Veteran Homelessness

Fact: VA’s specialized homeless programs served more than 92,000 veterans in 2009, which is highly commendable. This still leaves well over 100,000 more veterans,

Too many veterans in the United States are living on the streets and in need of a permanent shelter. A home, a place to call their own, is a basic need for anyone. However, after so much time spent living in barracks, or in war zones, this is especially a need for a veteran. The stability of a home is an important part of adjusting to civilian life. There are few programs actually designed to facilitate veterans in finding homes. The percentage of homeless veterans is appalling. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness veterans comprise 8.6 percent of the homeless

A struggle for veterans was finding employment after completing the service so many veterans had problems with conforming to civilian from transitioning out the military. The unemployment rate for all U.S. veterans was 6.9 percent←;→ however, for those who had served since September 11 it rest at 10 percent. 13 percent of the veterans in the U.S. population were homeless, another 1.4 million veterans were at the endangered of homelessness. The source for vets that unfortunately discovery themselves in this position of being homeless lack of employment, poverty, housing shortages, low wages with adding drug abuse, alcohol, physical mental illness these problems can leave a veteran out in the streets (Hoffer, Elizabeth. F., Dekle, Judith. Ward., & Sheets, Carol., 2014).

In the US homeless population, veterans are slightly overrepresented (Tsai & Rosenheck, 2015). To be exact, veterans constitute 12.3% of all homeless adults (Tsai & Rosenheck, 2015). A study by Harpaz-Rotem, Rosenheck, & Desai (2011) also affirms that roughly 30% are homeless men and 4% are homeless women. By definition, homelessness is not having “a regular or fixed night-time residence,” and homeless people tend to move frequently, stay in homeless shelters, and sleep in places such as vehicles and abandoned buildings (Tsai & Rosenheck, 2015, p. 1). With this in mind, it is important to note that homeless veterans are mostly older males who some form of health insurance coverage than other homeless adults, better educated, and have been married or married (Tsai & Rosenheck, 2015). One would think that these advantages should put veterans at lower risk for homelessness, but this was not the case (Tsai & Rosenheck, 2015). Additionally, a study done by van den Berk-Clark & McGuire (2013) portrays that elderly civilians were less likely to become homeless in comparison to elderly veterans (aged from 51 to 61 years (39%) and 62 years or older (9%)) who were twice as likely to become homeless. Risk factors that can potentially explain homelessness among elderly veterans include life events (e.g., death of spouse or marital breakdown, exiting employment, and evictions), mental illness or medical conditions, minority status, and higher levels of disruptive events during childhood

According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV), nearly 200,000 American Veterans are homeless on any given night (Rieckhoff). NCHV - the resource and technical assistance center - reported that the number of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) - (OEF) veterans are becoming homeless much more quickly than Vietnam veterans. As the war in Iraq and Afghanistan continues the number of homeless veterans increases. The next generation of American Veterans is on its way home, and tens of thousands more will return from combat over the years to come. Upon returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan thousands of veterans are facing a new nightmare, the risk of homelessness.

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.

Theodore Walther, a previous veteran who was homeless after his service, wrote an article about his life living on the streets, and the flaws in the efforts to aid veterans out of homelessness. “This is the problem with social services in general: they are all too temporary and lack the follow-through necessary to solve real, long-term problems… they offered no comprehensive housing program, no job training or retraining only transitional housing and encouragement to get out there and scare up a job” (Walther ¶11). Job training is a crucial aspect of a service program to get these veterans out of the state they are in. Job training would reduce the number of veterans that are homeless since they would be able to get jobs that would not only pull themselves out of the streets, but also allow them to have access to more social services. Theodore Walther also says “once you’ve been out on the street for a prolonged period, say a couple of years or more, whatever skills you once had are gone or severely diminished and your ability to deal with everyday social situations is compromised” (Walther ¶24). This proves that the idea of veterans civilian skills dwindles as they are not being used as they serve in the military. Since the problem here is easily established, it should not be difficult to also establish a solution. While the

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.

To achieve the goal of ending homelessness among veterans by 2015, the VA has numerous programs. These include providing healthcare, rehabilitation services, employment assistance, and transitional housing for veterans, and supportive services for the families of veterans to help them better understand and deal with conditions the veteran spouse may have. Additionally, the VA works with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide long-term housing solutions for homeless veterans (Homeless Veterans, For Homeless Veterans).

The Huntington Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) located in Huntington, West Virginia provides health care to over 54,800 Veterans annually (Smith-Dikes, 2013). The mission statement of the Huntington VAMC is “to provide excellent care and service to those who have served our nation – every Veteran, every time!” (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2016). With this statement in mind, to care for the needs of homeless Veterans in the area, the Huntington VAMC opened the Huntington VA Homeless Veterans Resource Center (HVRC) (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2016). The HVRC provides homeless Veterans and those at risk for homelessness with job assistance, counseling, housing referrals and laundry and shower facilities, as well as referral to physical and mental health appointments. The HVRC also maintains a donation room and in house emergency food pantry. In pursuit of providing quality care for homeless Veterans, the Veterans Administration (VA) has also created different programs that join together social work with primary care, mental health, and rehabilitation services to deal with complex issues faced by these Veterans (Amdur et al, 2011). In 2008, a joint program, known as Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs

According to the 2012 Annual Homeless Assessment Report released by the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an estimated 62,619 veterans were homeless on any given night in 2012. The good news is that the estimate represents a 7.2 percent decline from the 2011 estimate and a 17.2 percent decline compared to the 2009 estimate ("Veterans," 2013). Although progress is being made, there is much to be done. There are veterans with the same needs as the general homeless population, but also veterans with severe physical and mental health disabilities, related to their service, that necessitate permanent housing with supportive services.

2. After doing a quick google search I found the website from above. This website was created by the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. On this website there are countless policies

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

The Homeless Veteran Housing Program was created to bypass group homes and work towards finding veterans safe and stable homes that they can restart their lives. The program will initially be implemented at Veteran Rehabilitation, initially the Greensboro Servant Center, in the Piedmont Triad area in North Carolina. As veteran homelessness is not only a problem in North Carolina, the program is planned to expand nationwide after implementation and

Also, basic food allowance is not enough to support these veterans and their families with regards to the changing economy. These allowances, however, depends on the individual geographical location, pay grade and dependency status, still thus making these veterans not to meet up with their day to day expenses. Meanwhile according to Ho who said “federal officials are working with local agencies to emphasize the need for more affordable housing, putting a bigger emphasis on transitional and low-cost units over expensive single-family homes”