UnitedHealth Group latest housing investment aims to improve health for veterans

UnitedHealth Group has invested $25 million as part of an effort to advance health equity for veterans experiencing homelessness and low and middle-income individuals. The investment will increase direct access to affordable housing and provide necessary resources and assistance to help tenants remain stably housed.

The investment is part of the Community Solutions (CS) Large Cities Housing Fund, a $135 million real estate equity fund focused on fundamentally changing how cities address homelessness and the affordable housing crisis in the U.S. The fund will enable partnering with local homelessness response systems in each community to connect individuals with homes more quickly and efficiently. This model is unique because it brings housing directly to the system that serves people experiencing homelessness.

The fund will invest in creating apartment homes that are permanently reserved for people transitioning out of homelessness while also preserving additional apartment homes for workforce housing.

The details

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, more than 35,000 veterans across the U.S. experienced homelessness in 2023, with veterans of color accounting for over 43% of this population.

The CS Large Cities Housing Fund aims to address affordable housing supply gaps by acquiring more than 2,500 housing units and converting them into a 50/50 split of units for individuals transitioning out of homelessness - including veterans and people experiencing chronic homelessness, with Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers or other rental assistance. The remaining units will be made available to individuals or families earning approximately 80% of area median income to preserve workforce housing in the community. The fund will initially target investments in Baltimore, Charlotte, Denver, Jacksonville, Nashville, and Phoenix. Investments in additional cities will be announced at a later date.

Tenants will receive wraparound support services necessary to stay stably housed. For instance, CS promotes health and well-being through partnerships with health care providers, including local VA Medical Centers.

Why it matters

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, when households struggle to pay the rent, they not only face financial and housing instability, but they are also at heightened risk for a host of negative health outcomes.

More generally, high housing costs worsen the adversity that low-income families experience, forcing them to face a persistent threat of eviction and make difficult choices between paying the rent and paying for medicine, food, heating, transportation, and other essentials.

"Safe and affordable housing is fundamental to reducing health disparities and improving health outcomes for veterans and communities at large. Our work with Community Solutions helps us continue to address barriers to health equity and enable the health system to work better for everyone."

Catherine Anderson | senior vice president of Health Equity Strategy at UnitedHealth Group

A continued commitment

Since 2011, UnitedHealth Group has prioritized investing in housing developments that offer affordable and fair market rental homes to help revitalize the communities of greatest need. In 2023, UnitedHealth Group surpassed the $1 billion affordable housing investment milestone that helped to create more than 25,000 rental homes across 31 states and the District of Columbia. The investment with Community Solutions will add to the growing number of affordable homes that UnitedHealth Group has helped to create.

Additionally, UnitedHealth Group was most recently recognized as a 2024 Gold Military-Friendly Employer. It has organized an Employee Resource Group that focuses on the veteran population, and has a number of partnerships and initiatives to support service members, veterans and their families. Learn more here.