>> and thanks again to all the artist that shares their stories we hope you have a happy thanksgiving holiday, thank you for watching. see you back in london. >> i'm ali velshi "on target" homeless on the home front let's solve a problem and get those that fought so bravely for america off the street and into safe and stable housing for good. 49,933. that is the government's recent estimate of how many american veterans are homeless on any

given night in this country. nearly 50,000 men and women who served their country are living without a roof over their heads, a situation that many americans find shameful. and some experts say the real number of homeless veterans is about twice that figure, about 100,000. whatever the number, experts agree it's about 11% of homeless adults. here is the good new, the official estimate of homeless veterans is down by a third. tonight we'll look at how america is eliminating homelessness among vaet reasons entirely -- veterans entirely and the obstacles it faces. the obama administration led the charge, it's nearly triple founding for veteran assistance. budgets for the veterans affairs efforts jumped from 2.4 billion in 2008 to 7 billion in the current fiscal year.

here is how the first lady michelle obama explained in 2014 why it makes anybodying sense for cities -- economic sense for cities to make ending homelessness a priority among vets. >> recent studies showed that one chronically homeless person can cost communities between 30,000-$50,000 per year in emergency room visits, medical bills, law enforcements. for some individuals it can be higher. the cost to give someone a home of their own is about $20,000. the first lady was helping to promote the president's goal of ending homelessness among veterans by the end of 2015. in some cities like new orleans, houston and salt lake city met the goal. the lch a region has -- l.a. region has the largest concentration of homeless veterans in the united states, more than 4,000. the mayor backed off a pledge to

get every homeless veteran off the streets. some advocates say deadline is not what the matters most, but making sure that federal, state and local officials are unit in addressing the problem. then, veterans that you homeless on the home front face changes, including a lack of affordable housing and v.a. policy that many cannot navigate alone. we went to hear the story of homeless vets and the people that are helping them. >> i'm usually up between 4:30 and 5 o'clock. i have a cigarette and a cup of coffee. >> it's early morning.

temperatures are 100 degrees. this 63-year-old nose there's no much -- knows there's not much chance of escaping the heat. >> i've been homeless for 16 years. >> he a one of the roughly 50,000 veterans. he said a hip injury on the job left him out of work. and he's never been able to get back on his feet. for the first time in decades, he found hope that home will mean a roof over his head. outreach worker is part of an effort to ensure that no veteran will live unhoused again. >> we are in their says giving them hope. what do you need. right off the bat from that. i'm going do something. >> they court the city for

former service members that want or meet help that have fallen through the grabbings. there's no reason why a veteran shouldn't ask for something. >> that includes ending the tragedy among veterans. >> the notion of one homeless veteran is one too many is why a man was launched by the end of 2015. we will not stop until every veteran has a home. >> it's a 7 billion initiative. it uses the awing first model. the idea of giving housing to

the homeless. and brings the numbers down by 33 prd. >> steng lass now-found urgency in finding a home. >> his wife cannot return to a life outdoors. she has cancer. when i think about her, i'm too old to cry. it's important to get a place, so she can be with me. it's been three months, and he is still without a home. despite an effort to streamline

processes. it involves a lot of red tape. >> they help a lot of vehicles, but are not etirnt with the one. on a day a western is ready to get off the street. they need to respond. >> ryan runs an organization in charge of 9 city's efforts. >> sometimes we have systems that cause them to wait. they lose that hope. >> they had housed numbers since january. but will likely not meet the deadline. delays and lack of economy. >> housing is not cheap. there's a stigma attached to the population. >> peep it going.

i'd say in a laundry mat. i wouldn't let anyone know of my situation. >> they found out how gripping the bureaucracy could be. thinking the v.a. would do anything. not going to happen. >> after 16 years of duty, 3-year-old fuj moved to california to pursue his dreams of being an n.f.l. coach, and found work as a xoch for a lobing -- coach for a local highly. the small stipend couldn't pay the rent. he went to the local v.a. but was given the run around. offered numbers to call. but no help. >> you can call one person, and they spend you to this person and that person.

