The Department of Veterans Affairs said veteran homelessness has decreased about 11% since 2020 and by more than 55% since 2010. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has estimated more than 40,000 veterans are unsheltered on any given night, and veterans make up roughly 13% of the U.S. homeless population. (VA.gov)
The Department of Veterans Affairs delivered its first mobile medical unit to Orlando, Fla., on Thursday, launching an effort to deploy medical vehicles in 25 American cities to provide health care to homeless and at-risk veterans throughout the nation, agency officials announced.
Mobile medical units, or MMUs, are trucks or vans designed to provide a private space for eligible military veterans to access medical providers when they might be unable to visit local VA medical centers, according to a VA statement released Thursday. The MMUs will be able to travel throughout cities to reach veterans to provide them access to primary care, women’s health, audiology, laboratory work, mental health specialists, social workers and telehealth services, according to the VA.
“Veterans experiencing homelessness face a variety of barriers to accessing health care, including a lack of transportation,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said. “With these new mobile medical units, homeless and at-risk veterans don’t have to visit VA hospitals — we come right to them.”
The first MMU, an F550 truck, was delivered to the VA Orlando Healthcare System. Later this month, more MMUs — all Sprinter vans — are expected to be delivered to Oklahoma City, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Minneapolis, according to the VA.
MMUs are expected to also be delivered to San Diego, Cincinnati, Montgomery, Ala., Salt Lake City, West Haven, Conn., Tacoma, Wash., Seattle, Hampton, Va., Chicago, Charleston, S.C., Bay Pines, Fla., Lexington, Ky., Cleveland, Omaha, Neb., Birmingham, Ala., Reno, Nev., Las Vegas, New Orleans, Tucson, Ariz., and San Francisco. All the mobile medical units are expected to be deployed by late February, the VA said.
McDonough has said fighting veteran homelessness is among his priorities. Last year, the VA helped house some 40,000 formerly homeless veterans and kept another 17,700 veterans and their families from falling into homelessness, according to data provided by the VA. It aims to house another 38,000 veterans this year.
The department said veteran homelessness has decreased about 11% since 2020 and by more than 55% since 2010, but McDonough said earlier this year that his goal remains to ensure all veterans have access to safe housing. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has estimated more than 40,000 veterans are unsheltered on any given night, and veterans make up roughly 13% of the U.S. homeless population.
The MMUs join 83 Mobile Vet Centers that the VA has deployed since 2009 to provide counseling and benefits services to veterans in mostly rural areas far from VA facilities.
The VA has a national call center for veterans facing eviction or struggling with homelessness: 877-424-3838.
One of the Mobile Vet Centers at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Virginia on Nov. 8, 2022. Vet Centers offer confidential help for veterans, service members, and their families in a non-medical setting. (Ashley Boster/U.S. Marine Corps)
