Nonprofits making progress in tackling homelessness among veterans, but challenges remain

Veterans Empowerment Organization CEO Tony Kimbrough points at design plans for a two-story building that will house 20 formerly homeless veterans, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023 in Atlanta. The Atlanta-based nonprofit houses dozens of veterans and helps put them on a path toward employment and housing independence. (AP Photo/R.J. Rico)

Along a busy Atlanta residential road, a 68-year-old Vietnam War-era Army veteran has found what he calls a “match made in heaven.”

Harold Tilson Jr. found himself homeless earlier this year but for the past few months has been living in transitional housing run by the nonprofit Veterans Empowerment Organization, or VEO. It provides emergency and permanent housing for dozens of previously homeless military veterans.

“If you’re homeless and you need help, you couldn’t ask for a better place to go because they take care of just about everything,” Tilson said.