In his effort to end homelessness, Mayor Marty Walsh has paid special attention to the issue of veteran homelessness — and for good reason. Across the country, veterans are overrepresented in the homeless population, with studies showing that they’re twice as likely as civilians to become homeless.
In 2016, Walsh announced that Boston ended chronic veteran homelessness, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any more vets sleeping in shelters across the city.
Kathy Conley, director of Pine Street Inn veterans programs, was a part of that city effort. “Chronic,” she explained, means they’ve been on the street or in a shelter for at least 12 consecutive months or have had four episodes of homelessness in a three-year period.
