The Lives Of Veterans Experiencing Homelessness
essay
Temporary shelters inside the Veterans Administration complex in West Los Angeles
Jocelyn joined the U.S. Army with dreams of putting herself through college and becoming a lawyer. It’s been a long and bitter journey from there to the streets of Los Angeles, where she scratches out a living selling handicrafts on the Venice Beach boardwalk. The closest thing she has to a bed at night is the front seat of a broken-down Mercury Mountaineer.
The United States pledged more than a decade ago to end veteran homelessness. Those who have served this nation, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki said at the time, should never find themselves on the streets, living without care and without hope. The numbers have fallen by nearly half since thenbut the latest count still found more than 37,000 veterans living in their cars, in temporary shelters, or in makeshift camps.
Researchers followed 26 of them for one year to see how they live and what keeps them on the streets. Their study provides a window into what it means to experience homelessness in the middle of a global pandemic. It found missed opportunities and needless barriers to helping veterans in need, all of it summed up in one glaring statistic. Of the 26 veterans in the study, only three managed to find a permanent place to live.
Jocelyn could feel that struggle in her bones. She had spent years living on the streets, and she was ready for a break to go her way. She was tired.
Doesnt The Va Take Care Of Homeless Veterans
To a certain extent, yes. The 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, however, who must seek assistance from local government agencies and community- and faith-based service organizations.
Where Are There The Most Homeless Veterans
Based on this data, we found that Los Angeles, a city known for opulent homes and wealthy movie stars, is home to the highest count of homeless veterans by a huge margin. Nearly 8,000 veterans live on Los Angeles streets. San Diego, the city with the second-highest number of veterans, has less than half that number.
Recommended Reading: How To Increase Va Disability From 70 To 100
Why Do Veterans Experience Homelessness
Veterans are more likely than civilians to experience homelessness. Like the general homeless population, veterans are at a significantly increased risk of homelessness if they have low socioeconomic status, a mental health disorder, and/or a history of substance abuse. Yet, because of veterans military service, this population is at higher risk of experiencing traumatic brain injuries and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder , both of which have been found to be among the most substantial risk factors for homelessness. A 2015 study of veterans initiating medication-administered treatment screened each of these patients for risk of homelessness and found that the prevalence of homelessness in veterans with opioid use disorder is 10 times more than the general veteran population.
How Can You Help Homeless Veterans
Our vets have risked their lives in combat to protect the citizens of the US. In many ways, we owe our lives to them and should always lend a helping hand. The number of vets without shelter is on the decline which shows promise, but there are still states where its on the rise. In short, although were close to getting veterans and homeless off the streets for good, theres still a lot of work left to be done.
There are a number of obstacles the government needs to address. While the VA and other organizations and charities are doing everything they can, you can still join the good cause and help out yourself.
For starters, take a good look around your community and see whether there are any vets that require assistance. You can contact different organizations in your area and prevent them from appearing in homeless veterans statistics.
If you cant help that way, you can always donate to charities and organizations or bring the issue up by getting in touch with elected officials. Every little bit counts and these people need all the help they can get.
As the great Gandhi once said: we must be the change we want to see in the world. With your help, we can erase the question how many homeless veterans live in America? for good and give vets a chance to live the life they deserve. After all, everyone deserves a shot at a normal life, yet the vets who risked their lives for our country and the people within it deserve it all the more.
Also Check: How To Get Off Disability Benefits
The Leading Causes Of Veteran Homelessness
6.Social isolation and lack of support are major risk factors among US vets
Research has shown that these two factors greatly increase the risk of vets going homeless. In general, veterans have low marriage and high divorce rates 1 out of 5 live alone. Without proper social support after discharge, the risk of going homeless is extremely high among vets.
NCBI
7.Veterans at greater risk of homelessness than non-veterans
A joint study between Yale University and the VA Connecticut Health Care System in 2015 found that veterans have a higher risk of going homeless than non-veterans. This disparity has declined a bit over time.
8.Veteran statistics point to substance abuse as a major factor for homelessness
Many studies have pointed the blame to substance abuse as one of the leading causes of vets being homeless. Not only that but its also a strong predictor of future homelessness, so to speak substance abuse includes both alcohol and drug abuse.
Psychology Today
9. Mental illness is yet another leading cause of despair among homeless vets
A large-scale VA study on the mental health of vets from 2012 revealed that mental disorders are common among homeless veterans. The VAs IG noted that mental illness is also a strong predictor of a vet going homeless after discharge from active duty. PTSD has been identified as the leading mental disorder among US vets. Anxiety closely follows suit.
Brainline
10. Lack of affordable housing is another major problem
City Lab
Why Are Veterans Homeless
In addition to the complex set of factors that affect most homeless individuals lack of affordable housing, poverty, job or income loss, mental illness, substance abuse, health problems, etc. many veterans live with the lingering effect of PTSD, often compounded by a lack of family and social support networks. Military occupations and training are not always transferable to the civilian workforce, placing some veterans at a disadvantage when competing for employment.
