NO VETERAN INVISIBLE
How By-Name Lists Turn Outreach Into a Housing Plan
Published: September 19, 2026
Focus: Veteran by-name lists, coordinated entry, outreach, Central Ohio and New York City
Veteran homelessness is often discussed through totals: how many people were counted, how many were sheltered, how many were housed. Those numbers matter because they show the size of the problem and whether the country is making progress. But for the Veteran sleeping in a car, staying in a shelter, moving between temporary places, or trying to survive outside, the most important question is more personal: does anyone know who I am, what I need, and what the next housing step is?
That is the purpose behind a Veteran by-name list, or BNL. On July 30, 2026, VA Homeless Programs described a BNL as a status-based roster of every Veteran experiencing homelessness in a community. Unlike a public directory, it is an operational tool used by approved VA and community partners to identify Veterans, reconcile information across systems, coordinate services, and follow progress toward stable housing. Starting in fiscal year 2026, VA strengthened expectations for medical centers and VA-funded homeless-program partners to use a standardized Veteran BNL process and update it routinely.
WHY THE PIT COUNT AND A BY-NAME LIST DO DIFFERENT JOBS
The most recent national Point-in-Time Count available today is the January 2025 count. VA reports that 32,495 Veterans experienced homelessness on a single night in January 2025. Of that total, 18,977 were in sheltered settings and 13,518 were unsheltered. The January 2025 estimate was 56.1 percent lower than the 2010 level and the lowest Veteran homelessness count since HUD began reporting the measure in 2009. VA also notes that the January 2025 PIT results reflect a national snapshot through the end of 2024 and that the next PIT Count will occur in January 2027.
The PIT Count is essential for measuring national and community trends, but it is still a one-night estimate. A by-name list serves a different purpose. It is local, person-specific, and designed to be updated as housing status changes. A community may know from the PIT Count that it has dozens or hundreds of Veterans experiencing homelessness, but the BNL is what helps teams answer operational questions: Who is currently unsheltered? Who has been assessed? Who may be eligible for HUD-VASH or another housing intervention? Who needs identification, transportation, health care, benefits help, or a landlord willing to accept a referral? Who has already moved into housing and needs follow-up?
A good homelessness response needs both views. The PIT Count tells us whether the system is changing at scale. The BNL helps ensure that an individual Veteran does not disappear inside the scale.
WHAT A HIGH-QUALITY BY-NAME LIST CHANGES
VA says a high-quality Veteran BNL pulls information from multiple approved sources, including VA's Homeless Operations Management and Evaluation System, local Homeless Management Information Systems, existing community or VA medical center Veteran lists, and new Veterans identified through outreach. The information is then checked for accuracy, reconciled when the same Veteran appears in more than one place, and used by partners to coordinate housing and supportive services.
That process can reduce a common failure in fragmented systems: the Veteran who tells the same story to several agencies but still has no clear owner for the next step. When outreach teams, housing programs, case managers, health services, and community partners are working from a coordinated picture, they can spend less time rediscovering the same crisis and more time resolving the barrier that is actually delaying housing.
The BNL is not a housing unit, however. Data can show that a Veteran is ready for a voucher or permanent housing, but it cannot create an apartment that does not exist. A complete list without enough landlords, units, inspection capacity, transportation, or move-in support can become a better-organized waiting line. That is why the data side of the strategy has to be matched by a real housing-supply strategy.
PRIVACY AND TRUST ARE PART OF THE HOUSING STRATEGY
VA is explicit about what the by-name list is not intended to do. Its July 2026 explanation says BNLs are not meant to track Veterans' movements, add intrusive information, share information outside approved systems, or monitor personal activities or health and benefits usage. That boundary is important because trust is not a side issue in homelessness outreach. It is part of whether a Veteran will stay engaged long enough for the housing process to work.
Some Veterans are cautious about government or service systems because of prior experiences, stigma, pride, trauma, or a desire to remain independent. Others may have already repeated their history many times without seeing a result. Programs can protect trust by explaining in plain language what information is being collected, why it is needed, who is authorized to use it, and how it supports the housing plan. A coordinated system should feel like fewer unnecessary handoffs, not more surveillance.
WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE IN CENTRAL OHIO AND NEW YORK CITY
The structure already exists locally for this kind of coordination. VA Central Ohio's Franklin County homeless-resources page, last updated May 12, 2026, identifies Health Care for Homeless Veterans outreach as a core route for finding homeless Veterans and helping them access VA health care and benefits. The same page points to Central Point of Access for emergency shelter intake and to Supportive Services for Veteran Families providers for eligible Veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
In New York City, the Department of Homeless Services Veteran Service Unit operates as a centralized access point for Veterans who are homeless or at risk. NYC says the unit connects Veterans with housing services, medical care, City, State, and federal entitlements, and HUD-VASH eligibility support. The NYC Department of Veterans' Services also maintains a Veteran Housing Ladder and VetConnectNYC housing-and-shelter pathway, giving Veterans multiple entry points depending on whether they need immediate shelter, eviction prevention, affordable housing, or another housing resource.
The lesson is not that every Veteran should call every program. The lesson is the opposite: the system should be organized so that one verified contact can become a warm handoff to the right next step. A by-name approach is strongest when the Veteran does not have to personally coordinate the entire network while in crisis.