no one is there for you. >> he found refuge at a vet sffedz house, and was -- vet's house, and once there was tected to a vet's house. >> these guys worked together, better than v.a. sydney he is not alone. the inspector general issued a scathing report, criticising a hotline. 40,500 missed opportunities to connect veterans to services, and over a quarter of callers had to leave messages on the call center answering machine because they were unavailable to take the calls. the inspector general's office says the v.a. was complying with all recommendation the put forward. two months after we first met

him. v.a. housing has come through. the new apartment is still mostly empty, but is big enough for the family from georgia to come and live. >> it's great to be with them. we gotta have each other. meanwhile. ron is waiting for his home. they have moved to a facility, and they make the half hour walk daily. >> hey. >> thank you. >> thank you. look, even a hair cut.

i don't care what is going on with me, right. you know the apartment i told you about. as soon as we get it i can taking there with me, all right. >> okay. it's looking now like 30 days. >> s terks engler hopes she will be well enough to come home. >> it will just be a short period of time, and then we can be together. i love you baby. >> as mentioned ending veteran homelessness dispenth on the housing first model. coming up. more on that model. how giving the homeless home can save taxpayers money in the end.

and we show you like no-one else can. this is our american story. this is america tonight.

once a week i volunteer for a programme that aims to tackle one of society's biggest struggles - homelessness. the numbers in shelters reaches bigger highs. nationwide, the homeless population has been decreasing every year signs 2007. the biggest improvement came among the chronically homeless, people that end up on the street. experts say a lot of credit belongs to something called the housing first model. a programme giving the

chronically homeless their own apartments. it started in new york and has become a movement. the popularity is not just about helping the homeless, but the economic value that the programme delivers. . >> being homeless, i hit bottom here. >> you were here because there were drugs here. >> yes. >> where would you sleep? >> anywhere along here. >> in 2008 valerie wilkinson had been living on the streets for two years, drinking, hooked on heroin, battling depression. if she found what safe haven she could. >> what happened, how did you get away from this. >> it got to a point where i was sick and tired of being sick and tired. >> that's where she sought help from an area, center for community services. >> we have a problem with homelessness in new york city. it's a huge problem, we have to

work at it. >>erratica runs the ---erratica runs the homeless shelter, a programme i know well through my work with them. >> the chronically homeless is a different poupulation of people. these are folks that van out for maybe years. early every morning, teams from c u.c.s. set out on to the streets looking for folks, sleeping outside in upe-manhattan. >> knornigood morning. >> they are mostly men, but some women live on the streets. many struggle with mental illness. in the end their homelessness puts a drain on public

resources. each costs taxpayers 50,000 annually. >> maybe someone called 911 because they are laid out on the street. that's a cost. if they are incarcerated. the emergence of the housing first model changed that. it's a programme that uses money to subsidise apartments. >> housing first is you don't have to be not sober or ill, if you need a home makes you get a home. >> this strategy, rewards bad behaviour, say some. and can be irresponsible. but it has spread to hundreds of communities because it works. since 2007, the number of

chronically homeless in the united states dropped by half, from 180,000 to 90,000. and importantly, it saved money, in new york, the cost per homeless person dropped from 40,449 to 24,167. that's 16,282 less a year. colorado experienced double the savings from 43,239 down to 11,694, and nationwide housing 100,000 chronically homeless americans cut 1.3 billion in costs. it's hard to appreciate how transformative housing can be. you see it first, with the irregard to care for themselves. >> housing first programs

reduced social service spending on the homeless by 37%. those savings tend to continue as 80 to 90% of participants remain in housing. >> i only use it. cc match am has a lot of problems. as a transgender woman felt unsafe in city shelters. >> with the help of c u.c.s., she moved into her own apartment last summer. >> the apartment is brand new. it's a surprise that i don't have to wait. with a new job at a call center, match am is proud to be one of 30% of participants that end up returning to the workforce. >> i want to be a productive person in society. >> when i came here, it felt like home. >> valerie works part time as an

administrative assistant. one of an 80% of participants that return to the workforce. she is studying for certification that she hopes will lead to better full-time work. five years clean and sober she reconnected. including to a daughter she hadn't seen in decades. i was living in the darkness, now i'm walking in the light. >> gnat outline of america's homeless live in the streets, come live in parking lots, in their cars. we look at ways to help, next.

