- Today, around 30,000 veterans experience homelessness in America.

This is a lot lower than about a decade ago.

And look at this, decrease in the numbers.

But recently, the pace of progress has virtually plateaued.

From substance use to mental health disorders, the housing and job insecurity, the complexities of veteran homelessness run deep.

But it's often more than just about providing a home.

It's about rebuilding a life.

But in Charlotte, North Carolina, a coalition is working to address this challenge.

They're part of a nationwide movement called Built for Zero, aiming to end veteran homelessness for good.

- We really believe in Charlotte-Mecklenburg that veteran homelessness is solvable.

- The goal?

It's ambitious.

Is it doable?

Let's find out.

[energetic music] For Bryan Wright, military service is a family tradition.

- My granddad was in the army, so he was a big part of my life growing up.

And he always told me, he said, "You'll make a fine soldier one day."

- [David] That tradition led him around the world and he served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But his military career was cut short when he was medically retired due to injury sustained throughout his service.

Back home in Charlotte, things were going well, until the pandemic.

- And as a result, lost my job.

And the bills never stopped.

- [David] With no income to cover rent, Bryan lost his apartment.

Eventually, he found himself living out of his car, scraping together money for hotel rooms when his kids came to visit.

- So it was rough, very rough.

I was at a low point in my life.

- [David] Bryan's story mirrors a concerning trend.

Veterans face a higher risk of homelessness compared to the general population.

This often stems from service-related trauma and the challenges of transitioning to civilian life.

But for years it seemed like we were making progress.

Between 2010 and 2022, veteran homelessness dropped by 52%.

The reason for this decrease is likely due in part to Congress.

With bipartisan support, spending billions on rental aid for unhoused veterans.

Under a federal program, veterans pay 30 to 40% of their income toward rent with the government covering the rest.

As a result, homeless veterans now face significantly shorter waits for rental assistance compared to other groups.

But in 2023, everything changed.

Veteran homelessness began rising again, part of a broader surge across the country.

[indistinct] thinks, this is because of skyrocketing housing costs, rising food prices, and the end of COVID-related support programs.

Yet new data from 2024 reveals a 7.5% decrease in veteran homelessness.

While this recent improvement is encouraging, experts say there's still those underlying challenges of affordable housing and economic stability.

But hold on just a second.

Are these numbers even trustworthy?

You see, most homeless counts rely on something called a PIT count, or point in time count.

It's essentially a single snapshot of homelessness on a given night.

This single night tally of both sheltered and unsheltered individuals then serves as the estimated homeless population for the entire community.

But there's a lot of reasons why counting folks like that could be inaccurate.

First, people experiencing homelessness often move around for safety or to be closer to resources.

PIT counts don't capture those temporarily living on couches or bouncing from one situation to the next, and many homeless individuals remain hidden or resist interviews, further complicating the counts.

As a result, reliable data on homelessness remain scarce.

So in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, they're taking a different approach.

They decided to track homelessness through what's called a by-name list.

It's a real time continuously updated record of every veteran experiencing homelessness in the community.

Unlike annual counts, this list changes daily as veterans enter homelessness or find housing.

- So that's able to give us real time data on not just the number and the amount of people of need, but we're able to break it down to the number of families, the age of the veterans, the race, the gender, their discharge status, all the things that we're able to keep and maintain in real time.

- [David Voiceover] They think this comprehensive data strategy helps them track exactly who needs help and what kind of help they need.

It's part of the Built for Zero initiative.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg takes part in this alongside over 100 communities aiming to end homelessness.

Their goal, something called Functional Zero.

- Functional Zero is being able to say that we have the same amount of resources as we do people seeking those resources.

And that's really where our aim is, is where our inflow and our outflow balance one another.

- [David] Okay, so while Functional Zero doesn't mean eliminating homelessness entirely, it doesn't mean having enough resources to quickly house those who need it.

12 communities have already achieved this goal.

In an effort to be that next community, Charlotte-Mecklenburg has created the Housing Our Heroes Work Group.

It's a coalition that brings together the VA, Mecklenburg County, and veteran-focused nonprofits.

They meet regularly review each veteran's case, track their progress toward housing and work together to remove any barriers.

- I just think it's unfortunate that somebody that has fought for their country has to experience homelessness.

And so anything that I can do or our team can do to help prevent that or move a veteran into permanent housing, we wanna try to do that.

So that's what keeps me going.

- [David] Despite identifying veterans in need and helping them secure rental assistance, the work group faces another major challenge: a shortage of affordable housing units.

- Rental rates just keep going up and up and up.

Charlotte is no different than a lot of other major cities in that respect.

So finding something that veterans can afford can sometimes be challenging.

- [David] And veterans not only need to find affordable housing, but also find a landlord who will rent to them.

Remember that federal voucher I mentioned earlier?

Even when veterans qualify for housing vouchers, they face a race against time to find a landlord who will accept them before they expire.

- And so there's a number of veterans out there that may lose their voucher even before they get housed.

- [David] So this is where a coalition of partnerships becomes key to bringing in all the pieces to make the solution work.

In partnership with a national nonprofit, the work group has secured the park at Forentino Apartment Complex.

A portion of the units will be reserved for veterans.

Acquiring this complex will help close that supply gap and provide local permanent housing and wraparound services.

But folks of the work group understand that housing is just one piece of the puzzle.

Veteran homelessness is intertwined with substance use, mental health challenges, and numerous other complex issues.

That's where their collaboration with nonprofit Veteran Bridge Home comes into play.

- But I mean, as you can see, we have all branches, you know, displayed here all across the world.

- [David] They serve as a connector as their partner network aids veterans in securing an employment, building social connections, and connecting them to mental health resources.

- At Veterans Bridge Home, we try to look at things from a whole health perspective.

So in order for a veteran to be successful, there are a number of things that they, or anybody really needs in their life.

- [David] For Bryan, getting connected to Veteran Bridge Home changed everything.

Like many veterans, a damaged credit score from losing his apartment during COVID made finding new housing nearly impossible.

But the organization connected him with a landlord willing to look beyond that number and give him a chance.

What was that first night like in that apartment?

- I shed a few tears when I walked through the door, I'm not gonna lie.

It was a very peaceful, peaceful night.

- [David] With stable housing, Bryan could finally focus on rebuilding his life.

- I was able to focus more at work and as a result of that, I got the promotion I was trying to get because I didn't have to worry about anything outside of work.

I just could focus on work 'cause I had a place to lay my head, I had a place for my kids to be.

It was just like a breath of fresh air.

Like somebody just gave me that extra push, that hand up.

- [David] Ending veteran homelessness in a community seems like an ambitious goal, but stories like Bryan's show it may be possible.

For ncIMPACT, I'm David Hurst.