“We’ve helped bring tens of thousands of veterans off the streets, but we’re not slowing down,” President Barack Obama said while addressing the Disabled American Veterans convention in Atlanta on August 1. “We will not stop until every veteran who fought for America has a home in America.”

The White House attributed the progress in reducing veteran homelessness to the launch of Opening Doors in 2010, the government’s first-ever strategic plan to prevent and end veteran homelessness. Another fruitful initiative has been the partnership between the HUD and Department of Veteran Affairs (VA). HUD provides rental assistance to homeless veterans while the VA offers clinical services and case management through their Supportive Housing program. Since 2010, more than 360,000 veterans and their families have received housing.

First Lady Michelle Obama’s Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness has also contributed. She launched the nationwide campaign in 2014. Over 880 mayors, governors and other local officials were tasked with committing to the goal of ending veteran homelessness in their communities. White House officials said Houston and New Orleans managed to end chronic veteran homelessness in 2015.

Although the Obama administration originally vowed to end chronic veteran homelessness this year, it decided to extend the deadline to 2017 due to budgetary reasons. Veterans’ advocates are optimistic about the progress so far. However, there is still a long way to go when it comes to ensuring veterans nationwide are kept off the streets with permanent housing.

On a recent trip to Los Angeles, First Lady Michelle Obama reacted with “horror” to the employment situation that veterans face, saying, “After everything they have done for us, the idea that any of our veterans are spending months or even years struggling to find a job is unacceptable.”

Young veterans agree. In a new public service announcement, veterans report spending months searching for employment. These young speakers were surprised to learn that companies who do hire veterans frequently pigeonhole them into low-paying security, labor or janitorial roles.

Moreover, dissatisfaction with the GI Bill is rising. A recent Gallup poll showed that veterans aged 18 to 24 are the least likely to call themselves “satisfied” by the benefits the GI Bill provides.

With complex lives, many young veterans are forced to use their GI Bill benefits for lower-quality, part-time programs or online universities. And as the number of for-profit colleges expands, there are increased reports of schools eating up GI Bill benefits before a degree is even earned.

The VA Center for Innovation is seeking to diversify the types of opportunities available to veterans looking for a path to a professional future.

One new initiative, the VA-TechShop Partnership, is a pilot program with a chain of Silicon Valley fabrication laboratories. The hope is that veterans with mechanical engineering skills may be able to invent new products or start a manufacturing business with access to high-tech fabrication tools.

As more veterans come home, both statistical and anecdotal evidence suggest that better programs, not more programs, are needed.

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact a veterans lawyer, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800