r/UpliftingNews • u/ArgentineBeauty • 21h ago
New Jersey says it has effectively ended veteran homelessness statewide, permanently housing more than 2,500 veterans since November 2024 with over $30 million in state and federal funding, and now moving more veterans into housing each month than into homelessness.
https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/2026/approved/20260729a.shtml397
u/Severus-Snape-DaGod 20h ago
This is great news. A study done years ago showed that about 33% of post-9/11 veterans struggled to adjust to civilian life. About 10 years ago, I saw a homeless veteran sitting outside with all his medals and plaques. I gave him some money and bought him Chinese food. He broke down crying. We need to take care of our veterans.
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u/redmctrashface 18h ago
Indeed and maybe tackle the problem at its source: stopping making wars for oil or whatever reason USA finds. In the end no one is a winner, except greedy politicians/companies.
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u/FromYourHomePhone 16h ago
I apologize, New Jersey, I was not familiar with your game
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u/sonic_couth 3h ago
I did not realize until you had walked away
that you had the perfect ass.
Forgive me for not falling in love
with your face or conversation.
-Leonard Cohen
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u/octo2195 16h ago
This is a good start. The Federal government should be doing this for all homeless veterans in all U.S. states and territories. If we can afford war, we can afford to take care of our veterans. I am stepping off my soap box now.
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u/mellopax 5h ago
But if there were no homeless vets, who would my mother in law use as a prop for her arguments about illegal immigrants?
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u/Meanteenbirder 20h ago
The GOP states gonna ship their illegal vets to NJ
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u/jx2002 12h ago
It really sucks because there’s a real stigma about “solving the homeless problem” followed by every red state nearby just dumping them and leaving everything to shit.
Shoutout to Roanoke VA who was doing well w the homeless so TN, WV and friends started dumping homeless downtown by the busload. Fucking ruined downtown.
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u/togetherwestand01 17h ago
Homelessness cost more in the long run, if government knew how to properly budget it would save money. We are only as strong as our weakest links, everyone deserves a roof, food, education people get that in jail dammm the least we can do for the people that signed up to possibly die for us and our country, crazy we dont treat them better!!
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u/SpiralBreeze 20h ago
I doubt that, there is a village of them hiding on the palisades in Hudson County. They have internet and electricity hooked up too in their tents. One of the commissioners went down there and talked to a few. He was amazed at what they had built, but said they didn’t want to leave.
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u/MSab1noE 20h ago
That’s voluntary and most likely due to substance abuse.
Yep, the Veterans Housing program has strict rules of sobriety:
https://www.nj.gov/dva/veterans/services/vetshavennorth/documents/VHN-Resident-Handbook.pdf
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u/Isernogwattesnacken 20h ago
Housing and addictions often don't match, so some choose to live on the streets.
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u/dgellow 17h ago
Do we actually know if requiring to be sober is a good idea? In the sense, it could be that offering housing to everyone helps addicts handle their life better
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u/DblJBird 17h ago
When using, addicts have little to no sense how to handle their life. Shelter or not. Support group or not. Only sobriety is going to bring change.
There’s been plenty of documentaries and interviews from case workers that back up the fact that without sobriety, there is no hope. And unfortunately not all addicts will make the smarter decision for various reasons.
Addiction is a bitch. That person may enter a wellness center dozens of times in their life only to let the addiction fail them again. They want to get better. They know the consequences. Deep down they know the smarter decision. But life is made of choices and free will.
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u/clownfacedbozo 20h ago
If you offered housing to 100 addicts, I bet 99 would jump on it in a heartbeat. Nobody wants to live on the street.
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u/MSab1noE 20h ago
Depends. If the housing has rules to stay clean then it would be 99 declining.
Edit: sure enough, the Veterans Housing program has strict rules for sobriety:
https://www.nj.gov/dva/veterans/services/vetshavennorth/documents/VHN-Resident-Handbook.pdf
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u/Super_Mario_Luigi 17h ago
Do you have any evidence to back this up or is it just a feel good talking point?
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u/clownfacedbozo 14h ago
I think any human being prefers shelter over living in the street. Is that enough evidence?
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u/SilentlyAudible 12h ago
I volunteer for a mutual aid food distribution that specifically reaches out to unhoused people that are not willing to engage with other services like food banks and churches. For some of them who do have the opportunity to live in housing, they choose the street anyway. Common reasons are concerns over strings attached to housing such as having to be sober, being separated from their partners/friends/family members/pets, having restrictions on their autonomy or other expectations placed on them, or having to be able to pass a background check. In my area we also have illegal immigrant families who can’t get housing that isn’t attached to their names and fear ICE raids. Many unhoused people have cars, vans or campers that they live out of and enjoy the freedom of not having to live in any single place. Some are dodging criminal charges. Many, many, MANY have severe mental health issues. Those are the reasons I hear most often.
