Preface

A Decade of Working With Veterans

The Borden Report 2026 grew out of experience long before it became a collection of records, statistics, contracts, photographs, and government reports. My involvement with veterans experiencing homelessness began in 2016, when I walked into MANA House in Phoenix, Arizona, after becoming homeless myself. What began as my own effort to regain stability eventually placed me in a position to help other veterans.

I became a resident and later worked as a front desk clerk at MANA House. I also participated in veteran outreach, providing access to the program several times each week. That experience allowed me to see the Grant and Per Diem system from both sides—as a veteran who needed assistance and as someone helping other veterans navigate the same difficult transition. 

Over the ten years since I first walked into MANA House, I have worked with and encountered hundreds of veterans dealing with homelessness, housing, VA benefits, healthcare, employment, financial instability, and the difficult process of rebuilding their lives. Those veterans have never been one uniform population. Some needed intensive assistance. Others primarily needed a safe place to stay, access to their VA benefits, transportation, employment, housing assistance, and someone willing to help them navigate a complicated system.

Those experiences shaped the perspective behind this report: veteran homelessness cannot be understood simply by counting beds or measuring how many services a program says it provides. The veteran's actual experience and eventual outcome matter.

From Phoenix to New York City

When I entered New York City's homeless system in 2022, I arrived with the experience of having previously lived and worked within a veteran transitional program. Over the following months, I encountered a substantially different system involving numerous agencies, programs, counselors, case managers, and housing organizations.

My documented experience at Borden Avenue included interactions with more than a dozen case workers, case managers, and counselors across DHS, housing services, HUD-VASH, DVS, NYCHA, HASA, and other organizations. While each had a role, the absence of a clearly identifiable person coordinating the entire transition created confusion and frustration. 

That experience became the starting point for a much broader examination of Borden Avenue and New York City's system for homeless veterans.

The Borden Report 2026 is therefore not based upon a single complaint or isolated experience. It brings together years of observations and advocacy with government records, VA requirements, contracts, budgets, financial information, emergency-response and arrest records, correspondence, public testimony, academic research, journalism, photographs, and the experiences of other veterans.

Organizing the Record With Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence has played an important role in helping organize this report.

AI was used as an organizational, research-assistance, and writing tool to help sort large amounts of information, compare documents, connect related subjects, summarize records, organize timelines, and transform years of notes, experiences, research, and supporting documents into a report that can be understood and evaluated by others.

It did not replace the evidence or the people behind it. The underlying records, photographs, correspondence, government documents, research, and firsthand experiences remain the foundation of the Borden Report.

For veterans who sometimes struggle to put their thoughts together, this technology can be particularly valuable. A veteran can know exactly what happened, remember how an experience affected them, and understand what went wrong while still having difficulty turning years of experiences into a clear written narrative. When dozens of agencies, dates, case managers, regulations, emails, housing applications, and incidents become part of that history, organizing everything into a coherent record can itself become an enormous obstacle.

AI has helped me take information that existed in many different forms and organize it without surrendering ownership of the underlying experience. The technology helped organize the words; it did not live the experience.

Used responsibly, this type of assistance can give veterans another means of making themselves understood, particularly when the complexity of their experiences might otherwise prevent their voices from reaching the people responsible for making decisions.

A Report Designed to Stand in Parts

The Borden Report is intentionally divided into individual Parts, each addressing a different component of the veteran homelessness system. Each Part is written so that it can stand on its own, with its own Sources section drawn from the larger master collection of evidence.

This structure allows a section concerning safety, GPD requirements, women veterans, program outcomes, finances, government oversight, or another subject to be provided independently to the agency or official responsible for that issue.

There is some necessary overlap because the problems confronting homeless veterans do not fit neatly within government organizational boundaries. Safety affects housing outcomes. Transportation affects access to VA healthcare. Contracting affects services. Program philosophy affects daily living. Community involvement affects successful transition. Oversight affects all of them.

The report therefore follows the veteran through the system rather than treating each government agency as an isolated institution.

Four Years in New York City's Veteran Community

There is another part of this report that cannot be adequately reflected in its citations.

