Defending our country is not an easy task, and the emotional stress can be crippling. Statistics show a large number of previously employed military men and women become homeless once discharged, and The National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients indicates that a solid 23% of all homeless Americans are veterans of the United States armed forces (qtd. in Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans; hereinafter MSHV). While the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs extends help to many, there is still a large demand for its services, leaving it up to communities to organize help for our freedom fighters; hence the creation of the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans, located in Wheaton, IL. Since its beginning, the MSHV has strived to reach out to veterans in need of another chance by providing not only a place to call home, but one-on-one counseling and therapy to better their lives, one step at a time.
A veteran himself, Robert M. Adams founded the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans in 2000 in Winfield, IL. Leading up to its incorporation, Adams provided therapy to families, groups and individuals via private practice as a licensed social worker, specializing in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In 2004, Winfield native and USMC combat veteran of Operation Desert Storm, Dirk Enger, joined forces with Adams. Together, they worked with local and federal agencies and organizations to gain support and further their vision to provide a “. . . model program for community-based transitional housing service for Veterans in the nation” (MSHV). The pair soon proved their prowess, as it would take them less than a year to develop an active and efficient board of directors, one described as: “. . . very involved in the further ...
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A combined effort of many, the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans has been helping veterans since 2000, providing life, job, and substance abuse counseling in hopes to be, “. . . at the forefront of its kind in the nation” (MSHV). Being the only one of its kind in DuPage County, the transitional housing program for the homeless known as the LCpl Nicholas Larson Home for Veterans claim they “Strive to develop and provide unique and innovative services to those we serve” (MSHV); and a 71% success rate after 9 months proves their effectiveness. A full-time case manager and full-time house staff provide the wide array of services to those in-house and on their own, and with the high hopes the organization holds for themselves and their community, maybe the MSHV can help close the gap between homeless and in-need veterans and the help that is provided to them.
Managing a Homeless Shelter Program, with a new interest in researching not-for-profit statistics on senior citizens requires being able to predict the services needed. Often we think of the homeless as individuals or the family, but the elderly are also a homeless population that we should be working towards resolving. “As this vulnerable population continues to age, addressing complex care and housing
Although The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is a program that guarantees education for the homeless youth population, many homeless do not receive the proper services they need because they are not aware of available resources (Heinze & Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2009). Many homeless youths do not have a safe place to stay during the night or do not have any family or friends to rely on for support. In addition, approximately 7% of youth members in the United States are left without a home because of high dependence on an addictive substance or because they have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder (Heinze & Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2009). Services that could provide shelter for the youth are often underused. Research in homeless youth
“states that the nation’s homeless veterans are predominantly male, with roughly 9% being female. The majority are single; live in urban areas; and suffer from mental illness, alcohol and/or substance abuse, or co-occurring disorders. About 11% of the adult homeless population are veterans.
Yet, according to the National Resource Center (NRC) on Homelessness and Mental Illness, 80% of the homeless population is off of the streets within 2 to 3 weeks. The NRC is the only national center specifically focused on the effective organization and delivery of services to the homeless and the mentally ill. It is important to note that the NRC reports 10% of people are homeless for 2 months and only 10% are chronically homeless. This fact shows that many people want to get back to ordinary lives and will work hard to do so, in spite of Awalt’s
Many believe that a common thread among the homeless is a lack of permanent and stable housing. But beyond that, the factors leading to homelessness and the services that are needed are unique according to the individual. To put them into one general category ? the homeless- suggests that people are homeless for similar reasons and therefore a single solution is the answer. Every homeless person shares the basic needs of affordable housing, adequate incomes and attainable healthcare. But a wide range of other unmet needs cause some people to become or remain homeless which include drug treatment, employment training, transportation, childcare and mental health services (Center 8.)
Homelessness is one of the biggest issues society (Unites States) faces today. Homelessness is caused by lack of affordable housing, economic situations and decline in federal funding for low income families and the mentally ill. A homeless person is defined as an individual who lacks housing (without regard to whether the individual is a member of a family) including an individual whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private (shelters) facility that provides temporary living accommodations and an individual who is a resident in transitional housing. This definition of housing is used by the U.S Department of Healt...
Douglass, R., Torres, R., Surfus, P., Krinke, B., & Dale, L. (1999). Health Care Needs and Services Utilization Among Sheltered and Unsheltered Michigan Homeless. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Undeserved, 5-18.
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. .
The United States Department of Veteran Affairs is a government entity in which provides health care, general benefits, services and assistance with burials and memorials to all veterans (Department of Veterans Affairs [VA], 2013). However, there are smaller divisions within the VA that cater to certain interest groups such as women, minorities, homeless and disabled. In focusing on homeless African American women veterans, we are able to examine the policies and programs that cater three of the four interest groups simultaneously. The policies that we will be examining in relation to this group are women veterans’ health policy and homeless women veterans’ policy.
Gulcur, Leyla, Padgett, Deborah K., and Tsemberis, Sam. (2006). “Housing First Services for People Who Are Homeless with Co-Occurring Serious Mental Illness and Substance Abuse.” Research on Social Work Practice, Vol 16 No. 1.
It was once assumed that the government would provide services for veterans, but nonprofit organizations and communities have been picking up the slack to help veterans get back on their feet after returning home. The government is dependent on nonprofit organizations to supply veterans and their families with the necessary goods and services. The Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is an organization that provides services for veterans and their families. The WWP focuses on mind, body, economic empowerment, and engagement, all things that help veterans through post-war symptoms (The Wounded Warrior Project). The government is recommending giving less housing allowances, limiting pay raises, and having higher fees for health care benefits; other cuts would include stores being unable to give discounts to military families (Nissenbaum and Barnes). The amount of money veterans receive for housing, health care, and retirement is being cut left and right by the government and the money is being used and put towards other departments. In California, The County Veterans Service Officers Inc. plays a very important role in verterans’ lives (California Association of County Veterans Service Officers, Inc.) Many organizations help veterans who are in need of services because our government is not always able to provide...
Veterans have manifested significant mental or behavioral health issues and in turn, health care services have been set to respond to their needs through educating community health care providers to work with veterans, service members and their families. As Zeiss & Karlin (2008) demonstrates, health care system has partnered with national organizations, health services, resources administration and other major mental projects that target the veterans to ensure effective services to mental health concerns. There are many inter-professional roles geared towards veterans due to their wide-range of mental issues including physicians, psychologists, social workers, substance abuse professionals, licensed counselors, public health workers, therapists related to marriage and family issues, nurses, chaplains, law enforcement and occupational therapists. In the course of this discussion, the way veterans mental issues has been addressed will be constricted to nursing setting to describe the scope, severity, behavioral health issues and responses among veterans.
My plan after college is to become a Sociologist or a Social Worker. With a college degree in one of these areas, I hope to impact my community in various ways. First, with the knowledge obtained from college, I hope to counsel with young people who are on the verge of going astray. In today's society, there are so many negative factors that influence young people. I want to help them understand the importance of setting goals and striving to become productive citizens. I also want to give them a sense of hope that with perseverance, they can become great role models for other young people.
Peter Singer said; “If it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it” (Famine, Affluence, and Morality). As human beings, we have a moral compulsion to help other people, despite the verity that they may be strangers, especially when whatever type of aid we may render can in no approach have a more significant consequence on our own life.