Six years ago the federal government embarked on a plan to end homelessness among veterans by 2015. This goal is yet to be achieved, but the number of homeless vets in the U.S. has been cut by more than a third. Last year, Montgomery County announced it had hit what experts call “functional zero” – that is, the county is able to house the six military veterans who become homeless in an average month. How did Montgomery County accomplish this feat? Can lessons learned there be applied to other places, or other homeless populations? We look at efforts across Maryland to make homelessness rare and brief, and to provide permanent homes for veterans.
Our guests:
Susie Sinclair Smith, Executive Director of the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless
John Friedel, Executive Director of The Baltimore Station
Paul Martin, Program Manager at The Baltimore Station
Christopher Buser, Chief of Social Work for the VA Maryland Health Care System