During the four years since I first entered the New York City veteran space, I have met people who genuinely care about what happens to veterans. Veterans have spoken about their experiences even when doing so was uncomfortable. Advocates have continued raising issues when it would have been easier to remain silent. Journalists have listened. Volunteers and community organizations have provided assistance. Government employees and public officials have taken calls, answered questions, provided records, attended meetings, and, at times, challenged the systems in which they themselves work.

Not everyone has agreed with me, nor should they have to. Some of the most useful contributions came from people who offered a different perspective, corrected an assumption, explained how a system worked, or required me to look more closely at the evidence.

The Borden Report is stronger because of those interactions.

With Gratitude

I want to thank the veterans who trusted me enough to tell me what happened to them. Their experiences are a reminder that statistics about veteran homelessness represent individual lives.

I also want to thank the people who have stood up for veterans during these past four years—publicly or privately, prominently or quietly. That includes veterans, advocates, journalists, volunteers, service providers, community organizations, government employees, elected officials, and others who have been willing to listen and act.

Their contributions matter nonetheless.

Why This Report Was Written

Accountability should not be interpreted as hostility toward veteran programs or the people working within them. Accountability is one of the ways those programs are protected and improved. A system can contain dedicated people and still have serious deficiencies. Recognizing one does not require ignoring the other.

After ten years of working with hundreds of veterans, I have come to believe that the most meaningful measure of any homeless-veteran program is ultimately what happens to the veteran.

A veteran should not simply enter a program, occupy a bed, receive services, and eventually disappear from the statistics. The objective should be a genuine transition—to become safer, more stable, connected to the benefits and services earned through military service, prepared for independent living, connected to a community, and ultimately established in sustainable permanent housing.

The Borden Report 2026 was written in pursuit of that objective and in appreciation of everyone who has spent these past years working toward it.

Part 1 — Executive Summary and Introduction

Executive Summary

The Borden Report 2026 examines the operation, safety, transitional effectiveness, financial accountability, and government oversight of the Borden Avenue Veterans’ Residence (BAVR) at 21-10 Borden Avenue in Long Island City, New York, and its role within the Department of Veterans Affairs Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program.

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Borden Avenue Veterans’ Residence operates through substantial public investment involving the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS), the Institute for Community Living (ICL), and the federal VA Grant and Per Diem Program. Its annual operating resources exceed $9.2 million, making financial accountability an important component of evaluating services provided to homeless veterans. 

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Part 3 — Women Veterans: Equal Access to Veteran-Specific Transitional Housing

Women Veterans Within the Homeless-Services System

Women veterans are an essential part of the population served by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Like male veterans, they may experience homelessness following unemployment, economic instability, military separation, disability, family disruption, or other circumstances. Some may additionally encounter military sexual trauma, domestic violence, sexual assault, caregiving responsibilities, or personal-security concerns that affect the type of transitional environment appropriate for them. 

These differences do not mean women veterans should be separated from the broader veteran system. They mean the veteran system must be capable of serving them.

VA's own GPD materials identify women veterans among vulnerable populations served through the program. Yet the documents reviewed for this report describe Borden Avenue Veterans' Residence as serving single male veterans. 

This creates an important question of practical access in New York City.

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Eligibility Versus Meaningful Access

Formal eligibility for a federal program has limited value when an appropriate placement is unavailable.

A male veteran entering New York City's homeless-services system may have a pathway into a veteran-specific GPD facility. A similarly situated woman veteran may instead enter the City's general shelter system.

General shelters perform an essential function, but a shelter bed is not necessarily equivalent to a veteran-specific transitional program.

A veteran-centered program can connect temporary housing with VA healthcare, benefits, housing programs, employment assistance, military sexual trauma services, Veteran Service Organizations, and other resources specifically associated with military service.

A woman veteran should not lose meaningful access to that network simply because the locally available veteran facility was designed for men.

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Safety, Privacy, and Trauma

Women veterans experiencing homelessness may require particular attention to physical security, privacy, healthcare, and trauma-informed services.

Appropriate transitional housing should therefore consider secure sleeping arrangements, bathroom and shower privacy, confidential case management, protection from harassment and violence, and meaningful access to VA women's healthcare and military sexual trauma services.

These safeguards are not special privileges. They are reasonable elements of a residential environment designed to permit veterans to stabilize and move toward permanent housing.

The same principle applies throughout this report: the veteran's individual circumstances should determine the services required.

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Women Veterans With Children

Veteran homelessness can also involve children and families.

