RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. — California has the largest number of homeless veterans in the country with more than 11,000 people, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
A new report out this month shows across the country the total number of homeless veterans has gone down.
A local man, who has dedicated his life to helping veterans, said while the numbers are good news, there's still a lot of work to be done.
"There's a lot of struggles that go with being a military brat," said Randall Britt, founder and CEO of America's Homeless Veterans.
Britt grew up in a military family and was even born on an Air Force base in 1954. However, life wasn't always easy, especially during the holidays.
"There were there were a lot of lonely times. My dad was three times in Vietnam, and so he was gone a year at a time or more," said Britt.
Now, despite being retired after more than three decades as a businessman, Britt runs a detox center and substance abuse treatment house serving dozens of previously homeless veterans based in Rancho Cordova.
"When my dad came back from deployment, he was a different person, right? We didn't know what was going on. We just knew that dad was on edge and you know what's wrong with him, we didn't know what PTSD was," said Britt.
His childhood memories helped to instill his compassion for serving veterans across the Sacramento region.
"I've got 18 people that work for me now. We can literally pick you up off the street, and have you have that day and on the journey," said Britt.
The need is great. California has the highest rate of unsheltered veterans at more than 70%, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It's a number Britt described as shameful.
"We have to admit that we have not been able to solve this problem," he said.
HUD tracks the number of homeless veterans across the country too. It's latest count this year shows the total number of homeless veterans in the U.S. has decreased 11%.
"The homeless know that the counters are coming. We only do it one day a year, and they know we're coming. They don't want to be bothered, they don't. They don't trust us. They don't really understand why we're really there, and they go and hide and then they come back later when everybody's gone," said Britt.
Despite the challenges, Britt and his team are working to help end homelessness, one veteran at a time.
HUD says homeless veterans in California represent 31% of the national homeless veteran population.
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