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Posted: 2015-10-29T16:04:43Z | Updated: 2015-11-05T20:54:26Z

Vietnam War veteran Tony Presley, 69, has been without a home for the last 15 years.

As a result of PTSD, he says he has struggled to hold down a job. This created a vicious cycle that caused him to live on the streets of L.A, he tells Ryan Duffy in the latest episode of "Now What," a HuffPost original video series focused on the people helping to solve our most pressing problems.

"When I first became homeless, it was like a kid who gets lost," he said.

Now, Presley has a place to live, thanks to the program "Housing First," which gives homes to homeless individuals, with no strings attached.

Through the initiative, Presley has been assigned a case manager and a voucher for half his rent, and he is searching for apartments in North Hollywood.

The public costs for one homeless individual add up to about $30,000-40,000 per year, the "Now What" segment points out. Housing First saves money after the up-front cost of providing homes. The alternatives, from detox programs to jail, are far more costly in the long run.

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The episode also highlights other homeless support programs already in place -- from mental health services to addiction counseling to job training. But advocates point out that these initiatives are "wraparound services," aimed to work in conjunction with the fundamental provision of a home above all else.

Watch the entire Now What segment above.