A veteran caring for minor dependents faces substantially different housing challenges from a single adult. Permanent housing must accommodate the household. Employment decisions may depend upon childcare. Transportation affects school and healthcare appointments. Housing location may affect school continuity and family support.

The revised material reviewed for this report notes that VA recognizes veterans caring for minor dependents among vulnerable populations served through GPD. 

A system designed almost exclusively around single adults may therefore create a gap between theoretical eligibility and practical access.

Veterans should not be placed in the position of choosing between maintaining their family and accessing veteran-specific resources.

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Equal Access Does Not Mean Identical Services

Equal access does not require every veteran to reside in the same building.

A woman escaping domestic violence may require a different placement from a single male veteran. A mother with children requires different housing from either. A veteran requiring intensive clinical treatment may appropriately participate in a different program from a veteran whose primary need is affordable housing.

The appropriate standard is equivalent access to an effective veteran-centered pathway out of homelessness.

New York City should therefore evaluate the actual demand for veteran-specific transitional housing among women and families, identify how many women veterans enter general shelters because appropriate veteran placements are unavailable, and determine whether current resources provide comparable access to VA services and permanent-housing opportunities.

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Conclusion

The GPD Program was established to assist eligible veterans experiencing homelessness. Its effectiveness should therefore be evaluated across the veteran population rather than solely through the population currently able to enter a particular facility.

Women veterans have earned the same opportunity to remain connected to VA healthcare, benefits, housing assistance, employment services, and other veteran-specific resources.

New York City's continuum should consequently provide a meaningful veteran-centered transitional pathway for women veterans and, where appropriate, veterans with dependent children.

A veteran's gender or family status should influence the type of accommodation provided—not whether meaningful veteran-specific transitional assistance is available at all. 

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Sources — Part 3: Women Veterans: Equal Access to Veteran-Specific Transitional Housing

• 38 C.F.R. Part 61 — VA Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program. 

• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program guidance and eligibility requirements. 

• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — Center for Women Veterans — Programs, services, advocacy, and resources for women veterans. 

• VA Homeless Programs — Housing and supportive services for veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness. 

• VA GPD Recipient Guide — Transitional housing, equal access, supportive services, safety, and program responsibilities. 

• New York City Department of Homeless Services — Veteran shelter and homeless-services information. 

• New York City Department of Veterans’ Services — Housing assistance and services for women veterans and veterans experiencing homelessness. 

• New York City Veterans Advisory Board — Meeting records, testimony, and recommendations concerning women veterans, homelessness, and housing. 

• New York City Continuum of Care Veterans Task Force — Meeting records addressing female veterans, housing access, GPD, HUD-VASH, and veteran homelessness. 

• Borden Report 2026 supporting records and testimony — Documentation concerning the absence of comparable GPD transitional housing for women veterans in New York City and the proposed veteran-centered transitional housing model.

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Part 9 — Public Safety, Emergency Response, Arrest Data, and Community Financial Impact

Public Safety and the Transitional Mission

Public safety is a fundamental component of a successful transitional housing program. Veterans entering the Borden Avenue Veterans’ Residence (BAVR) are experiencing homelessness and may also be managing trauma, disabilities, behavioral-health conditions, substance-use disorders, recent incarceration, or other circumstances that increase the importance of a stable residential environment. A veteran cannot reasonably be expected to concentrate on healthcare, employment, benefits, housing searches, or community reintegration while repeatedly exposed to serious disturbances or threats to personal safety.

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Executive Summary

Purpose of Review

This report presents an assessment of the operation, oversight, and implementation of the Veterans Affairs Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program at the Borden Avenue Veterans’ Residence (BAVR) in Long Island City, New York. The purpose of this review is to provide information for consideration by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General regarding whether the program is operating consistent with the intended objectives of the VA GPD transitional program.

The VA Grant and Per Diem Program is not a traditional emergency shelter program, permanent housing program, or clinical recovery program. It is a transitional program designed to assist eligible veterans experiencing homelessness by providing temporary supportive housing and access to resources necessary for successful transition back into the community.

Those resources include housing assistance, employment opportunities, financial wellness, healthcare connections, benefits assistance, transportation, independent living skills, and community support.

