OPINION: (Dys)Functional Zero and the Veteran Problem

by Elana Duffy, Pathfinder.vet CEO

How Veteran homelessness really works, and what you can do to help the community get to Actual Zero

The other night as a friend and I waited to get on the subway, a man shuffled up and asked for a moment of our time. He then, as is typical of many homeless and under-served in New York City, launched into his mumbled and rehearsed speech. Then he opened his wallet and pulled out a VA identification card.

 “I’m a Veteran, Persian Gulf before this war.”

 “Us, too,” My Marine Veteran friend responded. “Who did you serve with?”

 “2–5 Marines.”

 “Oh yeah? I just served alongside them on my last deployment.”

My friend and the gentleman had a brief conversation, laughing about new barracks for another unit and some of the finer points of the Corps. The man shuffled off a minute later with $20, probably more than he’d get the rest of his night on a platform on a weeknight in Manhattan. It was 10pm, long after many shelters were closed for the night. And as we got on the train to head downtown, my friend was silent. He’s only been out of the Marines for a month, and coming face-to-face with a struggling brother-in-arms was a wake-up call for him.

NYC has over 200,000 Veterans, and more than “zero” of them are still on the streets at least part of the time. Photo: Elana Duffy

Meanwhile, there was just a press conference about the end of Veteran homelessness in New York City. Yet every day there are new faces on the subway platform with a VA identification card. So what’s the deal, really, with ending Veteran homelessness? It’s all in the language. It has to do with what we call “Functional Zero.”

Functional Zero is a term that describes a “manageable level” of homelessness. It may be a different actual number in cities, but know this: Functional Zero is not Actual Zero. In this case it is the number of homeless that can, even as more still enter the system in a disadvantaged position, be handled through available resources. If there are 300 Veterans on the streets each night, there is room for them somewhere. Vouchers, case managers, a bed somewhere, these things exist for those who choose to use them.

It’s not rocket science: practical knowledge is that homelessness is constantly in flux and cannot reach actual zero. There are evictions, job losses, and medical issues to contend with. As more Veterans leave the service and head to population centers, the resources might be strained. And as Veterans, we sometimes don’t know where to go, or are reluctant to ask for help, which makes the problem worse. We end up on couches at the VA Hospital, or on a floor at the VFW, and we hide from help. Accurate numbers are tough to come by.

So the heartache is not the initiative of reaching Functional Zero, but the implications of what it might mean and why we still have work to do even after it is reached. By announcing an end to Veteran homelessness using the language of Functional Zero, it allows lawmakers to move on to other projects. Once homelessness is “ended” via Functional Zero, the resources turn to other populations even while there are still people on the street. It’s just the way of the world.

But for us, this is not Mission Accomplished. We should not be hanging a banner and calling it a day. We should be pushing for a real end, to have that number down as far as it can go, so no one has to feel they need to spend a night on the street. We need to make it easier for ourselves and for each other to find a way towards Actual Zero, proving that it is possible to truly end chronic homelessness among Veterans and in our communities.

With the cities looking to hit this number of Functional Zero, we as a community of Veterans, families, and community supporters need to look out for each other all the more. Understand what homeless services are out there, and refer each other. Identify which ones are the best and push those out to your brothers and sisters. The world we came from is looking out for our buddies and having our buddies look out for us, and solving problems in the field together from the ground up.

Numbers are arbitrary; brotherhood and sisterhood is real. If you know a service, good or bad, share it. Write a review, get the word out there. We need your knowledge to make a tangible difference and empower others. And if you are one of those in need of assistance, please connect.

Let’s show them what we can do as a community, that we can make zero much more functional.