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Politics

Great news: The U.S. government changed its approach to homeless veterans and the results are stunning

The number of unhoused veterans has decreased by 55.6% since 2010.

Photo credit: Canva

Three government agencies are ensuring that veterans have a home to go to.

A new report from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) is showing promising news. Due to hard work and investing in housing initiatives, the number of unhoused veterans has decreased by 7.5% since 2023 and 55.6% overall since 2010!

Veteran homelessness has been a growing concern for decades. Since 2009, the three agencies have been monitoring the situation using an annual Point-In-Time (PIT) count to gauge the issue. The PIT Count is a yearly count of the sheltered and unsheltered people who are unhoused within a single night in January. The data collected in 2024 showed that 32,882 veterans experienced homelessness, of which 13,851 were completely unsheltered. These results are lower from 2023’s data, in which 35,574 veterans were unhoused in total and 15,507 were without any shelter period.

An unhoused veteran sitting with a sign asking for changeThe number of unhoused veterans has lowered by 55.6% since 2010.Photo credit: Canva

The VA credits the Biden-Harris Administration’s investment in specific “Housing First” programs aimed toward unhoused veterans along with HUD and USICH initiatives to combat homelessness in general. Some of these initiatives include $800 million worth of grants given to unhoused and at-risk veterans and policy changes within HUD that allowed veterans easier, less expensive access to housing.

“This data shows that with the right investments in housing and health care, and with strong leadership and coordination across government, homelessness is solvable,” said USICH Director Jeff Olivet in a press release.

“Today, thanks to interagency efforts by the entire Biden-Harris Administration and our partners on the ground, we are proud to announce a significant decline in Veteran homelessness this year,” said HUD Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman.

A veteran sitting down as a woman in a white coat talks to himThe VA, USICH, and HUD are helping more veterans gain access to housing.Photo credit: Canva

While this is certainly great news of progress, homelessness is still an issue in the United States. While there were only 32,882 unhoused veterans recorded in 2024, that is still a large number of human beings that require homes. And that’s just unhoused veterans, not the entire homeless population.

According to a report by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, there is still a lot of work to be done. From 2019-2023, the number of people who entered an emergency shelter for the first time increased more than 23 percent. A vast number of factors create unhoused people, from economic hardship to drug addiction to mental illness. There are also incidents and natural disasters that make a person unhoused overnight such as a wild fire or a hurricane.

So what is the solution? Well, to Thomas Byrne, a professor of social work at Boson University, the answer is simple. To quote a phrase he heard from a head of a homeless services agency, “The solution to the problem is in the name of the problem.” In other words, to help the homeless, we have to just provide them homes.

A hand holding house keys in front of a homeThe key to solving homelessness is literally house keys.Photo credit: Canva

It’s a simple solution that has complex political issues and red tape all around it. But it’s a solution. We only have to work on the “how” now. Fortunately, based on what’s being done for the veterans in this country, the “how” appears to be more and more doable as time, effort, and work is put into it.

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Identity

In rare footage, Helen Keller verbally shared why she understood the 'infinite capacity of hope'

All she wanted to do was help others.

via Wikimedia Commons

Humanitarian Helen Keller circa 1920.

In a 1954 documentary short, humanitarian Helen Keller expressed that her greatest regret in life was being unable to speak clearly. But given that she could not see or hear, her speech was quite remarkable.

Keller was born in 1880 and, at the age of 18 months, contracted an unknown illness that left her deaf and blind. But with the help of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, she was able to overcome her disabilities and become an outspoken advocate for the voiceless and oppressed.


Throughout her life, Keller advocated for peace, women’s rights and the worker’s rights movement. She was a devout socialist and an early member of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Her most lasting work was with the American Foundation for the Blind, which she joined in 1924 and would work for over 40 years. Over that time, she visited 35 countries, met with world leaders, and advocated for improved healthcare and education for those with vision loss.

However, even though her efforts changed the lives of millions, she always thought she could do more if she spoke more clearly. But her inability to do so gave her a greater understanding of the human condition.

"It is not blindness or deafness that bring me my darkest hours. It is the acute disappointment in not being able to speak normally," she said. "Longingly I feel how much more good I may have done, if I had only acquired normal speech. But out of this sorrowful experience, I understand more fully all human striving, thwarted ambitions, and the infinite capacity of hope."

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Mental Health

We are being lured by the siren song of cynicism. We have to choose a different route.

Photo by Inu Etc on Unsplash

We can't let ourselves be lured by the siren song of cynicism.

"Why do people have to suck so badly?" my teen asks me after watching a viral video of horrible human behavior.

I understand the sentiment. I really do. I've asked myself the same question many times in recent years. Why are people like this? What is wrong with people? How can people be so stupid/cruel/selfish/ignorant/etc. And every time I have to pause, reflect and recognize what I'm hearing.

