Homeless Male Veterans Research Paper

INTRODUCTION: How many people have a Veteran in their family or know one? If yes do you help them or is it someone else’s problem. Well many people think it’s someone else problem, but the truth is it’s our problem.

The majority of homeless veterans have service connected disabilities that are a direct result of military service; this contributes to a high risk of homelessness among veterans. Unique military skills that are non-essential in the civilian sector, combat related health issues, fractured family relationships and the lack of affordable housing are other factors. Many of them lack a social support network and/or someone to assist them with getting assistance from the government. They may be unaware of the different services they require and are

“It’s like the path of least resistance... After a while, your self esteem gets really low and you don’t feel competitive any longer… Like you are already defeated.” (Applewhite ¶ 17). A quote from a homeless veteran shows how even though he has tried to relieve himself of the homelessness, it does not always end with the outcome that he wants, which leaves him feeling defeated, as well as thousands of others. About ⅓ of the homeless population are veterans, and they are usually the ones that need the most help (VA Expands Partnerships ¶5). The struggle that homeless veterans face everyday in the United States is a growing problem that needs to be fixed because it will continue to get worse. The healthy and productive success of

Imagine one making a huge decision to leave family, friends, and a familiar lifestyle to go serve and protect their country for months or years at a time. Imagine one risking their life and putting forth their time just to come back to no home, money, or health care while have developed a mental illness. The government promises all of these benefits one may never see and they end up on the streets without a home finding ways to cope which may lead to addiction. A study shows that “There are estimated to be about 50,000 homeless veterans on any given night with about 1.4 million others at risk of becoming homeless, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans said, citing government statistics” (Shaw). Many of America’s homeless veterans have served in World War II, the Korean War, Cold War, Vietnam War, and many other wars. Nearly half of homeless veterans served during the Vietnam era. Two-thirds served their country for at least three years, and one-third were stationed in a war zone. Homeless veterans all across America come from different backgrounds and homelessness does not discriminate against gender. These veterans, including males and females, suffer from homelessness due to: being unemployable; suffering economic hardships; battling substance abuse, and lacking proper legal aid. Yes, there are plenty of resources out there to assist the homeless veterans that may help some but there are still too many veterans living on the streets.

The presence of additional risk for homelessness specifically associated with Veteran status is puzzling in that it occurs among a population that shows better outcomes on almost all socioeconomic measures and that has exclusive access to an extensive system of benefits that include comprehensive healthcare services, disability and pension assistance, and homeless services (Fargo, et al, 24).

In conclusion, the population of the homeless veterans has gone up over the decades due to many problems or disorders that can develop, but there are many programs and support systems trying to reverse this problem. Programs and support systems are being put in place so there will be a lower amount of homeless veterans. Homeless veterans population can be seen over the years, even from the Vietnam-era and more recently from Iraq and Afghanistan wars. In the recent wars with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who were exposed to traumatic events come back from combat are different from who they were before. The traumatic events that the veterans were exposed to have an effect on them when they come home and try to transition back to the

This article paints a disproportionate picture regarding the Veteran population of having a significantly higher probability to be homeless than non-Veteran by exclaiming, “At one point in time in 2014, 36 % of homeless Veterans were unsheltered compared with 30 % of non-Veterans” (Byrne, Montgomery, and Fargo 2016).

The homeless veterans population has been a problem over the decades, but over the past few years the population of homeless veterans has increased once again. This is a concerning problem that needs to be attended to and human services is one of the ways to seek help. Veterans from previous wars had experience when they came back home lack of support that lead them to become homeless. Over the years this has gotten better by the government starting programs to help transition back to civilian status (Murphy & Tobin, 2014). Recently this has change due to the veteran population has increased for the last few years and there is not enough resources to provide the care that is needed. This was noticed and now the Veteran Affairs have put in

All throughout the country, veterans come back into society struggling to continue living out their lives. They have troubles adjusting back into civilian life. These former soldiers went out onto that battlefield to fight for us, so the least we can do is show our support and help make their adjustment back into civilian life as smooth as possible. I believe there are four main issues that are most important in regards to the challenges returning veterans face: homelessness, suicide attempts, a need for job training and jobs, and the fixing of the disability system. Many veterans coming back from deployment struggle with homelessness.

