There can be a lot of sobering “counting” for soldiers. Counting the number of days away from home. The number of tours overseas. The number of milestones they might miss as their child grows up. Those can be difficult enough, but there’s another grave count in King County: the number of veterans out on our streets.

A count in January 2015 found just over 1,100 veterans without shelter in King County. With a community call to find our vets housing by the end of the year, local agencies and landlords have stepped up to make a truly astounding difference.

Since January, 717 of those veterans have found housing. These fantastic results are thanks to Operation: WelcomeOneHome, a community-wide collaboration of landlords, veterans, elected officials, and neighbors working to end veteran homelessness. This is both a national and countywide campaign, and it’s creating real results right here at home.

Obviously, there is still work to do. But here’s more good news: Of the 403 veterans still needing housing, 300 of them have housing vouchers. What a difference a year makes.

Just a reminder that King County’s homelessness emergency is by no means “hopeless.” When people and communities unite on a common goal, real, positive change happens.