Abstract The purpose of this review is to explore factors associated with military veterans and homelessness. This review will associate homeless veterans with the obstacles they face when they return to American soil, seeking to answer the question, why is our military veteran’s homeless population increasing. The goal is to identify the factors and understand the risk behaviors associated with this growing population. What is the Association between Military Veterans and Homelessness? Many Americans are disheartened by the growing number of homeless veterans living on the streets of the United States. According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (2016), on any given night in the United States, there are more than 40,056 military veterans sleeping in shelters, government parks, in cars, and campsites. How does a country with the most powerful military force allow this to happen? …show more content…
There are thousands of people without adequate medical service, homes, and jobs. A huge percentage of those people are military veterans who fought for this country. The United States Veterans Affairs Department has done countless studies to try to figure out why veterans are falling victim to homelessness. This review will seek to give a detailed look at the causes, treatment, and after care of homeless veterans. To analyze war history seeking the compatible link between combat service and homelessness status. Focusing on the factors that contribute to this growing population.
Risk Factors Associated with Military Veterans and Homelessness The study of why military veterans end up in homeless situations have been an ongoing study for years. There are many risk factors associated with veterans returning from military combat. In a study conducted, by New England researchers Tsai and Rosenheck (2013) , they found the strongest and most consistent risk factors linked to homeless veterans were substance abuse use disorders and mental illness,
Murray, and Deborah are among some 50,000 veterans who are homeless, or 1.4 million who are considered at risk of homelessness on any given day, due to poverty, lack of support networks, and marginal living conditions in substandard housing, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. They, and all those who put on the uniforms of our nation 's armed services, sacrifice so much to defend the freedoms that we all enjoy and take for granted. Far too many, however, come home unable to defend themselves from the ravages of combat.” (Cole, 2015, Para. 23). Cole also goes on to continue stating “Providing shelter to our female and male veterans is not enough; it is simply one step. The transition from soldier to civilian is often the most difficult part of a veteran 's life. Yet the hardships of going from combat to job application, mortgage payments and working a typical 9-to-5 job, far too often are after-thoughts on the post-military agenda. It is no wonder that long after their active tours, many veterans continue to fight to reclaim their health and well-being.(Cole, 2015, Para.
Montgomery, Ann Elizabeth, et al. "Relationship Among Adverse Childhood Experiences, History Of Active Military Service, And Adult Outcomes: Homelessness, Mental Health, And Physical Health." American Journal Of Public Health 103.S2 (2013): S262-S268. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Jan. 2014.
Roughly 45% of all homeless veterans are African American or Hispanic, despite only accounting for 10.4% and 3.4% of the U.S. veteran population,
Tunstall, L. (2009). Homelessness: an overview. EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page. Retrieved February 5, 2011, from http://web.ebscohost.com/pov/detail?hid=119&sid=d5f751fa-0d0d-4ed1-8deb-483e701af50c%40sessionmgr111&vid=3&bdata=Jmxhbmc9ZW4tY2Emc2l0ZT1wb3YtY2Fu#db=p3h&AN=28674966
Data indicates that it takes years for the trauma associated with military combat to appear, hence the name post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). After the Vietnam War it took nine to twelve years before veterans began showing up at homeless shelters in large numbers. It’s unfortunate that ANY veteran who we reposed special trust and confidence in would someday find themselves living on the street at ANY point in their life.
Although most people know what homelessness is and it occurs in most societies, it is important to define because the forces of displacement vary greatly, along with the arrangement and meaning of the resulting transient state. The Stewart B McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 defined a homeless person as “an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence or a person who resides in a shelter, welfare hotel, transitional program or place not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation, such as streets, cars, movie theaters, abandoned buildings, etc.” Resent surveys conducted in the U.S. have confirmed that the homeless population in America is extremely diverse and includes representatives from all segments of society, including: the old and young, men and women, single people and families, city dwellers and rural residents, whites and people of color, employed and unemployed, able workers and people with serious health problems. The diversity among people that are homeless reflects how difficult it is to generalize the causes of homelessness and the needs of homeless people. Robert Rosenheck M.D., the author of Special Populations of Homeless Americans, explains the importance of studying homelessness based on subgroups, “each subgroup [of homeless people] has unique service needs and identifying these needs is critical for program planning and design.” Despite these diversities, homelessness is a devastating situation for all that experience it. Not only have homeless people lost their dwelling, but they have also lost their safety, privacy, control, and domestic comfort.
