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.
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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.
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10. Lack of affordable housing is another major problem
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Dramatic Drops In Veteran Homelessness Are Associated With Housing First And Increased Government Investments
Within a decade , Americas number of homeless veterans was roughly cut in half. The reduction from 74,087 to 37,085 veterans experiencing homelessness far exceeded the progress realized by chronically homeless individuals and all other subpopulations.
During this period, various actors joined a fight to end veterans homelessness. They included the Obama Administration members of Congress from both sides of the aisle and a broad, bipartisan group of mayors, governors, and county officials from across the country.
Two ingredients are associated with their success: 1) Housing First and 2) investments in veteran-specific programs.
The HUD-VASH program adopted Housing First strategies in 2012. The approach, an internationally recognized best practice, has proven effective for veteransreducing housing placement waiting times from 223 to 35 days, improving retention in permanent housing, and reducing emergency room trips. Supportive Services for Veterans Families , which began in 2011, complements these efforts. It offers rapid re-housing and prevention services.
Housing First through HUD-VASH and SSVF were not only implemented, but Congress also funded them consistently to the needed scale. As a result, they are able to successfully house thousands of veterans.
Why War Veterans Are Homeless
The trauma of war can scar the mind. War veterans are homeless due to the trauma that followed them from the battlefield. About a third of all veterans were stationed in a war zone. Trama from war explains why vets have high rates of mental illness. Mental illness often results from traumatic experiences. Childhood trauma, like physical child abuse, increases the likelihood of developing a mental illness. Similarly, the trauma of war increases the chances of developing mental health issues. Many war vets are homeless due to mental health issues.
PTSD is one such mental health issue among war veterans. When a vet has PTSD, the part of the brain that responds to fear is overwhelmingly overactive. This causes anxiety in new surroundings. Due to the anxiety, it can be challenging to work. First, you have to get yourself to go to a place that causes you anxiety. Then you need to make it through the day.
Another reason that war veterans are homeless is due to TBI. While TBI sometimes heals itself, other times it is permanent. Because the brain is responsible for almost every thought we have, damage to this three-pound can be debilitating. Traumatic Brain Injury can also result in unemployment for veterans.
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Why Are So Many Veterans Homeless
I met my first homeless vets on the streets of Los Angeles in 1971. Id just returned from Vietnam where Id served as a psychiatric social worker in the Army. No more Captains bars for me. I had wild hair, a bushy mustache, and an attitude, so I fit right in.
Initially Id been asked to find out why veterans were not using the VA Center for their healthcare, but my interactions with these vets, all of us lost in one way or another, changed the course for me. Those were dark times, shadowed by what wed seen and done in the war. Some vets brought all that horror home, re-living it episode by episode, riding that long escalator down into despair and chronic homelessness.
It wasnt until 1980 that PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, made it into the DSM manual. By then, of course, Id been seeing and documenting its effects while trying to deal with them for over nine years. To this day our National Veterans Foundation Outreach van still serves Vietnam veterans in communities of homeless under bridges, in abandoned lots, alongside riverbanks, any place we find them. Now were seeing more and more vets who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. These vets often have PTSD, but many have also had a TBI or traumatic brain injury. As you probably know, TBIs are so prevalent theyre called the signature wound of these two long-running wars.
Why Are There Homeless Veterans In America
Updated: by Financial Samurai
It upsets me to no end when I read statistics stating there are roughly 50,000 homeless veterans in America, representing roughly 8.6% of the total homeless population. Why are there homeless veterans?!
If the motto leave no man behind holds true, why has the US government abandoned the very people who served their country the most?
Whether youve served in the military for 1 year or 20 years, veterans should be able to count on the government for the bare minimum of food, clothing, and shelter. The government needs to provide maximum support for those wishing to transition to the private sector with job placement and continued training.
Its why we pay our taxes. Its also why fewer and fewer Americans are feeling less guilty paying federal income taxes. If the government is not doing their job in helping veterans live good lives after serving, why should we keep forking over our hard-earned money?
