Originally published: 2025-08-28T18:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.
A new national initiative to address homelessness among Veterans is building on work already taking place at Milwaukee VA.
On Thursday, July 17, Milwaukee VA’s Community Resource and Referral Center (CRRC) hosted the first of three surge events aimed at identifying unsheltered Veterans in Milwaukee County, and connecting them with services and resources to help transition them off the streets and into stable housing.
The surge events, continued July 24 and 31, were part of VA’s nationwide “Getting Veterans Off the Street” initiative.
During the events, Milwaukee VA homeless program staff and community partners focused on engaging unsheltered Veterans through proactive street outreach.
“The goal of the national initiative is to get Veterans off the street,” said Amy Mauel, Milwaukee VA’s Homeless Prevention Programs Manager. “We’re working to engage with as many Veterans as we can, offer them same-day housing and get them a plan for permanent housing.”
Unlike sheltered homelessness, where individuals stay in emergency shelters and other temporary settings, unsheltered homelessness refers to people sleeping outdoors in public spaces like streets, parks or under bridges, or in places not meant for habitation, like vehicles, tents or abandoned buildings.
Meeting Veterans where they are
On July 17, Milwaukee VA Medical Center Executive Director Jim McLain joined Bobbie Zerfas, assistant program manager for the Milwaukee VA homeless program, and Matt Fetrow, Health Care for Homeless Veterans outreach coordinator, as they visited with unsheltered Veterans and sought to connect with others.
Zerfas noted that locating and engaging homeless Veterans is something her team does daily. What made the surge events unique was the collaboration of multiple programs and community partners.
“We’re really trying to bring all the parts of our program together,” Zerfas said, noting the involvement of numerous social workers and representatives from Housing and Urban Development-Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing, Center for Veterans Issues, Veteran Justice Outreach and Supportive Services for Veteran Families, among others. “We had people at the different meal sites throughout the city doing outreach and working to set same-day access to Veterans.”
The surge events also aimed to bring homeless Veterans to the CRRC, where they could access showers, a food pantry, computer stations, social workers and mental health specialists.
“It was an opportunity not only to help them find permanent housing, but also to connect them with benefits they may not have known they were eligible for,” McLain said. “We could put them in a place where they are not only permanently housed but also receive medical care and other support services.”
Dispelling myths
The outreach also served to challenge misconceptions and stigmas surrounding homelessness.
“What I saw was Zerfas and Fetrow engaging with individuals where they were, treating them as human beings and making a huge difference,” McLain said.
Fetrow agreed. “It was about seeing them as the humans they are,” he said, noting that some have made a conscious choice to live on the street. “It’s understanding the person as a whole and not judging them.”
Working to get homeless Veterans off the street isn’t as easy as one would think. It can take days, weeks or months of building trusted relationships.
“Some of these Veterans we’ve known for a while,” Zerfas said. “We know they are outside, and we know where they are sleeping. We are working on relationship development and trust to get them inside.”
“Sometimes it is as simple as showing up with a bottle of water and having a conversation before they’re even ready to talk about where they want to live,” added Fetrow. “That goes a long way.”
“It’s the personal engagement that makes a huge difference in reaching these individuals,” McLain said.
VA making progress against homelessness
While “Getting Veterans Off the Street” is VA’s newest initiative to address homelessness among Veterans, the department has long prioritized the issue.
Between 2023 and 2024, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Point-in-Time Count showed a 7.5% decrease in Veterans experiencing homelessness, dropping from 35,574 Veterans to 32,882.
This represents the lowest number since tracking began in 2009.
Overall, the data showed an 11.7% reduction in Veterans experiencing homelessness since 2020 and a 55.6% reduction since 2010.
In 2023, Milwaukee VA’s Homeless Prevention Program and its community-based outpatient clinics permanently housed 387 homeless Veterans in Wisconsin.
Where to go for help
Veterans experiencing homelessness or at risk at becoming homeless can call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-4AID-VET (877-424-3838). Visit the VA Homeless Programs website to learn about housing initiatives and other support services. In Milwaukee, Veterans can contact the Community Resource and Referral Center at 414-263-7673.
This article was originally published on the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center site and has been edited for style and clarity.
Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.
