860 homeless veterans have found housing since 2014 through a collaborative effort in Lane County. The goal is to house all veterans in the community.
Operation 365 started as part of a nationwide effort to house 1 veteran for each day of the year. The work has continued thanks to collaboration between the county, cities and service providers. Alexandra Dreher, Lane County Human Services Supervisor, says the program improved communication between agencies to identify and help veterans who lacked housing.
“The goal is to house every veteran and to house everyone in our community. But we have to do that piece by piece. So, starting with veterans is a good start. Operation 365 gives us an achievable model that we know works when we coordinate as a community.”
Dreher says 860 veterans have been housed since the program started but she knows of 221 more who are still unhoused in Lane County. That’s thanks to the Homeless Veteran By-name list, compiled by service providers throughout the county.