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Housing Interventions With Veterans
A study conducted by OâConnell, Kasprow and Rosenheck is a secondary analysis of data from the evaluation of the HUD-VASH initiative that began in 1992 to provide housing for veterans with psychiatric disorders. They compared the results of three kinds of interventions with 460 veterans across nineteen sites in the country. They were assigned to three groups one group was given a voucher and intensive case management, one group was given intensive case management only, and one group was given standard care only. Intensive case management included help locating an apartment, while standard care which consisted of short-term broker case management provided by the Health Care for Homeless Veterans outreach workers. An evaluation assistant conducted follow up interviews every three months for up to five years. Through that they found that individuals in the intensive case management group had lower scores on quality of life which was measured by the Lehman Quality of Life Interview. This is a structured questionnaire to assess the life circumstances of persons with severe and persistent mental illness.
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.
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Why Do So Many Military Veterans End Up Homeless
The numbers of military veterans who end up homeless remains shockingly high. Although the situation is improving, why do so many veterans end up sleeping rough on our streets?
They have risked their lives and left loved ones behind to give their best years to serving their country, yet some veterans of recent conflicts remain homeless.
Although the situation is improving, charities and veterans associations are still concerned that too many former service personnel still struggle to find help in housing, social welfare and support.
Last year Dame Kelly Holmes supported the No Homeless Veterans campaign calling on local authorities to identify and support veterans in housing need. The campaign, co-ordinated by Stoll, which provides supported housing to vulnerable and disabled veterans, warns that up to three per cent of rough sleepers in England are ex-service personnel.
It is thought that around 6,000 of the UKs former forces population have nowhere to call a permanent home. While a small number of veterans are thought to be sleeping rough in the cities and towns of Britain, others may be sofa hopping with friends or former services colleagues, living temporarily with extended family members or struggling to avoid eviction in temporary accommodation.
Such problems can result in a reluctance or inability to ask for help during periods of mental illness, leading to homelessness.
Why Veterans Remain Homeless
Many reasons explain why veterans remain homeless. First, vets suffer from higher rates of mental illness than non-vets. Post-traumatic stress disorder is devastating. Traumatic brain injury is another. A blow to the head can make it difficult to work. Yet, many programs exist to help vets with homelessness. The issue is most vets don’t know where to go. They don’t know who to contact.
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New Research Looks At Why So Many Veterans End Up On The Street
For decades, homelessness has been a major health problem that defies easy solutions.
The homeless are defined by U.S. federal legislation as people who “lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.” Determining how many homeless people there really are remains a perennial problem. Part of the difficulty lies with the relative invisibility of homeless people, who, for their own safety, often prefer to stay hidden to avoid criminal victimization or possible arrest. Since many jurisdictions make vagrancy a criminal offense, homeless people are often driven even further underground, and the living conditions they endure are typically appalling.
And there are any number of reasons why someone could end up on the street. Along with the enormous number of people who were forced into homelessness when mental hospitals were closed across the United States during the 1970s, whole families have been reduced to homelessness following the recent economic reversals of the past ten years. According to some estimates, approximately one out of every thirty children are living in substandard housing or no housing at all, with California and Florida having the greatest proportion of homeless people under the age of 18.
References
Tsai, Jack Hoff, Rani A. Harpaz-Rotem, Ilan, One-year incidence and predictors of homelessness among 300,000 U.S. Veterans seen in specialty mental health care. Psychological Services, Vol 14, May 2017, 203-207.
Key Facts About Homeless Veterans
In November, the nation takes a day off to honor its veterans. In recent years, the homeless services world has held these sentiments all year long: diligently working to secure permanent housing for everyone who has served our country.
Below are five key facts about these efforts, and the remaining barriers on the road to finally ending veterans homelessness in America.
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How Many Veterans With Ptsd Are Homeless
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.
Supportive Housing For Veterans Compared To Non
The needs between veterans and non-veterans experiencing homelessness can differ. A study was implemented by the Collaborative Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness in 2004 by the Interagency Council on Homelessness. They used eleven sites around the United States tracked data for one year by comparing 162 chronically homeless veterans to 388 chronically homeless non-veterans.
