Army veteran shows off his new home as officials say number of homeless veterans falling

U.S. Army veteran Isaiah Peace now owns a home in south Minneapolis.

“Certainly, I felt like I could let go of my survival mode mindset,” he says. “Being in a shelter, you don’t really know what’s next. »

Peace, 22, says he was honorably discharged from the military in 2022.

Afterward, he struggled with alcohol addiction and, for seven months, found himself living outside or in a shelter.

But now, with help from Hennepin County and a voucher from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, he has taken up residence in his apartment.

“Just take a moment to breathe and realize that this is part of a change,” says Peace. “It’s something new.”

Our visit with Peace comes as homeless veterans are in the spotlight.

As of Tuesday, the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority and its partners say they’ve had a big impact on the number of homeless veterans in the area.

“Today, we bring hope to all veterans who are experiencing the unimaginable experience of homelessness,” Taya Kaufenberg, Hennepin County Senior Social Worker, told reporters.

The government says there are now sixty-nine homeless veterans in Hennepin County, including five who are homeless.

A drop from August 2023, when 167 veterans were homeless.

Kaufenberg says the work is not done.

“That doesn’t mean there won’t ever be homeless veterans again,” she notes. “This means we can serve all veterans who have served our country so that their experiences of homelessness are rare, brief and non-recurring. »

Catholic Charities now has thirty-four housing units, specifically reserved for Twin Cities veterans.

Nineteen of them are in Hennepin County.

At the Catholic Charities Endeavors residence, Johnny Brown Junior lives in one of 137 apartments for people in need of shelter.

Brown, 70, was in the U.S. Navy doing aircraft maintenance for three years in the early 1970s.

He lived in Catholic Charities apartments for three years after spending a year in a shelter.

Brown says the apartment is a much safer option.

“Peace of mind,” he said. “There is help and hope. When you have your own place, no problem, but when you go out, be careful.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS asked why the number of homeless veterans is declining.

“It’s because the system was intentional about what it was trying to do,” says Keith Kozerski, director of programs at Catholic Charities. “He organized the available resources.”

Recently, Hennepin County and groups like Catholic Charities have begun using case managers to connect veterans with services like rental assistance vouchers.

There is now individual advice with social workers.

Additionally, the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority says it has administered 347 housing vouchers to veterans and their families.

That personal touch makes a difference for veterans, Kozerski says.

“It’s stressful, it’s traumatic,” he notes. “And their return to their neighborhood is not always well thought out and planned and that can cause difficulties for people.”

For his part, Peace says that now that he has a place to live, he hopes to find a job in retail.

A new beginning.

“Everything is going to be a little different now, because you’re stationary, you have somewhere to go,” Peace says.