A Statewide Model — From Minnesota
Ending veteran homelessness — and showing what's possible for everyone else.
Minnesota's count of actively homeless veterans is at the lowest level ever recorded since the creation of the Minnesota Homeless Veteran Registry in 2014 — down more than 60% since post-pandemic highs in 2022. This site documents the coordinated model that made it possible, so others can adapt what works.
60%+
Reduction in actively homeless veterans since 2022
3,281
Veterans served across MACV programs in 2025
1,022
Veterans prevented from becoming homeless in 2025
$1.26
In social value created per dollar invested (Wilder, 2025)
The Moment
A functional end is in reach.
For two decades, Minnesota has built — quietly and methodically — one of the country's most coordinated systems for ending veteran homelessness. MACV sits at the center of that work, partnering with the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, the VA, county and tribal veteran service officers, continuums of care, landlords, healthcare systems, the corrections system, the courts, and dozens of local nonprofits.
In 2026, Minnesota is positioned to reach an effective end to veteran homelessness — the point at which homelessness, when it occurs, is rare, brief, and non-recurring.
We built this site to share what worked — not as a finished product, but as a living model that can be studied, debated, and adapted by others ending homelessness for veterans in other states, or for broader populations here in Minnesota.
Our why
An open invitation, not a finished product.
The Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV) is a nonprofit dedicated to ending veteran homelessness in Minnesota. For decades, MACV has worked alongside the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, the federal VA, county veteran service officers, healthcare systems, courts, landlords, and dozens of partner organizations — building one of the most coordinated systems for ending veteran homelessness in the country.
Minnesota's progress is real, measurable, and the result of many hands. We don't claim a finished answer. We do claim a working model — one we believe can be studied, adapted, and improved by others doing this work for veterans elsewhere, or for broader populations facing homelessness.
This site is a thought-leadership initiative — separate from MACV's core comprehensive services — built to define the model clearly, share what we've learned, and invite partnership in growing the impact.
Core Components
Five things, working together.
The model isn't any single program. It's the way these five components interlock — and the discipline of running them as one system across the state.
Entry & Intake
Multi-channel identification — outreach specialists, county veteran service officers, partner referrals, and an online initial contact screen.
Veteran Enablement
Targeted barrier removal — healthcare, legal, employment, justice — addressing root causes, not just symptoms.
Housing Supply
A dual-path portfolio of subsidies plus MACV-owned and operated housing matched to each veteran's level of need.
Partnership Ecosystem
Coordinated work across CoCs, healthcare, corrections, landlords, developers, and public agencies — at the same table.
Data & Infrastructure
A statewide Homeless Veteran Registry plus Salesforce + Tableau — a single source of truth for every veteran in the system.
Read the full model
Step through the end-to-end pathway, swimlanes, and decision logic that ties every component together.
Read the model
Why It Matters
"From entry to exit, housing stability rose from 16% to 88% for permanent supportive housing tenants — and from 4% to 80% in transitional housing."
Wilder Research · SROI Analysis · December 2025
Read the full impact analysisWho this is for
Built for the people doing the work next.
Other states ending veteran homelessness
Use the model as a blueprint for statewide coordination — registry, governance, and dual-path housing.
Minnesota organizations serving other populations
Translate what works for veterans to families, justice-involved adults, and people facing opioid use disorder.
Funders & policymakers
Understand the funding stack — federal, state, philanthropic — that sustains and scales coordinated systems.
Get in touch
Let's talk.
We share what we've learned with peers, partners, funders, and policymakers working to end homelessness — for veterans and beyond.
Other states & systems
Adapting the model for veteran homelessness in your state.
Other Minnesota organizations
Translating what works for veterans to other populations.
Funders & policymakers
Understanding the funding stack and policy environment.
Researchers & press
The data, the methodology, and the people behind the model.
For program services or veteran assistance, please visit mac-v.org directly.