The Regional Task Force on Homelessness Thursday published an initial report on veteran homelessness in San Diego County as it works toward a goal of reducing it to zero.
"As a region, we've come together to get to functional zero for our veterans experiencing homelessness," said RTFH CEO Tamera Kohler. "This monthly report will provide a progress report on how we're doing to reach that goal, ensuring that we're staying focused on leaving no veteran behind."
According to the initial report, the region needs to increase the number of homeless veterans placed in housing every month from 70 to 77 to meet the "functional zero" goal.
Functional zero is defined as the point when a community's homeless services system is able to prevent homelessness whenever possible and ensure that when homelessness does occur, it is rare, brief, and one-time, according to a statement from RTFH. It's a monthly data-driven measure.
Based on a 15-month timeframe and put together by RTFH's data team, the dashboard provides updates on where the initiative stands in the effort to reach functional zero on veteran homelessness.
According to the report, the region could meet its goal in 13 months to house the nearly 800 homeless veterans in the area, assuming the number of people entering homelessness and being placed in housing continues apace.
"We should be proud of our work to reduce veteran homelessness," Kohler said. "Right now our biggest hurdle to reach functional zero is the need for more landlords to rent to veterans.
"If we increase our monthly housing placements, we can decrease the number of veterans experiencing homelessness while getting to our goal even quicker," she said.