It's the siren song of cynicism. That strangely alluring voice that lulls us into a negative state of complacency at best and abject nihilism at worst.

I see—and feel in myself—cynicism as a natural, reactionary response to the ugly realities of our world, but also to our current digital climate. So much of the discouse we consume is filtered through social media algorithms that reward undernuanced hot takes and keep the cycle of negative sensationalism churning. The bad stuff gets our attention, which prompts people to talk about the bad stuff, which triggers algorithms that push more of the bad stuff, which creates a feedback loop informing us that everything is terrible.

Cynicism seduces us because it's easy. It doesn't actually feel good, but it feels comfortable because it doesn't ask anything from us. Hardened cynics sometimes see themselves as the intellectually honest among us, having real insight into people and problems, but it's simply not true. Cynicism requires no deep digging, real reflection or soul searching. It's the easiest thing in the world to call the world a dumpster fire, toss up our hands and say, "Welp, everything and everyone sucks, so what's the point?"

Hope, on the other hand, is hard. It requires going beyond our impulsive reactions to headlines and soundbites and to enage with humanity holistically. Far from being some kind of unthinking, Pollyanna-ish, head-in-the-sand idealism, I see hope as the natural outcome of truly diving into the reality of human existence.

But how do we get there? How do we ignore the pull of cynicism and navigate toward hope instead?

First, we can look to the past to see how far we have actually come.

I was watching the Olympics the other night and marveling at what human beings have figured out how to do. We started off rubbing sticks together to make fire. Now we have people who can artistically dance around on ice, spin multiple times through the air with the utmost perfection and precision, and land on one foot on a 1/8-inch blade. Not only that, but they do it to beautiful music that humans have composed, with musical instruments humans created, recorded on technological equipment that humans invented.

Not only was I watching this marvel happen, but I was doing so all the way on the other side of the planet, in the comfort of my home, where hot air blows out of the walls, clean water pours out of the refrigerator that keeps our food cold and lights turn on and off with the flick of a finger.

And that's just the basic, everyday life stuff we've figured out. Thinking of all of the ways humans continue to advance and progress is mind-boggling.

Sure, we still separate ourselves into artificial groups and fight over stupid things, but we also have created global organizations that collaborate to do incredible work to solve problems. Yes, our advancements have caused an imbalance in our relationship to the planet, but we also have developed the science to understand and begin to mitigate those impacts. Indeed, people can still be bafflingly ignorant or closed-minded, but we have access to everything that humans have ever learned available at our fingertips. That's incredible.

Our material progress may have outpaced our collective spiritual progress, and our political will to enact workable solutions might be a mess, but there's no reason to believe we won't figure those things out too. Look at all that we've been through and what we've accomplished. We are far more capable than we give ourselves credit for, in all areas.

Second, we can choose the filters with which we view the present.

When we look at the challenges we face and the difficulties in meeting those challenges, do we see a sign that humans are inept or a sign that we're trying to figure things out? Learning and problem-solving are messy, nonlinear processes. Sometimes progress is two steps forward, one step back. Growth involves growing pains, especially when we're actually growing the fastest. Building something new often requires tearing down something old first, and destruction feels like destruction even when it's necessary.

There's also the simple truth that we find what we look for. If we look for what is bad, wrong and unjust in the world, we'll find it. That stuff is there, no question. And some of it definitely needs our attention; ignoring a problem doesn't make it go away. But focusing on the negative all the time is a choice—one that doesn't serve anyone well.

​I could easily spend an entire day finding examples of how people are awful, how it seems like we're going backward in some ways, how society is totally messed up and how the future is doomed. (Just spend the day on Twitter. It's all there.) If my goal were to justify a cynical outlook on humanity, I could easily do so.

But I could also spend an entire day finding examples of how humans are amazing, how people come together to help one another, how organizations are solving problems and providing for people's needs, how progress is being made in all fields of human endeavor. If my goal were to justify a hopeful vision for humanity, I could easily do that as well.

Each of those scenarios is a choice. Which day seems like it would lead to a better outcome, either for me personally or for the world at large?

The negative, cynical stuff is constantly in our faces because of how media and social media work, but the positive, constructive stuff is all around us. We need to balance positivity with addressing real problems, but when we put more focus and energy into supporting and amplifying the things we want to see than the things we don't, we steer our ship toward hope.

Finally, we can remember that the future is still unwritten.

One of the hallmarks of cynicism is the sense that nothing changes, that we're going to be stuck in the same stupidity of our own making forever. But none of us has a crystal ball. We don't know what the future holds and how humanity will change through the inevitable ups and downs on the horizon. We couldn't have predicted we'd be here now three years ago, and we don't know what things will look like three years from now.

