NORTHAMPTON - Malcolm started a new job this week with the city of Northampton. Robert is a student at Holyoke Community College and is a veterans' advocate in West Springfield.

Just a few years ago, both hit rock bottom with substance abuse and were homeless. Today, both represent several hundred veterans who have made the transition from a life on the street to a life with hope. They are the success stories. But for every Malcolm and Robert, there are many who tonight will be facing a cold winter's night alone struggling with mental trauma and other inner demons.

Last week, the Patrick administration announced modest but real progress in the war against veteran homelessness.

A count of people living in shelters and on the street in one night in December in Massachusetts found 21 percent fewer veterans than at the same time last year - 1,268 compared with 1,597 in 2010. About half live outside Boston in central and western Massachusetts. The decrease is nearly twice the rate of reduction nationally.

The Commonwealth's Secretary of Veteran Services, Coleman Nee, is also launching a pilot program, funded by a federal grant that promotes a peer to peer relationship between veterans, where a veteran's experiences can aid another veteran. This "vet to vet" program is found to be most effective in encouraging veterans to get help.

Veterans are about 50 percent more likely than the general population to fall into homelessness, according to VA research. In fact, veterans lead the nation in homelessness, depression, joblessness and suicide. Most homeless veterans present a dual diagnosis of substance abuse and mental health problems. Despite the worse economy in decades, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki in 2010 vowed to end homelessness among veterans by 2015. That goal means eradicating, not just reducing.

For VA staff who do outreach in the community, the reaction to the five-year goal is often met with skepticism as too ambitious. There are veterans, some say, who are dedicated to being on the street and won't ever accept help.

But Jim Seney, VA program manager for Community Reintegration Services at the VA medical center in Leeds, says VA-funded housing and better coordination between VA and local and state partners have made the goal attainable and, regardless of those who say it can't be done, every attempt should be made to ensure veterans are not living on the street. "We are genuinely and cautiously optimistic," Seney said.

In central and western Massachusetts, VA partners with more than 40 organizations, representing a variety of services, to get all chronically homeless veterans into permanent supportive housing, to prevent at-risk veterans from becoming homeless, and to get new cases off the streets as soon as possible.

This year, VA will channel more than $6.5 million to support veterans in central and western Massachusetts with transitional housing, serving more than 1,000 veterans.

VA has adopted a "housing first" model focused on helping veterans access permanent housing. A national referral center also helps vets and their families locate local social service providers.

Many, like Malcolm, are the recipients of vouchers from the departments of Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs, which are used by homeless veterans for permanent supportive housing as they enroll in counseling, get help for post-traumatic stress, receive medical care, seek job training and legal assistance, attend school or seek other programs.

The federal government has significantly increased the use of the voucher program that works with community agencies such as the Leeds-based Soldier On organization to put veterans in permanent supportive housing. The program is an effective remedy.

The veterans receive help with rent and are assigned case managers who help them get access to health care and other lifesaving benefits. Each voucher costs the government on average $6,500 a year, plus $4,148 in case management services - much less than the costs of staying in jails, hospitals or emergency shelters.

Recipients face regular reviews to make sure they continue to qualify based on income and health-care needs. "It saved my life," said Malcolm. Robert credits his VA case manager with getting his life back.

This will be another year of hard work toward reaching an achievable goal of ending veteran homelessness. The solution isn't just providing a roof and a bed. As the past two years have proven, it will take continued a strong, coordinated neighborhood-based and community-wide approach that looks at all aspects of why veterans are homeless in the first place.

If you know of a homeless person who served in the military, contact the National Homeless Veteran Call Center at 877-424-3838. Better yet, program the number into your phone.

John Paradis, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, writes a monthly column that appears on the second Friday. He is the public relations manager for the VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System, based in Leeds.