepin County, 612-423-9614
 Hennepin County and our partners are housing and helping veterans overcome homelessness at a higher rate than veterans are coming into the homelessness system.
As a result, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have certified that we effectively ended homelessness among veterans in Minnesota’s largest county.
“Hennepin County is one of the most populous counties in the country to achieve an effective end to veteran homelessness,” said USICH Executive Director Jeff Olivet. “Hennepin County’s efforts are a case study in successful homelessness policy, and we encourage other communities to follow in their footsteps as we work together to ensure every veteran has a home.”
How our system works
Hennepin County’s veteran homelessness response system quickly identifies and engages veterans experiencing homelessness and connects them with housing and resources that will help them stay housed, such as health care and employment assistance.
This important milestone is the result of many years of collaboration among our dedicated staff and partners, and support from Hennepin County’s board of commissioners.
“Hennepin County is proud of our work to reach this milestone of effectively ending veteran homelessness,” said Hennepin County Board Chair Irene Fernando. “By using a holistic approach and by identifying veterans as a priority population, we are succeeding in a housing-first methodology. I’m very grateful to the staff that worked to create and implement Hennepin’s plan, and I look forward to expanding our work to make homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring.”
As of September 30, 2024, 69 veterans are experiencing homelessness in Hennepin County, five of whom are unsheltered. That number is down from 167 veterans experiencing homelessness in August 2023. The county is home to 48,410 veterans, one-sixth of the state’s veteran population.
Hennepin County and our partners have implemented systems to ensure that veteran homelessness is rare, brief, and nonrecurring. Effectively ending veteran homelessness does not mean veterans do not experience homelessness, but when veterans do experience homelessness, our system is prepared to quickly respond and move people back into permanent housing in less than 90 days on average.
“We approach veteran homelessness from many angles,” said Neil Doyle, director of Hennepin County Veterans Services. “Today’s achievement celebrates the challenging and compassionate work our staff and partners do every day. We are committed to continuing this important work, because even one veteran without housing is one too many.”
Meet Alyssa Koeppen, a Navy veteran, who had help getting an apartment from Hennepin County. See Alyssa's story.
An ongoing commitment to veterans
Hennepin County is committed to maintaining this status. We are taking what we have learned from this work and applying these lessons elsewhere in the homeless response system. We will continue to invest, develop, implement and partner on this important work so any veteran experiencing or at risk of homelessness gets the resources they need to maintain or attain housing.
Achieving this designation, along with the advocacy and support we offer to veterans every day, illustrates our ongoing commitment to veterans and their families. In 2021, Hennepin County received Beyond the Yellow Ribbon designation, which is awarded to organizations that have committed to improve the well-being of veterans and their families.
“What we’ve collectively accomplished in Hennepin County is representative what it takes to end veteran homelessness,” said VA Chief of Staff Margaret Kabat. “VA is committed to ensuring that every veteran in this region – and across the nation – has access to the resources they need to have a safe, stable, and affordable home of their own.”
“You do not achieve something of this magnitude without serious, dedicated partnership, and persistence,” said Dominique Blom, General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “We applaud all those in Hennepin County who worked to effectively address homelessness so that our veterans, who have given so much to this country, have places to call home.”
Help is available for veterans in Hennepin County
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Look for more news on the Hennepin County website at hennepin.us/news.
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