Let's honor veterans with more than words; our homeless vets need supportive, affordable housing

Politicians and elected officials across the state have been taking part in the annual tradition of marching in Veterans Day parades and giving speeches extolling the valor of, and declaring their support for, those who served in our nation’s armed forces.

While these words and actions are certainly warranted, even welcome, a single day of appreciation is not enough to help veterans — many of whom are struggling on the margins of our society — with the many challenges arising from their service unaddressed and unrecognized.

Public platitudes belie a distressing NIMBYism when it comes to veterans, as communities reject — even aggressively battle against — projects that would provide homeless veterans high-quality, affordable housing and critical services tailored to their needs.

The message is simple and clear: Thanks for your service, but we don’t want you here.

Decades of work has demonstrated the success of a collaborative approach for building permanent supportive housing for homeless veterans that is integrated into affordable and workforce housing. This not only helps individuals and families in need, but also builds and strengthens communities. Unfortunately, those working to implement this data-driven model continue to fight lingering stigma and outright discrimination.

This was the case in the Town of Southampton, where my own organization was invited to develop supportive and affordable housing — 50 units in a community that desperately needs it — only to have the project blocked by local officials who resorted to overtly discriminatory efforts to prevent us from building. Reluctantly, we were left with no option but to file a fair housing discrimination lawsuit in federal court.

It shouldn’t have come to this. New York City and Long Island are at the epicenter of a raging statewide affordable housing crisis that requires nothing short of an all-hands-on-deck effort to solve. We must work collaboratively now, or the consequences will be dire — and widely felt.

Long Islanders face the worst housing cost burden in the state, as the increasing cost of living threatens to push out individuals and families who have lived here for generations. The problem is especially acute for veterans, who are 50% more likely to become homeless than other Americans and are overrepresented in the current homeless population. A 2023 study showed that two-thirds of the state’s homeless veterans lived in the five boroughs or on Long Island.

Building affordable and supportive housing is one of the most effective ways for tackling the veteran homelessness crisis. Take the Liberty Village development in Amityville. Ten years ago, the project’s 60 units of supportive housing were specifically designed to serve the needs of veterans and their families. A decade later, Liberty Village residents are thriving and contributing to the community, demonstrating that supportive and affordable housing can uplift entire neighborhoods — not just the specific population they are designed to serve. Contrary to the rhetoric we see in too many places, the NYU Furman Center finds that five years after a supportive housing building’s completion and opening, the prices of nearby properties experience "strong and steady" growth in value.

We have a proven model for helping these vulnerable members of our community. They did their job, putting themselves at risk and sacrificing time away from loved ones, so that we all can enjoy our rights and freedoms as Americans. This Veterans Day, our elected officials need to do their jobs and provide homeless veterans with action, not words.

This guest essay reflects the views of Ralph Fasano, executive director of Concern Housing, a nonprofit developer of supportive and affordable housing.