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Minnesota Housing News
Erica Zurek
Minneapolis

Hennepin County achieves 'functional zero' status in ending veteran homelessness 

officials announce
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, at podium, announces Hennepin County's reaching a federal milestone for reducing veteran homelessness. She is joined by U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar.
Erica Zurek | MPR News

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State officials said Tuesday that Hennepin County has effectively ended veteran homelessness. It’s one of the most populous counties in the U.S. to achieve the milestone.

Several federal agencies designated the county as “functional zero,” which indicates a community has brought down the number of veterans experiencing homelessness to a very low level and continues to sustain the effort.

This designation does not mean that a veteran will not experience homelessness now or in the future. “It does mean that we can serve every veteran who served our country so that their experience of homelessness will be rare, brief and non-recurring,” said Taya Kaufenberg, a Hennepin County social worker.

The county’s homelessness response system has evolved over the years to meet the federal benchmarks for effectively ending veteran homelessness. Staff identify, shelter and move veterans to permanent housing in less than 90 days.

About 50,000 veterans live in Hennepin County. Since February 2023, chronic veteran homelessness is down by 92 percent.

“Today’s announcement does not by any means mark an end to this critical work,” said Neil Doyle, director of veteran services for Hennepin County. “We are only pausing for a moment to acknowledge this key milestone. We recognize that there is continuous work ahead of us because even one veteran without housing is one too many.” 

The state of Minnesota has an overall goal of eliminating veteran homelessness. Gov. Tim Walz’s office released a statement saying Ramsey County may follow Hennepin County with a designation of functionally eliminating veteran homelessness. It would be the final area in Minnesota to achieve the designation, according to the governor’s office.