Decade after Washington declared war on veteran homelessness, tens of thousands remain unsheltered

A decade after President Barack Obama rallied Washington to tackle veteran homelessness, tens of thousands of men and women who served still lack shelter in a crisis that remains a stain on the nation. 

And while the Veterans Affairs Department launched an ambitious project this year to provide temporary housing to 38,000 veterans, much more work still needs to be done.

That is why the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, born in aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, tragedy, has just jumped into the fray. 

The charity that for two decades has assisted the families of fallen terror victims, soldiers snd law enforcement officers recently opened a new housing and social services site in Texas’ largest city, called the Houston Veterans Village.

The complex includes a hotel converted into apartments and over a dozen 500-square-foot homes that will house a total of 100 veterans.

The charity won’t be stopping there. It has veterans housing sites planned for Harrisburg, Pa., Bradenton, Fla., and Atlanta in one of its most ambitious expansions.

“This year alone, I'm so proud of this, we have housed over 3,000 homeless veterans, and we didn't just house them, we also made sure that they're getting all the comprehensive services that they need because a lot of them don't know how to assimilate back into society,” explained Frank Siller, the CEO of Tunnel to Towers.

Siller said the housing initiative aims to give veterans a wholistic solution.

“You know, we don't just want to give them the comfort of a home or the hope. Yeah, hope is so important,” Siller said. “But we also want to give them a way back to society.”

The government currently estimates there’s at least 33,000 homeless veterans, but some private experts say the number could be as high as 50,000, especially as the economy suffers from high inflation and higher interest rates that have made housing and food harder to cover.

“It's a depressing number that we still have any veterans homeless on the streets, who are functionally homeless due to economic reasons,” former acting  VA Secretary Peter O’Rourke said. “I know there are thousands of dedicated people at VA very concerned and very dedicated to see this go to a functional zero. But there are many barriers and challenges.”

O’Rourke set the entrance of Tunnels to Towers into the solutions marketplace is highly welcomed and will complement the efforts of the VA and state programs.

“It's a big issue. We've been attacking it for a long time,” he said. “I'm really encouraged when I see local charities and national charities like Tunnel for Towers really step out and not wait for anybody to make the right move and do what they know is the right thing to do.”

Siller said his nonprofit is already expanding on the successful launch of the Houston housing project.

“We bought hotels all across America. A lot of land has been donated to us. We're building these comfort homes,” he explained. “So not only are we renovating hotels into apartments for these great heroes, but we're also building 500-square foot comfort homes.

“They have their own bedroom, their own bathroom, their own room to watch television and make something for themselves to eat,“ he added. “They have their own their own space, and yet they are in a community with other veterans.”