This great nation of awesome power and abundant resources is losing the battle against homelessness. The casualties can be seen on the street corners of every city in American holding an ?I will work for food? sign. Homeless shelters and rescue missions are at full capacity. There is no room at the inn for the nation?s indigent. Anyone who has studied this issue understands that homelessness is a complex problem. Communities continue to struggle with this socio-economic problem while attempting to understand its causes and implement solutions. The public and private sectors of this country are making a difference in the lives of the homeless by addressing the issues of housing, poverty and education.
After reviewing the literature, this author pinpointed several environmental, individual, and agent factors, which make up the epidemiologic triad, contribute to the topic of mental health in the homeless.
In the article, Numbers, it states, that the estimated number of homeless veterans in the United States was 200,000 (Lamarque). This article was based on the statistics of homeless veterans from 2006, meaning the number of homeless veterans has increased. This statistic represents how many veterans are homeless and how much is not being done about it. According to Veteran's Inc, between 529,000 and 840,000 veterans are homeless at sometime during the year. This means that since 2006, the number of homeless veterans have doubled, possibly even quadrupled over the past few years. Homeless veterans make up a huge portion of the homeless
Have you ever wondered how the veterans became homeless? A veteran can become homeless by many ways. Many become homeless due to being discharged early from physical or mental reasons or because when they come out of active duty, some of them are unable to act in social environments due to their mental state because of events or situations they dealt with while serving in the military. Others may not be able to financially support themselves after they are out of the military and are unable to obtain jobs.With that in mind, what
McNamara, Robert Hartmann. "Homelessness." Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Social Issues. Ed. Michael Shally-Jensen. Vol. 3: Family and Society. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2011. 1024-1031. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 May 2014. .
Our soldiers can’t afford the cost of living because they enrolled in the military at a young age. Adding a drug/alcohol free facility for our homeless veterans will reduce rates for everything. If we can’t take care of our own military personnel, who will ever want to serve for our country knowing they won’t get anything beneficial from it. The majority of our homeless veterans are males with the percent of 33. Even women are left homeless after returning home with a percentage of 10. The numbers for both male and female homelessness is said to rise as more people are enlisting into the service. People in today’s society take advantage of our soldiers and veterans. It’s very disrespectful knowing that there are veterans out there on the street and not one person will do anything. People need to start taking action to make a change. Without a change being made, soldiers are going to going to continue to be homeless and lack the care they need. (Cole para
Veterans have struggles with their civilian life after separating from the U.S Armed Forces. Returning to the civilian life seem to be a big challenge for veterans who have no prior job’s skills for civilian life because they had been influenced from military’s training, have physical and psychological damage.
Mental health disorders and substance use disorders are apparent within the population of individuals who are homeless. Mental health disorders and substance use disorders have varying factors that can cause a person to develop each disorder separately. People can often suffer immensely from each one individually. Mental health and substance use disorders can cause significant distress in the lives of those diagnosed. The opposite can also be said that significant distress can cause mental health and substance use disorders. The difference depends on a number of factors such as genetics, environment, resiliency, gender, and age. However, recovery from homelessness, mental health, and substance use disorders is possible if the right resources are available.
There are too many connecting issues that have caused homelessness to escalate from a lifestyle that was really only lived by middle aged individuals with a substance abuse problem, to a condition that is endured everyday by a diverse number of people. The 2013 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress reveals that 36 percent of the homeless population consisted of individuals in families--over half of which were children--17.8 percent was made up by the chronically homeless, and an estimated 10 percent was comprised of veterans.