Lebanon VA Medical Center staff helps 282 veterans find homes in the 2024 fiscal year.

Lebanon VA Medical Center officials said the center has housed 282 veterans experiencing homeless across nine counties in the commonwealth this 2024 fiscal year.

A total of 96.8% of the veterans housed have not returned to homelessness, according to the medical center. Another 140 unsheltered veterans were engaged with officials to ensure they had access to the housing and other necessary wraparound services.

“No person who has served this country should ever have to experience homelessness,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said in a press release Tuesday afternoon. “As a result of this year’s efforts, more than 43,000 formerly homeless Veterans now have access to the homes that they deserve. And make no mistake: we won’t rest until every Veteran has a safe, stable, accessible, and affordable home to call their own.”

More than 2,000 employees serve nearly 50,000 veterans every year at Lebanon VAMC across a nine-county area in South-Central Pennsylvania.

Officials said that VA staff and community partners nationwide help veterans find permanent housing, often with subsidies to help make the housing affordable. In some cases, VA staff and partners help veterans end their homelessness by reuniting them with family and friends.

Over the past year, the National Veterans Association housed 43,116 veterans experiencing homelessness. Officials said a total of 96.3% of the veterans housed have not returned to homelessness, and VA staff have nationally engaged another 38,476 unsheltered veterans.

Between 2022 and 2023, the national VA permanently housed nearly 87,000 veterans. Officials said these efforts lead to the national number of veterans experiencing homelessness falling by over 4% since early 2020 and by more than 52% since 2010.

In January 2020 there were an estimated 37,252 homeless veterans, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. About 59% of them were staying in emergency shelters or transitional housing.

"The VA’s efforts to combat Veteran homelessness are grounded in reaching out to homeless Veterans, understanding their unique needs, and addressing them," officials said in the release. "These efforts are built on the evidence-based 'Housing First' approach, which prioritizes getting a Veteran into housing, then providing or connecting them with the wraparound services and supports they need to stay housed, including health care, job training, legal and education assistance, and more.

If you are a veteran, you may be eligible to receive care and benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more, call (717) 272-6621, ext. 6000.

Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on X at @DAMattToth .

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon VA Medical Center staff helps 282 veterans find homes in the 2024 fiscal year.