Also Check: How Long Does It Take To Get A Disability Check
Trauma In Homeless Veterans
Relationship of PTSD and anxiety disorders to homelessnessResearchers from the VA New England MIRECC and the Yale School of Medicine found in 2017 that 5.6 percent of more than 300,000 Veterans who had been referred to VA anxiety or PTSD clinics experienced homelessness within the one-year time period of the study. The homelessness rate for the entire Veteran population is about 3.7 percent over a five-year period. Veterans who were unmarried or diagnosed with a drug use disorder were more than twice as likely to become homeless as others.
How Does Substance Abuse Play Into Veteran Homelessness
How does substance misuse contribute to or lead to homelessness among veterans? First, substance use disorder can lead to continued compulsive behavior even if it harms the persons life.6 For example, it can create difficulties keeping up with work responsibilities, money management, and interpersonal relationships.6 Therefore, SUD can easily lead to a veteran losing their home and becoming homeless.
Second, SUD is strongly connected to experiencing mental health disorders. Experiencing both conditions increases the risk of experiencing homelessness. Seeking treatment for both conditions through a co-occurring disorder treatment program will help veterans find the path to recovery. Many facilities, whether part the Department of Veterans Affairs health network or a private facility, offer specialized treatment tracks for veterans struggling with substance abuse and co-occurring mental health disorders.
You May Like: Can A Doctor Refuse To Fill Out Disability Forms
Statistics & Facts About Veteran Homelessness
As mentioned above, research indicates that veterans experience homelessness and are at a higher risk for homelessness compared to the greater population. The following statistics and facts about veteran homelessness illustrate the extent of the problem:4, 5
- In 2020, the number of homeless veterans was 37,252, an increase of less than 1 percent from 37,085 in 2019.
- 59% of the veterans in 2020 were sheltered.
- 98% of homeless veterans have a chronic pattern of homelessness.
- Men made up 91 % of the veteran homeless population.
- African American veterans made up one-third of homeless veterans.
- California has just over one-third of all homeless veterans. Four states have seven out of ten homeless veterans. These states are California, New Mexico, Oregon, and Georgia.
- Veterans who were in the conflicts Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom have a 27% higher rate of substance use disorder than veterans involved in other conflicts.
What Programs Help Homeless Veterans
Many programs exist to help homeless veterans or veterans at risk of homelessness obtain and keep stable housing. These include programs from both government-run and non-profit organizations.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing . HUD-VASH is a joint program between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Veterans Affairs . This program combines HUDâs housing choice vouchers for government-subsidized housing with VA resources for mental health care, substance abuse counseling, or other needed services.
Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program . HVRP is an employment-focused program that provides homeless veterans with employment training.
Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment Programs . DRRTP is a residential care program for veterans struggling with homelessness or other severe issues like substance use disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder. Placement in this program generally lasts from 30 to 120 days and provides veterans with residential care, counseling, and community while teaching skills needed for gainful employment.
U.S. Vets. This non-profit organization provides emergency, transitional, and permanent housing to homeless U.S. veterans. Workforce training, job placement assistance, and free counseling and treatment services are also available.
Also Check: Can You Purchase Short Term Disability Insurance
Homeless Veterans Are Older And First Experience Homelessness Later In Life Compared To The Homeless Population Overall
- In 2018, the average age of Veterans experiencing homelessness was 53, a full decade older than the overall population of adults experiencing homelessness .
- The average age at which Veterans first experienced homelessness is 37 years, nearly a decade later than the average age of first homelessness for adults overall .
Pit Count Data Updates On Veteran Homelessness
On February 4, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the results of the 2021 Point-in-Time Count, the annual effort to estimate the number of Americans, including Veterans, without permanent housing.
The results showed that on a single night in January 2021, there were 19,750 Veterans experiencing sheltered homelessness in the U.S. This reflects a 10% decrease in the number of Veterans experiencing sheltered homelessness from 2020. This also represents the largest one-year decline since 2015 to 2016.
Other notable insights include that Veterans experiencing sheltered homelessness represented only eight percent of all sheltered adults experiencing homelessness in the United States and accounted for only 11 out of every 10,000 Veterans in the country.
Homelessness advocates have eagerly awaited these results, which would show the effects of the pandemic on homelessness. In addition to changing the way homeless services are delivered, COVID-19 also impacted the ability of communities to do their counts in January 2021.
HUDs 2021 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, which documents the results of the PIT Count, provides national estimates on sheltered homelessness and findings on unsheltered homelessness from the communities that conducted unsheltered counts. So, while the report is an important snapshot into the state of sheltered homelessness, it does not provide a complete picture of homelessness in America.
Sheltered vs unsheltered homelessness
You May Like: Social Security Office Elkhart In
Everyone Counts In The Effort To End Veteran Homelessness
The Point-in-Time count is an annual effort led by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to estimate the number of Americans, including Veterans, without safe, stable housing. It is one of the tools used to assess progress each year toward VA’s priority goal of ending homelessness among Veterans.
