Homelessness continues to be an issue in the United States, especially where veterans are concerned. It has also come up in the 2016 race for U.S. President.
What at a campaign stop in Miami Beach last month, presidential hopeful and former Florida governor Jeb Bush said, “In Houston, Texas today, there are no homeless veterans.”
PolitiFact Florida read the claim and put it to the Truth-O-Meter. It received a MOSTLY FALSE rating.
PolitiFact writer Joshua Gillin said Bush was referencing a city program that has cut their homeless veteran population in half, but hasn’t eradicated the problem. Gillin cited a statement by Houston’s mayor.
“What the mayor had said, the mayor of Houston had actually said… they had effectively ended homelessness among veterans,” Gillin said. “And what they really meant by that is the fact that if you are a veteran and you need assistance finding a home, if you find yourself on the street for whatever reason, there are resources available for you in the City of Houston. You will not be turned away.”
Gillin went on to say many veterans there don’t realize help is available, and as a result, remain homeless. For this reason, Bush’s claim received a MOSTLY FALSE rating.
SOURCES: No homeless veterans in Houston, Texas Bush claims
- Video, "Jeb Bush Forum Club Full Speech Florida," Dec. 28, 2015 (accessed Jan. 6, 2016)
- Article, "Jeb Bush rallies South Florida loyalists, ahead of New Hampshire push," Miami Herald, Dec. 28, 2015 (accessed Jan. 6, 2016)
- Email interview with Allie Brandenburger, communications, Bush presidential campaign, Jan. 5, 2016
- Phone interview with Carl Salazar, director, Houston Office of Veterans Affairs, Jan. 6, 2016
- Phone and email interviews with Sean Quitzau, assistant, Houston Mayor’s Office for Homeless Initiatives, Jan. 6, 2016 and Jan. 14, 2016
- Email interview with Liz Osborn, press liaison, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, Jan. 12, 2016
- Press release, "Houston Effectively Ends Veteran Homelessness," Mayor’s Office, June 1, 2015 (accessed Jan. 6, 2016)
- Article, "These 7 Cities and States Housed All Their Chronically Homeless Veterans," U.S. Uncut, Dec. 7, 2015 (accessed Jan. 6, 2016)
- Article, "An end to homelessness: Cities take on ‘impossible’ challenge," Christian Science Monitor, Dec. 20, 2015 (accessed Jan. 6, 2016)
- Article, "How A County Outside DC Basically Ended Homelessness For All Vets," Huffington Post, Dec. 23, 2015 (accessed Jan. 6, 2016)
- Article, "How Philly Beat Veteran Homelessness," the Philadelphia Citizen, Dec. 21, 2015 (accessed Jan. 6, 2016)
- Report, "Opening Doors," United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (accessed Jan. 6, 2016)
- Article, "Houston recognized for program that helps homeless veterans," Houston Chronicle, June 1, 2015 (accessed Jan. 6, 2016)
- List, "Mayors Challenge," HUD.gov (accessed Jan. 6, 2016)