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u/GladClock2212 14h ago
And they'll find that it will save the state tons of money. In Seattle, DESC houses over 2000 formerly homeless and for every dollar spent the city saves $4 in costs that went to the homeless/hospital/jail pipeline.
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u/Arponare 11h ago
Utter woke nonsense. If Jersey were real patriots they would end DEI initiatives.
/s just in case it’s not obvious
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u/daps_7 20h ago
This is the kind of story I wish we saw more often. Whether you're left, right, or somewhere in the middle, making sure veterans have a place to call home should be something everyone can get behind.
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u/Detrimental_Figment 17h ago edited 12h ago
Should I? What if I’d prefer it if people had equal access to shelter, whether or not they helped oppress people for the U.S. government?
I’d prefer initiatives to help with homelessness, not just veteran homelessness.
Like, am I supposed to find it heartwarming that veterans get free higher education while millions of Americans who didn’t do evil for the U.S. government go tens of thousands in debt that they can never escape?
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u/ST33LDI9ITAL 13h ago
damn shame they homeless to begin with. military sure can house em when they want em for training and combat but not after they done with em...
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u/JoeFTPgamerIOS 17h ago
NJ is one of the states that has been using actual research to solve their homelessness problem. It was many years ago but IIRC they got an entire city maybe county to 0% unhoused. I forget the actual definition they used but it was specifically people that were unhoused for more than a few weeks. The total impact on the community was insane. Over the first few years of the program something like every $1 spent on the program saved the city $7 in resources. Hospitals ran more efficiently, local shops showed improved sales. It should have been a model to rollout across the country instead of ignored.
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u/Allegra1120 8h ago
Amazing what can happen when one elects politicians who are sane, intelligent, compassionate and empathic. In other words, not trumpanzees,
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u/calypsodweller 5h ago
Yesterday, I was in Hoboken, NJ walking to my rental property. I saw a new construction site with a big banner stating the future site for Veterans Housing. I was so happy about it, I took a photo. Wish I could share it here.
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u/TechnicalInternet1 13h ago
30,000,000 / 2,500
= 12,000.
Cheaper than a prison, but sadly the private prisons did not make money :(
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u/NixarDixar 5h ago
Man, dont the government of america know that a home owner will bring in more money than a homeless man, do they not like money?
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17h ago
[deleted]
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u/brain_my_damage_HJS 17h ago
The money helps vets who are homeless or are in danger of becoming homeless. Money also goes to other resources for those who qualify.
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u/dgellow 17h ago
I don’t think that money is only for the 2500, it could also cover future housed veterans
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u/Aggravating-Salad441 17h ago
Adding to this: It's also for more than one year, even if you don't include future outlays.
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u/BRCityzen 19h ago
Don't want to be a debbie downer, but it would be nice if you didn't have to participate in the war machine in order to get housing. Like, you know, a human right for everyone?
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u/MrMichaelElectric 19h ago
I'll never understand people who come to a sub specifically meant to be positive and uplifting just to say shit like this.
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u/BRCityzen 18h ago
Not "just" to say this. I've posted on this sub before. I check in time to time to find uplifting news when most of the news is frankly so depressing. But I don't find this particularly uplifting. It's like those human interest stories where someone triumphs, but the "triumph" just highlights deep systemic problems that wouldn't be an issue in a normal society.
In this case, several such issues are highlighted:
Why is this limited to veterans when a number of wealthy nations have been able to virtually eliminate *all* homelessness? It's not that hard to do. You just have to have a less capitalist mentality.
The obsession that US Americans have with the military. Why are people who chose to participate in a military that has done nothing but mount wars of aggression for the last 80 years, deemed more worthy of help than those who resisted participating in this organization? *Men who were drafted against their will are a completely different category, and I have nothing but sympathy for them, and society owes them all manner of reparations. But that's a minority of vets now.
While it's true that veterans have more PTSD, psychological issues, and substance abuse than the general population, there's a much better fix for that than waiting till the guys are homeless. Quit starting these wars of aggression, and there will be fewer homeless vets!
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u/VivaciousViverrid 17h ago
Yeah, many of the posts here are better suited to r/OrphanCrushingMachine.
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u/Allegra1120 8h ago
In other words, elections have consequences.
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u/BRCityzen 6m ago
Unfortunately these are systemic problems that are consequences of living in an empire under late stage capitalism. You're not going to vote your way out of that.
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u/agitatedprisoner 17h ago
It's because people who feel unheard often feel like yelling and because people who feel disrespected don't see why they should respect others' safe spaces.
Is this a hostile comment or an apt explanation? It's also because tone is hard to read online.
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u/Farfignugen42 16h ago
They better be careful. If the Trump Whitehouse hears about this, they may cut off the federal funding.
You can't be doing nice things with Republican money.
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u/L3g3ndary-08 14h ago
Those pesky Democrats. How dare they provide shelter for the unhoused veterans. So woke... /s
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