When those who served in the armed forces return home from war, it can often be difficult to adjust to everyday life. Some even struggle with finding a place to live.

But a new project in the Southern Tier is fighting veteran homelessness by bringing a one-stop-shop to all that have served.

What You Need To Know

  • A site in Binghamton will soon house tiny homes for vets, and a veteran resource center, fighting homelessness, and creating a one-stop shop for those who have served

  • New York had 990 veterans experiencing homelessness in 2022, down from nearly 6,000 in 2010

  • In Menands, a new veteran housing project is also underway that will provide supportive services to formerly homeless and at-risk homeless vets in Albany County

Jonathan Wanglund stops by to check out a construction project aimed at serving the men and women he shares a close bond with. Having served from 2003-14 with multiple tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, he knows how hard adjusting to civilian life can be.

“It's a whole transition to come back to life again, to come back to normal life, so to speak, and then when a lot of service members transition, it's a whole different culture that they have to be able to adopt back to,” said Wanglund, the regional manager of Clear Path for Veterans.

Finding a place to call home can be a challenge for a number of veterans returning home. It’s an issue that’s long plagued New York, as veteran homelessness continued to climb for many years.

“There’s a lot of challenges for people when they come back from their service, wherever they may have been, wherever they may have served,” said Wanglund.

In Broome County, a new project dedicated to supporting veterans is now underway. A site in Binghamton will soon house tiny homes for vets and a veteran resource center fighting homelessness, creating a one-stop shop for those who have served.

“It's just a commitment that I think every county should have to veterans, that when veterans decide, possibly risk their life to fight for our freedoms, we should do everything we can to take care of them back at home,“ said Broome County Executive Jason Garnar.

Projects like this one across the state have actually lead to a record drop in veteran homelessness. New York had 990 veterans experiencing homelessness in 2022, down from nearly 6,000 in 2010. That’s the largest drop of homeless veterans in U.S. history during that period, according to the comptroller.

“Just a great deal of time, energy and resources to make sure that veterans and their family members don't have the same struggles that they had many, many years ago when they came back from service, and it's a wonderful thing to see everybody come together, to be able to make sure that they have these great opportunities out there for them now,” said Wanglund.

Thanks in part to projects like this, New York veteran homelessness is down 83%. Locally, it’s helping in ways some never could have expected.

“When it's all said and done, in Broome County, every veteran will have a place to stay, will have a roof over their heads, and not a single veteran will go homeless, which I think is amazing, I think is something that every community should make a commitment to doing," said Garnar.

Across the state in Menands, a new veteran housing project is also underway that will provide supportive services to formerly homeless and at-risk homeless vets in Albany County.