According to a recent US Department of Veterans Affairs report, the number of homeless veterans in the US has fallen to an all-time low since data collection started in 2009. According to statistics from the 2024 point-in-time count, a national survey carried out each January, the number of homeless veterans in Alaska has also declined. Alaska recorded 106 homeless veterans in 2024, a decrease of 11% from 119 the year before.
Even with the progress, many veterans are still struggling, including Sitka native Dawson Crookes. While waiting in line at Anchorage’s downtown Hope Center, Crookes, who served three years in the Army airborne infantry, reflected on seeing homeless vets. “Any time I see a vet out, you know, like holding up a sign or panhandling or anything like that, it just kind of breaks my heart a little bit,” he said.
Crookes has been staying at a shelter for a month now and is actively seeking housing assistance through Catholic Social Services and the VA. He feels fortunate to receive help and recognizes that many benefits exist for veterans.
Another veteran at the Hope Center, Timothy Macasaet, volunteers to maintain peace as people wait for meals. “My job is just to maintain the peace here, to make sure they don’t try to hurt each other,” he explained, noting that most people respect him as he is a veteran. He was born in Ketchikan and spent three years in the late 1970s in the US Army; he experienced one hard winter in Anchorage and nearly six years of homelessness in Seattle.
In 2012, Macasaet finally got accommodation with the help of the VA voucher. He now helps other veterans in Alaska by pointing them in the right direction of programs and urging them to contact the VA, hoping that more veterans will utilize the resources available to them.
This news article was originally published by Alaska´s News Source.
