A national study estimates that about 120 veterans in Maine were homeless on any given night last year.

Service providers in Portland, however, say the actual number is much greater than the estimate provided by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, which released its estimates last week.

"Vets, when they are homeless, don't access the same points of assistance. They are less likely to be at shelters," said Tom Nickerson, director of the Training Resource Center.

Instead, Nickerson said, homeless veterans in Maine often camp out with fellow veterans, or they sleep in cars.

Nickerson said a more accurate estimate of homeless veterans in the state, based on various sources, is 500 on any given night.

"We agree with the issue that it is an underreported problem," Nickerson said.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness, based in Washington, D.C., analyzed data from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Census Bureau. The study found that an estimated 196,000 veterans nationwide were homeless on any given night in 2006.

"Veterans make up a disproportionate share of homeless people," according to the study. "They represent roughly 26 percent of homeless people, but only 11 percent of the civilian population 18 years and older. This is true despite the fact that veterans are better educated, more likely to be employed, and have a lower poverty rate than the general population."

Lack of affordable housing is the primary cause of homelessness among veterans, the study found.

Nickerson said that is true in Maine, particularly in the southern part of the state, where housing costs have skyrocketed in recent years. Nickerson and Cullen Ryan, director of Community Housing of Maine, issued a joint news release Friday, calling for more housing options.

Supportive housing -- the term for a subsidized housing project that links residents with health care, substance abuse treatment and other service providers -- is a good model for veterans, they said.

"Unfortunately, for the hundreds of homeless veterans in Maine, only 13 units of supportive housing exist," Cullen and Nickerson wrote.

Community Housing of Maine opened a home in Biddeford 18 months ago, and there has been a waiting list each month for the eight beds, Nickerson said. There are another five beds at a home in Waterville.

Except for the six Maine Veterans Homes, which are care facilities for the elderly, and the Togus VA Medical Center, there are no other beds in Maine designated for veterans, Nickerson said.

"We expect that we will see an increase in homeless vets in the future, as more people cycle in and out of Afghanistan and Iraq," he said. "We don't see the need decreasing."

Staff Writer Trevor Maxwell can be contacted at 791-6451 or at:

tmaxwell@pressherald.com