We can choose to envision a dystopian future—there are plenty of books and movies we can use for inspiration if that's what we want to do. Or we can choose to envision something better or greater than what we have now. Neither is guaranteed in any way, so we do have a choice in the matter.

Any psychologist will tell you that visualization can be a powerful and transformative tool. Just as we see what we look for in the present, we are more likely to create what we envision for the future. That's not to say that we can control everything, but we can decide what direction we try to encourage humanity to go with our lives. When we look forward to a future in which humanity and our planetary home thrive and flourish, we're much more likely to seek out ways to move us in that direction.

Hope is a choice we make daily, in our thoughts and in our actions. Cynicism can sing to us all it wants, but we will hold the wheel steady, look for the light on the horizon and steer that direction instead.

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Wellness

An expert shares how to reclaim hope. Yes, even after these past two years.

Photo by Rosie Kerr on Unsplash

We all need some hope and inspiration.

As 2022 approaches, some of us might be remiss in even thinking about new goals for ourselves. Especially after a soured “2020 vision” and a 2021 that came and went in the blink of an eye. Not to mention the new hard look at hustle culture, the collective burnout otherwise known as The Great Resignation … oh, and a seemingly never-ending pandemic.

So yeah, it’s perfectly reasonable that the once hopeful promise of a New Year’s resolution might have lost its shine.

Still, researcher and author Dr. Shane Lopez discusses why holding onto hope remains a crucial skill. And a learnable one as well.

Resolutions might change to reflect different values—perhaps a resolution to find meaningful work versus working harder, for example—but regardless, this take might offer some fresh insight and reinstill some long-lost vigor. At the very least, it might make hope seem a little less delusional.


In his 2013 interview with the University of Minnesota's Center for Spirituality and Healing and the Life Science Foundation, Dr. Lopez defines hope as “the belief that the future will be better than the present, coupled with the belief that you have the power to make it so.”

He clarifies that where simple optimism or wishful thinking contains only the first belief (a better future), hope has the added aspect of the belief in one’s own agency in the matter.

It’s almost like saying optimism says that a problem can be solved. Hope actively says, “I have the ability to solve this problem.”

Interview with Dr. Shane Lopez

This is in part why hope is the foundation of proper goal-setting. As we set down applicable plans, we strengthen our own agency, thus becoming happier and more productive.

According to Dr. Lopez, “a hopeful student can achieve a letter grade higher that a less hopeful one of equal intellect.”

In many ways, hope and resilience go hand in hand.

Dr. Lopez shares how hopeful people have an innate ability to bounce back after obstacles.

"An obstacle to a hopeful person is an expected challenge,” he says, adding, “then they immediately come up with new and different plans to get around that obstacle.”

Again, hope is a productive state, not a passive one.

Dr. Lopez states that hopeful people are also not shy about reaching out for support or help, to reassess or even reform goals when necessary. His interview indicates that hope is a key trait of problem solvers, not Pollyannas.

How to instill some hope into 2022

Going off of Dr. Lopez’s suggestions, here are ways to become more hopeful (and therefore more happy, productive and resilient, to boot)

Figure out what you’re truly excited about.

We spend a lot of time doing things that we’re not excited about, so when you can find something that does set off a spark, “you’ll receive a flurry of these hopeful thoughts,” says Dr. Lopez. And that enthusiasm in one area can leach into other areas of life as well.

Often, these are the things that give us the most meaning and purpose. Invest heavily in them.

That excitement might not make itself visible right away. And that’s OK. If that’s the case, try following your curiosity instead (Medium has a fantastic article about this). The point is, it has to be something that takes up more real estate than just your head.

Pursue two to three meaningful goals. Not 10-20.

Dr. Lopez shares that many people make this mistake when trying to create change in their life and thus try to pile more on top of an already full, chaotic life. The key ingredients to an achievable goal are specificity, clarity and additive to your life (meaning that it adds something of benefit, rather than taking something away).

I’ve become something of a James Clear brand ambassador these days. He really has the market cornered on achievable goal setting. If you’re not ready to try out his book “Atomic Habits,” he has a lot of great tidbit-sized insight on his Instagram.

Learn by example.

Find the most hopeful person in your life and spend time with them. Dr. Lopez suggests surrounding yourself with these kinds of people will teach you how to come up with multiple plans, overcome setbacks and sustain your energy to avoid burnout. In short, they’ll show you firsthand how it’s done and that it's possible.

I would add that in this day and age, there’s no shortage of hopeful podcasts, audiobooks—maybe even this website you’re reading from right now—that could help support you.

Whether you decide to make that 2022 vision board or simply want to feel better next year, hope might be the first step.

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