Both groups were enrolled in a national supported housing initiative over a one-year period and several differences were noted. The first was that the veterans tended to be from an older age group, identified as male, and were more likely to have completed high school. While in enrolled in supported housing, the mental health of both groups improved through mental health services offered. However, veterans were reported to make greater use of the outpatient mental health services compared to non-veterans. Both groups also gradually reduced the use of health services once housing was obtained, therefore, this suggests that the program is effective in reducing clinical needs among chronically homeless of adults in general.
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Why Most Veterans Homeless
Most veterans are homeless due to job loss. They lose jobs often to mental or physical health problems. Vets get depressed, for example, and are fired for too many call-ins. They have a panic attack and leave work. Sometimes the cause is the trauma from serving the country. Other times it is a result of past trauma or genetics. Most veterans are homeless due to poor health. That’s how they lose their jobs.
Especially interesting are those who served in the war.
What Can I Do To Help Homeless Veterans
There are many ways you can help homeless veterans in your community. Offering donations, doing volunteer work, or simply engaging with those who have the power to make changes are all greatly helpful.
Encourage the development of affordable housing in your community. If youâre a landlord, consider accepting HUD vouchers, and encourage other property owners in your community to do the same. Risk-mitigation funding can encourage property owners in your community to rent to homeless veterans who donât have HUD vouchers.
Encourage your employer to provide opportunities to veterans. Employers can connect with VA community employment coordinators at their closest VA medical center. There, they can post job openings and interview local veterans.
Consider providing pro-bono services to area veterans. Veterans struggling with homelessness or at risk of homelessness often need services like legal advice, home repairs, or haircuts to help them find or keep homes or employment. If you offer a professional service, consider taking some pro-bono veteran clients.
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Universal Reasons For Homelessness
What all homeless individuals have in common is they all become homeless for the same reasons: job loss, eviction, health problems, spousal separation, domestic violence, addiction, and imprisonment. Read “Why People Become Homeless“ for more on why all people become homeless.
But veterans, on the other hand, are especially prone to health and addiction problems. Why is this so?
Wartime.
New Data Shows 11% Decline In Veteran Homelessness Since 2020the Biggest Drop In More Than 5 Years
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development , the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs , and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness announced preliminary results of the 2022 Point-in-Time Count showing an 11% decline in Veteran homelessness since early 2020, the last time a full count was conducted. This is the biggest drop in Veteran homelessness in more than five years.
The data show that on a single night in January 2022, there were 33,136 Veterans who were experiencing homelessness in the United States down from 37,252 in 2020. Overall, this represents a 55.3% reduction in Veterans experiencing homelessness since 2010.
All Veterans deserve to have what they need to lead healthy, safe, and successful lives that starts with a place to call home, said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. The data released today shows we are closer than ever in ensuring that every Veteran in America has a home and challenges us to ensure that every Veteran and every person in America has a home.
One Veteran experiencing homelessness will always be one too many, but the 2022 PIT Count shows that we are making real progress in the fight to end Veteran homelessness, said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. There is still a long way to go, but under President Bidens leadership, we at VA, HUD and USICH will not stop until every Veteran has a good, safe, stable home in this country they fought to defend.
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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.
The Brink: Lastly What Message Or Advice Would You Have For Veteransor Families Of Veteransreading This Who Are Concerned About Their Housing Status
Byrne:Its not unusual for me to get emails directly from veterans who are experiencing homelessness. And there are two resources that I direct folks to. The first is the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans, a 24/7 hotline where trained staff work to connect veterans and others with VA and non-VA services. The phone number is 1-877-4AID-VET . The second is Supportive Services for Veteran Families, a homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing program funded by the VA, but operated by community-based agencies. The VAs website has a comprehensive list of providers throughout the country and their contact information.
This interview was edited for brevity and clarity.
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Why Many Veterans Are Homeless
Many veterans are homeless due to the same reasons other people are homeless. They fall victim to unlucky circumstances. Family problems or money problems lead them to the streets. For example, a vet may go through a divorce, or lose a job and have no way to pay the rent. Many veterans are homeless due to family and money problems.