{"id":4598,"date":"2026-05-14T17:32:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T17:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/?p=4598"},"modified":"2026-05-14T17:32:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T17:32:41","slug":"understanding-connection-veteran-homelessness-and-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/understanding-connection-veteran-homelessness-and-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding connection: Veteran homelessness and mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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New on VA News<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
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Understanding connection: Veteran homelessness and mental health<\/h2>\n\n\n
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By Shawn Liu, National Homeless Program Manager, VHA Homeless Programs Office<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

May 14, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Among Veterans receiving VA care, those experiencing homelessness or enrolled in\u00a0HUD-VASH<\/a>\u00a0(Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing) face significantly higher risks of mental health and substance use challenges\u2014often two to six times higher than Veterans with stable housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some Veterans, mental health challenges may contribute to housing instability. For others, the stress, trauma and uncertainty associated with homelessness can worsen existing mental health challenges. In both instances, mental health struggles don\u2019t exist on their own, they overlap with and can intensify nearly every other challenge a Veteran faces, and without stable housing, even the most effective mental health treatments can be difficult to sustain. However, when Veterans have access to stable housing alongside comprehensive mental healthcare and treatment, recovery becomes possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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View the full article on VA News<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Why housing stability is essential to mental health treatment and recovery for Veterans experiencing homelessness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":4599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"priority":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[75],"class_list":["post-4598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-va-news","tag-mental-health"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/understanding-connection-veteran-homelessness-and-mental-health\/","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Understanding connection: Veteran homelessness and mental health","url":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/understanding-connection-veteran-homelessness-and-mental-health\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/understanding-connection-veteran-homelessness-and-mental-health\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/05\/understandingconnection.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/05\/understandingconnection.png"},"articleSection":"VA News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shawn Liu"}],"creator":["Shawn Liu"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"VA Homeless Programs","logo":""},"keywords":["mental health"],"dateCreated":"2026-05-14T17:32:41Z","datePublished":"2026-05-14T17:32:41Z","dateModified":"2026-05-14T17:32:41Z"},"rendered":"