Homelessness : Homeless Veterans ' Reintegration Programs Reauthorization Act Of 2015

About 1.5 million other veterans, meanwhile, are considered at-risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks, and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing.

In America today, there are between 2.3 and 3.5 million people experiencing homelessness, and nearly one-quarter of all homeless adults have served in the armed forces. There are about 200,000 veterans experiencing homelessness on any given night. Considering that this number is so large, there should be several federal agencies helping, but there is not. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the only agency that works to resolve the issue of homeless veterans.

A release from The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated around 453,000 veterans were unemployed in 2016, and a report by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development said around 40,000 veterans were homeless every night (Henry, Watt, Rosenthal, & Shivji, 2016; 2017). The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, also known as the GI Bill, was created to support returning World War II veterans through education, housing support, and unemployment compensation. It has undergone many changes from the original to the post 9/11 GI bill to the current Henry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, also known as the Forever GI Bill. The Forever GI Bill has expanded eligibility for benefits so more veterans can access them

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).

These individuals are considered ill individual’s which need health care, training, and rehabilitation. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki had previously designed a 5-year plan which could possibly end the epidemic of homeless veterans. The joint effort of work between the US Government, businesses, veteran service organizations, and private sectors they would make the solutions work. This epidemic is a nation tragedy, which means all organizations, government, and the rest of society should help move it towards

According to Donovan, S and Shinseki, E.K. of the American Journal of Public Health, the suggestion to combat this issue is to reenforce intervention strategies of certain government organizations that work and to funnel federal resources to those strategies (Donovan, 2013). One of the main factors for why people are homeless is due to the mental and physical illness and substance abuse. Effective intervention strategies must be achieved in order to combat homelessness and to ensure veterans are receiving aid they deserve. An example of improving intervention would be to increase investment in effective, evidence-based programs utilizing such as the Housing First model created by the VA which helps assist veterans with access to health care, employment and other supportive services that promote long-term housing stability, reduce recidivism and improve quality of

Veterans, like anyone else, seek services such as secure housing, nutritional meals, basic physical health care, substance abuse care and aftercare, mental health counseling, personal development and empowerment. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a huge government organization that supports the veteran population by providing services in healthcare. Each year, VA’s specialized homelessness programs provide health care to almost 150,000 homeless veterans in the USA and other services to

I was able to conduct my interview today and, as I thought, once Home for Heros (the name given to the transitional housing program) opens it’s doors it will be the only transitional housing within Marion County for homeless veterans. This program has so much more to offer than many of the other organizations, in the fact that these veterans will not have to go from place to place looking for assistance. Home for Heros will not only provide lodging for those in the program, they will also provide meals. They will also have access to a case manager and Veteran Service Officers (VSO) on

For the past several years ending veteran homelessness has been a national priority. Ending homelessness among veterans requires many things such as, access to permanent housing, employment benefits, and health care. The first ever strategy to end veteran homelessness was announced in 2009. Since 2009, homelessness among veterans has decreased by 35%, down to around 47,725 veterans on a single night in 2015. There are a few different ways to end homelessness among our veterans. One way to address vulnerability factors before the soldiers are discharged. Helping the veterans with rental assistance and other services can also help the exit homelessness. Rapid re-housing is one thing that the VA and other programs are doing to try and help put an end to veteran homelessness. The VA is trying to expand housing, employment, and other essentials. Also, the VA has partnered with other private and public agencies to expand employment. President Obama has helped along the way with the homeless veteran crisis, “The good new is, we’ve helped get thousands of homeless Veterans off the street. [and] mad an unprecedented effort to end Veterans’ homelessness...But we’ve got...more work to do in cities and towns across America to get more Veterans into the homes they deserve”(About The Initiative - Homeless Veterans). The VA’s collaboration with other programs is ending veteran homelessness community by

Since initially being instated in 1987, the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program, the program has reached out using veterans who themselves have experienced homelessness. The program has recently been modified to allow utilization of formerly homeless veterans in many other positions, such as: counseling, coaching, intake

Thirteen percent of all of the homeless in the United States are reported to be veterans (Hoffler, Dekle & Sheets, 2014). Because of this issue veteran suicide rates are much higher than the general population as are the rates for veterans substance abuse (McCarl 2103). Behavioral health needs and housing are currently the two of the largest needs that are facing veterans at this time. The VA has housing programs and a large funding source though each VA may have differing program structures the VA itself is lacing in outreach programs and psychoeducational programs for homeless veterans. Also Homeless veterans themselves underutilize the services available to them. (Gabrielian, Yuan, Rubestein, Anderson, Gelberg 2013) This homeless veterans

Homelessness is a problem, but being a veteran and homeless is a bigger problem. How can we allow any of our veterans to be homeless? Veterans for years have fought to defend our nation while serving on active duty, but who’s fighting to defend their rights to be able to have walls and a roof over their head. Any given day there are homeless veterans that are sleeping under bridges, on park benches and in abandon houses. According to the article “Homeless Veterans and Their Service to America,” 47,725 veterans are homeless at any given time this estimated is based on numbers from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In this article it talked about 12,700 veterans in the year of 2010 were homeless. The homeless veterans

Now the Department of Veteran Affairs, HUD-VASH and the National Coalition for Homeless must resolve and collaborate with each other to minimize this population’s problem. Initiatives have been implemented to fund and assess those who are at imminent risk of becoming

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).