we've been talking mainly about homeless people that you can see living in the streets, the great recession created a largely invisible group of homeless people, formerly middle class americans for the to live in their cars, the government doesn't keep regards of the homeless. but advocates say we may see the great numbers. for then living in your car is not only illegal, but is unsafe. new safe crops are popping up. as david shuster reports, these parking lots are a visible solution to a hidden problem, a problem affecting people who do not fit the stereotypical image of homelessness. >> reporter: just before 6:00 pm

as others start the commute to work, teresa smith heads to an unassumed church. it's not religion she's after. it's the parking lot. >> this is the office, what we use. we have the file cabinet with the paperwork, basic toiletrie., smith and the non profit runs a programme in a youth center. it's one of a dozen programs along the west coast. running a safe haven. for 65%. smith started in 2010 when a new face of homelessness emerged. middle class, accustomed to stability, suddenly cast adrift.

they go down to the shelters saying "it's not me, i'm not homeless, i'm in between, what do i do, where do i go?", 76% of those in the lot report some income, but struggle with underemployment or jobs paying a fraction of what they are used to. >> just because you're homeless doesn't mean you are not working or you don't want to work. you do. >> you want the security that you had. >> 57-year-old katherine williams worked as a receptionist when she was laid off. the $10,000 salary barely paid for a motel room. she lost a library job and moved into a car. >> having found this place, it makes it easier. you are parked on the side of the police, they come along, wake up. get out, go away. >> seniors make up one in five of those parked in the lot.

veterans account for 20%. >> it's a struggle every day. there's days that it's hard to just wake up and want to keep going. after 12 years in the marine, he's looking for full-time work, but has only landed part-time gigs. >> i'm one of many in a situation like this. >> the safe parking programs have strict rules, you must be in by ninepm and out by 7am. there's zero tolerance for alcohol, drugs or violence and an agreement to have financial counselling. you can stay as long as you want as long as you continue to work. >> if anyone told me i would be living in my car, i would have laughed saying it's not a possibilitiy. >> in 2010, kevin spent

nine months in the lot. unable to find work for two years. bepleating a savings account from a collection job that earnt him six figures. >> the people on the lot were professionals. attorneys, if they were not on my lot. they were the people that lived next door to me in my house. >> landry landed work while living in his car, and a brand new cars used to drive to his job. >> safe parking programs came under fire from residents. dreams for change shut a third lot after repeated community complaints. >> no offense, people like you come in here, you don't have to put up with these people. >> more than 1,000 miles away in seattle. frank says a growing population of people living in the cars and r.v. ks yeah itted a host of problems. >> they steal from us, drop

trash wherever they want. they bring the property value down. who wants to buy a house with the camp ground of america across the street. >> graham created seattle's first safe parking programme and says a few bad eggs may lurk, but 70% are first-time homeless, desperate to get back on their feet. >> we want a safe community where we can work together. where people can get into housing and live the american dream. >> a dream that psychology stupid belinda forces herself to keep in mind each night she and her four children spend crammed in her small saidan. >> a week ago i didn't want to come back to the parking lot to sleep in my car. it was hard. but, you know, hopefully at the end of the line i'll have something better to offer my

kids. it's temporary. a long temporary, but it will be over soon since we air the that report, there's waiting lists to get into the parking lots. some 30 to 70 cars. one reason is rising tents in a tight housing market. and here are some updates on the people we met living in the cars. katherine williams had her health deteriorate. she's cycled in and out of the lot between hops stays and moved in with app friend in san diego, where living costs are cheaper. the veteran we met found housing and melinda, with her four kids, was approved for government subsidised housing a few months later. that's our show for today, i'm ali velshi, thank you for joining us. the news continues on al jazeera america

parse >> ali velshi on target. youth came from. >> a political fire storm. tens of thousands of children from central america showed up on the border trying to enter the united states alone. >> you can't send your children up here and let them stay. >> the obama administration took unprecedented measures to keep them out. on to honduras where violence is still forcing people out and talked to families being torn apart.