Because Borden Avenue represents New York City’s only federally funded VA GPD transitional program, its operation has a significant impact on veterans transitioning from homelessness, incarceration, military service, financial instability, and other circumstances requiring structured assistance.

Summary of Findings

This report identifies several areas requiring further review regarding whether Borden Avenue’s current operation aligns with the mission and expectations of the VA GPD program.

Records reviewed indicate significant public investment into facility operations, staffing, contracted services, security, and administration. However, concerns remain regarding whether sufficient resources are directed toward the transitional services necessary for veterans to achieve long-term independence.

Financial information reviewed regarding the Institute for Community Living (ICL), the contracted operator of Borden Avenue, identifies ICL as a nonprofit organization with annual revenue exceeding approximately $200 million. Borden Avenue budget documents identify substantial operational spending, including more than $1 million allocated annually for contracted security.

At the same time, budget categories directly connected to veteran transition activities, including transportation, recreation, community engagement, employment access, and independent living support, appear comparatively limited.

A review of emergency-response data identified approximately 1,365 emergency calls associated with Borden Avenue between August 2024 and December 2025. Incidents included medical emergencies, assaults, emotionally disturbed persons, disputes, injuries, suspected overdoses, and other emergency responses.

Separate arrest records reviewed from September 2022 through December 2025 identified more than 70 arrests connected to the facility, including felony arrests, assault-related incidents, narcotics offenses, weapons-related charges, and other criminal complaints.

These findings do not suggest that serving vulnerable veterans will occur without challenges. Veterans entering transitional programs may experience complex barriers involving trauma, disabilities, unemployment, substance-use issues, medical conditions, and long-term homelessness.

However, the frequency and nature of incidents warrant evaluation regarding whether the environment supports the transition-focused purpose of the GPD program.

Program Oversight Concerns

The review identifies concerns regarding accountability among multiple agencies and organizations involved in veteran homelessness services, including Veterans Affairs, the Department of Homeless Services, contracted providers, and local oversight bodies.

Areas requiring review include:

• Compliance with GPD transitional program objectives
• Access to employment and financial wellness resources
• Transportation to VA services and community resources
• Community organization involvement
• Successful transition outcomes
• Program transparency and reporting
• Long-term housing stability after exit

Successful program evaluation should extend beyond occupancy levels or placement numbers. A veteran’s transition should include preparation for maintaining independence after leaving the program.

Additional Areas Reviewed

This report also examines broader issues affecting veterans participating in transitional services, including:

Limited access for women veterans and veteran families to VA GPD transitional services in New York City.

The proposed conversion of the Bellevue Intake Facility into a comprehensive Veterans Transitional Program serving male veterans, women veterans, and veteran families near the Manhattan Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

The role of the Veterans Advisory Board, Veterans Task Force, and New York City Council Committee on Veterans in reviewing concerns and ensuring documented follow-up.

The importance of veterans with lived experience participating in program evaluation and oversight.

The need to protect vulnerable veterans from isolation, inconsistent access policies, or potential exploitation.

Conclusion

The Veterans Affairs Grant and Per Diem Program was established because ending veteran homelessness requires more than providing temporary shelter. The program is intended to create a structured transition that provides veterans with the tools, resources, and connections necessary to successfully return to the community.

The issues identified at Borden Avenue Veterans’ Residence require evaluation not only of facility operations, but whether the complete purpose of the GPD transitional program is being fulfilled.

Public investment, contracts, staffing levels, and available beds represent only portions of program performance. The primary measurement must remain whether eligible veterans leave the program prepared for independent living, connected to appropriate resources, and positioned to maintain long-term stability.

This report respectfully requests review of whether the current operation of New York City’s only VA GPD transitional program provides veterans with the full range of transitional support intended under the Veterans Affairs Grant and Per Diem Program.

Assessment of the Veterans Affairs Grant and Per Diem Program and Borden Avenue Veterans’ Residence

Review of Program Implementation, Transitional Services, and Alignment With VA GPD Objectives

Purpose of Review

This section evaluates whether the operation of the Borden Avenue Veterans’ Residence (BAVR) aligns with the intended purpose of the Department of Veterans Affairs Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program.

The VA GPD program is a transitional program designed to assist eligible veterans experiencing homelessness by providing temporary supportive housing and access to resources necessary to successfully transition back into the community.