In January 2014, approximately 49,933 American veterans were homeless on a given night. This number represents approximately 11% of the entire homeless adult population in the United States. Of those homeless veterans, 64% were reported to be sleeping in an emergency shelter or transitional housing and 36% were living on the streets or other places not meant for human habitation. Today, the federal government has many programs targeted to end veteran’s homelessness; however, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) currently has only one program offering a permanent supportive housing solution for homeless veterans – the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Supportive Housing program (HUD-VASH). With this program HUD provides eligible homeless veterans with a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), while the VA provides clinical case management and supportive services through its health care system. The purpose of this evaluation synthesis is to assess the HUD-VASH program’s effectiveness in targeting limited resources to the needs of homeless veterans today, as well as to provide specific policy recommendations so as to improve the overall taxpayer value of this program.

Veterans are homeless due to the many of the same reasons as the non-veteran are which include, shortage of housing, unemployment and personal hardship. However, veterans have high rates of post-traumatic stress disorders as well as sexual trauma which can create extra barriers for veterans. In fact, someone is sexually assaulted every thirty minutes in the military (Interpreting Data on Military Sexual Assault”, 2015). Since many veterans are deployed for long periods of time they have harder time trusting and controlling their impulses which can isolate them. Homelessness in veterans is an important issue right now because as troops are coming home from the Afghanistan and Iraq war, they are finding themselves “lost” due to the lack of governmental support. In the beginning of January of 2015, over 47,000 veterans were experiences homelessness on a single night (Henry, Megan, Shivy, Souase, Cohen, 2015). This is an improvement from 2010 when according to this report, there were 26,000 more veterans on the street (2015). Homeless veterans also account for 33% of homeless males in the U.S (“Homeless Veterans”,

America has failed in providing quality physical and mental health care for veterans who do not have the money or the insurance to pay for it themselves. This paper will attempt to uncover approximately how many veterans actually fall through the cracks by asking simple questions; how many are homeless, how many report having PTSD, how many have a substance abuse disorder, how many end up in divorce because of domestic violence?

Moreover, some lack the capacity to be employed because of the psychological and mental disabilities they have acquired because of their experiences during war. In addition, their inability to access health care services because insufficient funds hinders them from obtaining medications and health services they need to stay well and healthy (Blue-Howells, J., McGuire, J., & Nakashima, J., 2008). Studying the needs of the homeless veteran population, a survey was conducted to determine the most significant need of that specific population. Forty-five percent of the respondents said they needed assistance in being employed, while 37% of them needed assistance in paying for housing costs (National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, 2010b). The benefits and services provided to the veteran population should be coming from the Department of Veteran Affairs. However, the allocation of benefits and grants are dependent upon the quality of service and personal behavior of a veteran (McMurray-Avila, 2001).

What is PTSD? According to Goldenson, he defines Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as “an anxiety disorder produced by an extremely stressful event(s) (e.g., assault, rape, military combat, death camp) and characterized by a number of adverse reactions: (a)re-experiencing the trauma in painful recollection or recurrent dreams; (b) diminished responsiveness (numbing), which disinterest in significant activities and with feeling of detachment and estrangement from others; and (c) symptoms such as exaggerating startle response, disturbed sleep, difficulty in concentrating or remembering, guilt about surviving when others did not, and avoidance of activates that call the traumatic event to mind” (as cited in Barnett, Miller-Perrin, & Perrin, 2011). Throughout the eras of war, we are seeing more reports of PTSD within the military. In

As an intern working in a homeless shelter and as a facilitator to several workshops with homeless individuals, it was very easy to assess the stereotype, prejudice and discrimination, in our society, In a report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Veterans Affairs, in 2009 states that “Roughly 56% of all homeless veterans are African-American or Hispanic, despite only accounting for 12.8% and