Homeless Veterans Program Analysis

Since initially being instated in 1987, the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program, the program has reached out using veterans who themselves have experienced homelessness. The program has recently been modified to allow utilization of formerly homeless veterans in many other positions, such as: counseling, coaching, intake

The presence of additional risk for homelessness specifically associated with Veteran status is puzzling in that it occurs among a population that shows better outcomes on almost all socioeconomic measures and that has exclusive access to an extensive system of benefits that include comprehensive healthcare services, disability and pension assistance, and homeless services (Fargo, et al, 24).

National Level: H.R. 474, a bill that addresses veteran homelessness, is titled Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Programs Reauthorization Act of 2015. H.R. 474 was introduced in the House on January 22, 2015 and passed the House without amendment on May 18, 2015. The bill extends through the Fiscal year 2020, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) homeless reintegration program which provides job training, counseling, and placement services to reintegration into the labor force (Congress.gov, nod). Homeless veterans, veterans participating in the (VA) supported housing program, and veterans who are transitioning from being imprisoned will be eligible for the reintegration program (Congress.gov, nod).

The homeless veterans population has been a problem over the decades, but over the past few years the population of homeless veterans has increased once again. This is a concerning problem that needs to be attended to and human services is one of the ways to seek help. Veterans from previous wars had experience when they came back home lack of support that lead them to become homeless. Over the years this has gotten better by the government starting programs to help transition back to civilian status (Murphy & Tobin, 2014). Recently this has change due to the veteran population has increased for the last few years and there is not enough resources to provide the care that is needed. This was noticed and now the Veteran Affairs have put in

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.

homeless veterans that still face mental health issues and addiction. A common solution is to put the post-rehabilitated veterans in a halfway house or group home so they can work and save money. However, 50% to 90% of people relapse after a period of recovery and being surrounded with fragile rehabilitated people can be a trigger to revert back to old habits (Beating the Relapse Statistics, www.alcoholrehab.com).

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.

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

Researchers have found that the military service alone is associated with homelessness, but it may be associated with other factors that contribute to homelessness. According to Woolsey and Naumann (2015), the study proposed to seek and synthesize evidence from studies and reports related to homeless veterans, requested by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office, Chief Evaluation Office, and the Veterans’ Employment and training Services to be published by the end of 2014. With a central focus on identifying the risk factors for homelessness among veterans. Under those circumstances, the literature review encountered risk factors for homelessness among veterans, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, lack of access to stable housing and employment

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.

Homelessness among our veterans is a huge problem across the nation. For the most part veterans are overrepresented in the homeless population. Nearly half of the homeless veterans are soldiers from the Vietnam war. Five percent of the homeless veteran population are between the ages of 18 and 30 and less than 23 percent are between 31 and 50. The homeless veteran population is predominantly males that are single, live in a city, and have a mental/physical disability, stated by the VA. About 57,849 of the 610,042 homeless people are veterans. African Americans and Hispanics make up about 45 percent of the homeless veteran population.

The majority of homeless veterans have service connected disabilities that are a direct result of military service; this contributes to a high risk of homelessness among veterans. Unique military skills that are non-essential in the civilian sector, combat related health issues, fractured family relationships and the lack of affordable housing are other factors. Many of them lack a social support network and/or someone to assist them with getting assistance from the government. They may be unaware of the different services they require and are

The National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans supports cares services for veterans who have no permanent place of residence or threatened with homelessness. The agency serves as a centralized resource center for research on the matter.

According to Donovan, S and Shinseki, E.K. of the American Journal of Public Health, the suggestion to combat this issue is to reenforce intervention strategies of certain government organizations that work and to funnel federal resources to those strategies (Donovan, 2013). One of the main factors for why people are homeless is due to the mental and physical illness and substance abuse. Effective intervention strategies must be achieved in order to combat homelessness and to ensure veterans are receiving aid they deserve. An example of improving intervention would be to increase investment in effective, evidence-based programs utilizing such as the Housing First model created by the VA which helps assist veterans with access to health care, employment and other supportive services that promote long-term housing stability, reduce recidivism and improve quality of

These factors include lack of affordable housing, poverty, job or income loss, mental illness, substance abuse, and health problems. Approximately 28 percent of all Veterans live in rural areas and 50 percent in urban areas. (U.S. Homeless Veterans, 2016). Homeless veterans who live in rural areas face additional burdens of the lack of access to services. First, rural areas lack to provide fast inclusive services to homeless veterans (Biasetti & Nicols, n.d.). Secondly, affordability is a challenge and the access to housing programs are limited. Thirdly, there are less job opportunities and jobs usually offer low wages because it is difficult for local businesses to make a profit. Lastly, transportation is rarely available because many assistance centers are quite a distance (Biasetti & Nicols, n.d.). This results in the lack of resources to provide adequate support for those veterans who are