The GPD program should not be evaluated solely as a shelter program, permanent housing program, or clinical recovery program. While housing placement is an important outcome, the broader purpose of GPD is preparing veterans for independent living by providing access to supportive resources.

Those resources include:

· Housing assistance

· Employment opportunities

· Financial wellness

· VA healthcare access

· Benefits assistance

· Transportation

· Community engagement

· Independent living preparation

Borden Avenue serves a unique role as New York City’s only VA-funded GPD transitional program. As a result, the effectiveness of the facility impacts how New York City serves veterans transitioning from homelessness, incarceration, military service, financial instability, and other barriers affecting independence.

Program Implementation Review

The purpose of a transitional program is to address the circumstances that contributed to a veteran becoming homeless and provide a structured pathway back into the community.

A successful GPD program begins transition planning when the veteran enters the program. Services should focus on identifying barriers, connecting resources, developing stability, and preparing the veteran for life after leaving the facility.

The effectiveness of the program should therefore be measured by whether veterans obtain:

· Sustainable housing connections

· Stable income or employment pathways

· Financial skills

· Healthcare continuity

· Community support systems

The review of Borden Avenue identifies concerns regarding whether the program has consistently operated as a veteran transitional program or primarily as a Department of Homeless Services shelter model serving veterans.

A traditional shelter system focuses on immediate needs, including temporary placement, meals, and facility operations.

A VA GPD transitional program requires additional emphasis on preparing veterans for successful reintegration into the community.

Access to Transitional Resources

Access to resources is a critical component of the GPD program.

Veterans experiencing homelessness often enter programs after significant disruptions involving employment, finances, family support, healthcare, and community connection.

A successful transition requires rebuilding these foundations before permanent placement occurs.

Concerns reviewed regarding Borden Avenue include whether veterans received sufficient access to:

· Employment preparation and workforce programs

· Financial education and budgeting support

· Transportation to VA appointments and community resources

· Veteran service organizations

· Peer support and mentorship

· Community partnerships

Limited access to these resources may negatively affect a veteran’s ability to successfully transition.

Veterans leaving homelessness require more than placement into housing. They require preparation to maintain independence after placement occurs.

Location and Connection to Veterans Affairs Services

The relationship between a GPD program and Veterans Affairs services is essential.

Veterans participating in GPD may require access to:

· Primary healthcare

· Mental health services

· Disability benefits assistance

· Specialty care

· Social work support

Borden Avenue’s location requires veterans to travel outside the facility to access many VA services. Transportation therefore becomes a significant component of program effectiveness.

Without reliable access to VA resources, veterans may face additional barriers that delay progress toward independence.

A transitional program should reduce obstacles between veterans and available resources.

Community Engagement and Reintegration

Community connection is an important factor in successful transition.

Many veterans experiencing homelessness have lost connection to employment, family, military identity, and social support networks.

Veteran organizations, volunteers, employers, and community partners can assist by providing mentorship, opportunities, and relationships beyond the facility.

Concerns regarding restricted access for outside organizations require review because community involvement strengthens the transition process.

Preparing veterans to return to the community requires meaningful connection with that community before they exit the program.

Program Outcomes and Accountability

Evaluation of the GPD program should extend beyond the number of veterans housed or the number of available beds.

Important performance measurements include:

· Successful transitions into independent living

· Housing retention after exit

· Employment or income improvement

· Connection with VA healthcare

· Reduced returns to homelessness

· Veteran satisfaction and participation

Program accountability requires determining whether services provided resulted in measurable improvement in the lives of participating veterans.

Conclusion

The Veterans Affairs Grant and Per Diem Program was created to provide eligible veterans experiencing homelessness with a structured pathway back into the community.

The purpose of the program is transition.

The assessment of Borden Avenue Veterans’ Residence should therefore focus not only on shelter operations, but on whether veterans receive the resources necessary to achieve independence after leaving the facility.

A successful GPD program ensures that veterans exit with more than a housing placement. Veterans should leave connected to healthcare, employment opportunities, financial resources, benefits, transportation, and community support.

The effectiveness of New York City’s only VA GPD transitional program should ultimately be measured by whether it fulfills that mission: helping veterans successfully transition from homelessness back into the community.

Part 5 — Public Safety, Emergency Response, and Community Impact

Key Findings

Approximately 1,365 emergency calls were associated with the Borden Avenue Veterans' Residence between August 2024 and December 2025.