What the PIT Count Measures
The PIT Count is among the ways VA estimates the homeless population nationwide to help direct resources based on need. Heres who performs the PIT Count and what it measures:
- The PIT Count is administered by HUDs more than 400 Continuums of Care , which are local planning bodies responsible for coordinating all homelessness services in a geographic area.
- During even-numbered years, CoCs are only required to count sheltered persons , although many CoCs voluntarily collect data about unsheltered persons during those years.
- During odd-numbered years, CoCs are required to count sheltered and unsheltered personsthose living on the street or in another place not meant for human habitation.
- The January 2020 PIT Count results reflect national snapshots of homelessness through the end of 2019.
The January 2020 PIT Count
The national snapshot of Veteran homelessness showed that:
The next PIT Count will take place in January 2022.
What the PIT Count Is Used For
Heres how the PIT Count is used:
A Goal Within Reach
The goal of ending homelessness among Veterans is within reachand in fact is already happening community by community.
Veteran Homelessness Per State
30. California has the highest estimated number of veterans experiencing homelessness
Sunny California is sitting at the top of the list with nearly 11,000 veterans currently living without any shelter. The exact number in 2019 was 10,980, which is nearly 5 times more than the second state on the list. California also has the highest number of homeless people in the US per state.
Statista
31. Florida ranks second
The number of homeless veterans in Florida is significantly smaller than in California. In 2019, a total of 2,543 vets were counted by the authorities experiencing homelessness. Thats out of a total homeless population of just over 31,000 in Florida.
USICH
32. Texas, Washington, and Oregon follow suit
The number of vets experiencing homelessness is highest in California and Florida, with Texas coming right below them on the list. In 2019, a total of 1,806 veterans were homeless in Texas, with Washington and Oregon close behind .
Statista
33. New York and Colorado the last remaining states with over 1,000 US vets experiencing homelessness
Surprisingly, New York and Colorado are the only other states with a count of over 1,000 homeless people who have served in the Army.
Statista
34. North Dakota and Wyoming on the bottom of the list
Statista
35. North Dakota and Wyoming had the greatest decrease in homelessness among US veterans in 2018
The drop experienced in North Dakota was a massive 87.8%, far ahead of Wyoming , Kentucky , Delaware , and Washington .
Forbes
Also Check: How Much Is The Disability Tax Credit
Who Are Homeless Veterans
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs states the nation’s homeless veterans are predominantly male, with roughly five percent being female. The majority of them are single come from urban areas and suffer from mental illness, alcohol and/or substance abuse, or co-occurring disorders. About one-third of the adult homeless population are veterans.
America’s homeless veterans have served in World War II, the Korean War, Cold War, Vietnam War, Grenada, Panama, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iraq , the military?s anti-drug cultivation efforts in South America, and elsewhere. Nearly half of homeless veterans served during the Vietnam era. Two-thirds served our country for at least three years, and one-third were stationed in a war zone.
Roughly 56 percent of all homeless veterans are African American or Hispanic, despite only accounting for 12.8 percent and 15.4 percent of the U.S. population respectively.
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.
What Percentage Of Veterans Are Homeless 2020
On a single night in January 2020, 37,252 veterans were experiencing homelessness in the U.S., eight percent of all homeless adults. Between 2019 and 2020, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness increased by less than one percent .
Read Also: How To Get Approved For Disability The First Time
Being A Veteran Increases The Risk Of Becoming Homeless But Thats Changing
Historically, national policy failures have meant that veterans are more likely to experience homelessness. In 2019, 21 out of every 10,000 veterans were homeless. This number is only slightly higher than the overall homeless rate of 17 out of every 10,000 Americans. Increased focus on promoting Housing First, as well as increased federal funding for veteran homelessness, have helped to narrow the gap.
Causes & Risk Factors For Veteran Homelessness
Homelessness is more prevalent among veterans than it is in the general population.1 A variety of factors contribute to homelessness in any population, and each situation is unique. However, some trends in veteran homelessness cannot be overlooked. Two main factors play a role in veterans becoming homeless substance use and mental illness.1
Results of 31 studies on the causes of homelessness in veterans point to substance use as the most consequential risk factor.1 Experiencing a mental health disorder was also a strong risk factor in a veteran becoming homeless, and PTSD was a particular focus in the studies.1 However, it was determined that PTSD, while a factor, was not a greater risk than any other mental health disorder.1 Vets who have PTSD may be more likely to use substances as a way to cope with PTSD symptoms. We know from other research that there is a strong link between substance use disorder and mental illness, which could account for why veterans facing homelessness frequently experienced both of these risk factors.3 The studies also indicated other factors that could contribute to homelessness in veterans.
Veterans facing homelessness, or the risk of homelessness, were likely to struggle with these homelessness risk factors :1
- Adverse childhood experiences.
Read Also: How Much Does A Va Disability Lawyer Cost