A BETTER OPERATING MODEL FOR INVEST IN VETS
Invest in Vets can complement this public system without trying to create or duplicate a confidential by-name list. The nonprofit's most useful private-market role is to build the housing side of the equation: a current inventory of landlords, property managers, real estate professionals, investors, and units that may be available for qualified Veteran referrals.
That inventory should remain separate from confidential Veteran case data. A landlord list can track property location, unit size, expected availability, accessibility features, contact information, and whether the owner is willing to learn the applicable voucher or rental-assistance process. Veteran eligibility and personal case information should remain with the authorized VA, housing authority, Continuum of Care, or service provider handling the case.
This creates a practical two-part system. The coordinated Veteran network works to make sure a Veteran is identified, assessed, referred, and followed. The nonprofit and housing network work to make sure there are actual doors to open when the Veteran reaches the housing stage. A by-name list helps prevent people from being lost. A reliable unit pipeline helps prevent housing-ready Veterans from being stuck.
MEASURE THE OUTCOME THAT MATTERS
VA reported that 51,936 Veterans were permanently housed during fiscal year 2025, and 96.2 percent of those Veterans remained housed at the end of the fiscal year. Those are fiscal-year program outcomes and should not be confused with the January 2025 one-night PIT estimate. They answer a different question: how many individual Veterans moved into permanent housing through VA homelessness efforts, and how many were still housed when the fiscal year ended?
For local organizations, the same discipline matters. The goal is not the number of calls made, flyers distributed, landlords contacted, or names placed on a list. Those activities matter only if they shorten the path from identification to stable housing. Useful measures include how quickly a Veteran receives an assessment, how long it takes to match an appropriate housing intervention, how long a housing-ready Veteran waits for a workable unit, and whether the Veteran remains housed after move-in.
The national trend proves that Veteran homelessness is not an unsolvable problem. The January 2025 estimate was more than half below the 2010 level, while fiscal year 2025 housing outcomes show tens of thousands of individual Veterans moving into permanent homes. The next stage of progress depends on making the system precise enough that no Veteran becomes invisible between outreach, eligibility, a housing referral, and a front door.
VETERAN HELP & RESOURCES
Veterans who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness can contact the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 1-877-4AID-VET (1-877-424-3838). VA states that the call is free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. More information is available at https://department.va.gov/homeless/.
Central Ohio Veterans can use VA Central Ohio's Franklin County Homeless Resources page for HCHV outreach, emergency-shelter intake information, and local SSVF connections:
https://www.va.gov/central-ohio-health-care/programs/va-emergency-resources/homeless-resources/franklin-county-homeless-resources/
New York City Veterans can use the NYC Veteran Service Unit and Veteran Housing Ladder to connect with housing, shelter, benefits, HUD-VASH screening support, and other local resources:
https://www.nyc.gov/site/dhs/outreach/veteran-service-unit.page
https://www.nyc.gov/site/veterans/services/veteran-housing-ladder.page
If a Veteran is in immediate emotional crisis or you are concerned about one, call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or use the Veterans Crisis Line chat.
CALL TO ACTION
Veterans: If your housing is unstable, make one verified contact and ask for a housing assessment or connection to the local homeless-program team. You do not need to know the name of every program before you ask for help.
Landlords and property managers: Keep your vacancy information current and connect with local Veteran housing providers before a unit is urgently needed. A clear unit description and a responsive point of contact can remove days or weeks from a housing search.
Investors and real estate professionals: Help expand the inventory of safe, code-compliant units that can work with Veteran housing programs. The need is not limited to large developments; small multifamily properties, duplexes, and scattered-site units can become part of a repeatable housing pipeline when they meet local requirements.
Supporters: Help Invest in Vets strengthen the connection between outreach and actual housing. Transportation, document replacement, move-in supplies, landlord education, and verified referrals are the practical pieces that help turn a coordinated plan into a permanent home.
SOURCES
1. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Homeless Programs, “What is a by-name list?” July 30, 2026.
https://department.va.gov/homeless/what-is-a-by-name-list/
2. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “By-Name List Frequently Asked Questions,” fiscal year 2026 requirements; accessed September 19, 2026.
https://department.va.gov/homeless/bnl/by-name-list-frequently-asked-questions/
3. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “Homeless Veterans in the United States: Point-in-Time (PIT) Count,” January 2025 PIT data; accessed September 19, 2026.
https://department.va.gov/homeless/point-in-time-pit-count/
4. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “VA demonstrates continued progress in addressing Veteran homelessness,” May 5, 2026; fiscal year 2025 outcomes.
https://department.va.gov/homeless/va-demonstrates-continued-progress-in-addressing-veteran-homelessness/
5. VA Central Ohio Health Care, “Franklin County Homeless Resources,” last updated May 12, 2026.
https://www.va.gov/central-ohio-health-care/programs/va-emergency-resources/homeless-resources/franklin-county-homeless-resources/
6. New York City Department of Homeless Services, “Veteran Service Unit,” accessed September 19, 2026.
https://www.nyc.gov/site/dhs/outreach/veteran-service-unit.page
7. New York City Department of Veterans' Services, “Veteran Housing Ladder,” accessed September 19, 2026.
https://www.nyc.gov/site/veterans/services/veteran-housing-ladder.page