Emergency responses averaged more than two incidents per day, requiring repeated deployment of taxpayer-funded public resources.

Incidents included:

• Ambulance responses
• Emotionally Disturbed Person (EDP) incidents
• Violent EDP incidents
• Assaults
• Suspected overdoses
• Medical emergencies
• Harassment complaints
• Disputes and injuries

Public arrest records identified more than 70 arrests over a three-year period from September 2022 through December 2025.

Approximately 60% of publicly available emergency-call records contained no recorded disposition, representing approximately 819 incidents without a documented public outcome.

Repeated emergency responses create significant financial impacts involving NYPD, FDNY EMS, hospitals, courts, and other community resources.

Emergency Response Activity

The Borden Avenue Veterans' Residence operates as New York City's only federally funded Department of Veterans Affairs Grant and Per Diem (GPD) transitional housing program. Unlike a traditional emergency shelter, the GPD program is intended to provide veterans with a stable recovery environment focused on healthcare access, employment preparation, independent living skills, and permanent housing placement.

Emergency-response records reviewed for this report identified approximately 1,365 emergency calls associated with Borden Avenue during a sixteen-month period from August 2024 through December 2025. These calls required responses from the NYPD, FDNY Emergency Medical Services, hospitals, and behavioral health professionals.

While emergency calls are expected within programs serving vulnerable populations, the volume of responses raises questions regarding whether the environment supports the stability necessary for veterans transitioning from homelessness, incarceration, and medical or behavioral health challenges.

Public Safety Concerns

Emergency records demonstrate that responses extended beyond routine medical assistance. Reported incidents included behavioral health crises, assaults, disputes, suspected overdoses, and criminal complaints.

Public records identified more than 70 arrests over a separate three-year period, including felony and misdemeanor offenses. These incidents required additional involvement from law enforcement, prosecutors, public defenders, courts, probation services, parole systems, and correctional agencies.

The report also notes that the New York State Sex Offender Registry identifies at least a dozen registered sex offenders associated with the Borden Avenue address. This creates additional concerns regarding supervision, safety procedures, and transparency within a congregate living environment serving veterans with complex histories.

At a recent Veterans Advisory Board meeting, a representative connected with the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision expressed concern regarding the safety and appropriateness of Borden Avenue as a placement option for veterans transitioning from incarceration.

Missing Dispositions and Accountability

One of the most significant transparency issues identified involves emergency-call outcomes.

Approximately 60% of publicly available emergency-response records contained no recorded disposition. Based on the approximately 1,365 calls reviewed, this represents roughly 819 incidents where available records do not identify whether the response resulted in:

• Arrest
• Hospital transport
• Psychiatric admission
• Criminal investigation
• Referral to another agency
• No further action

The lack of complete outcome information limits the ability of oversight agencies, policymakers, and the public to evaluate whether incidents are properly documented and addressed.

This is particularly significant in a facility serving individuals who may be under probation or parole supervision, where criminal activity or repeated violent incidents could affect continued community placement.

Cost to the Community

The financial impact of emergency activity extends far beyond the operating budget of Borden Avenue.

Each emergency response requires taxpayer-funded services, including:

• NYPD officers from the 108th Precinct
• FDNY EMS crews
• Emergency department staff
• Psychiatric evaluation services
• Prosecutors and defense attorneys
• Court personnel
• Correctional resources

The report estimates that repeated emergency responses may represent millions of dollars in additional community costs when considering police response, ambulance dispatch, emergency healthcare, psychiatric services, arrests, and criminal justice involvement.

These costs exist in addition to the millions already allocated annually for facility operations, including more than $1 million for contracted security.

Impact on Veteran Recovery

The VA Grant and Per Diem Program is designed to provide a structured environment where veterans can rebuild their lives. Recovery depends upon stability, safety, trust, and confidence that the program is preparing residents for successful transition into permanent housing.

Repeated exposure to emergency incidents, violence, medical crises, and instability may negatively affect veterans recovering from PTSD, substance-use disorders, homelessness, or incarceration.

The report concludes that public safety should be evaluated not only as a security concern, but as a fundamental component of successful veteran recovery. A transitional program's success should ultimately be measured by whether veterans leave with the support, resources, and stability necessary to remain permanently housed.