...Prevalence of Homelessness Among United States Veterans Martha Clark Adventist University of Health Sciences Abstract The purpose of this paper is to critique the article “Homelessness among a national representative sample of US veterans: prevalence, service utilization, and correlates,” which is a case study on the topic of homeless veterans in the United States. This article finds that low income, younger age, and poor mental and physical health had significant impact on whether a veteran would spend time homeless. The conclusions found in this article will be examined and compared with other related articles and data. This article shows that there is a correlation between veterans of foreign wars and periods of homelessness....
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... Veterans and Homelessness: What programs are being put in place to help. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have brought renewed attention to the needs of veterans, including the needs of homeless veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reported that in FY2008 it assessed more than 1,500 veterans who served in the Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom theater of operations for participation in its Health Care for Homeless Veterans Program. Both male and female veterans have been over represented in the homeless population, and as the number of veterans increases due to these conflicts, there is concern that the number of homeless veterans could rise commensurately. The current economic downturn also has raised concerns that homelessness could increase among all groups, including veterans. Congress has created numerous programs that serve homeless veterans specifically, almost all of which are funded through the Veterans Health Administration. These programs provide health care and rehabilitation services for homeless veterans (the Health Care for Homeless Veterans and Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans programs), employment assistance (Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program and Compensated Work Therapy program), transitional housing (Grant and Per Diem program) as well as other supportive services. The VA also works with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide permanent supportive housing to homeless veterans through...
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...Veterans are former soldiers who have had wartime experiences. Veterans achieved much for the country, but they are faced with difficulties upon returning home. Some of the problems confronted by veterans are homelessness and mental disorders. Veterans are an important part of the US history. According to The History of Veterans Day (n.d.), Armistice Day was started at the end of World War I. Then twenty-eight years later, the name of this holiday changes to Veterans Day to honor all of the veterans who fought in any war. After that, some programs were created to support those veterans. The US Department of Veterans Affairs (2015) said that the purpose of this department is to create programs to help veterans with their needs. Some of these...
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...Homeless Veterans and Mental Health Shana Holt NUR/408 August 24, 2015 Ann Reagan Homeless Veterans and Mental Health According to the "National Alliance on Mental Illness" (2015), "Veterans make up as much as one third of the nation's population of homeless people." (Homeless Veterans). The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans estimate that 45% of these veterans are also living with a mental illness and half suffer with substance abuse problems like drug addiction or alcoholism. This population is predisposed to a number of medical, psychiatric, and social problems such as tuberculosis, HIV infection, hepatitis, alcoholism and substance use, skin and foot disease, schizophrenia and related psychoses, malnutrition, and trauma. Many of these veterans have lost their families, homes or even both as a result of the inability to adapt to civilian life. America's homeless veterans have served in all wars including some of our most recent like Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. The Veterans Administration (VA) currently provides specialized homelessness programs to almost 150,000 homeless veterans. “Since 1987, VA's programs for homeless veterans have emphasized collaboration with such community service providers to help expand services to more veterans in crisis." ("National Coalition for Homeless Veterans", n.d.). Epidemiology Paper Roles This paper will explain the role epidemiology plays in the surveillance of mental...
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...Your name? Homelessness is a growing concern in the world we live in. But, how do military veterans end up homeless? The men and women who voluntarily fought for our country and others. Homelessness among military veterans concerns me because I, as a current service member and spouse of a retired veteran, understand some of the things veterans face once they return to civilian life. We need to take steps to save our military men and women from the destructive life on the streets of America. One must fully understand homelessness before anything can be done to correct the problem. People typically turn their heads in disgust when looking at a dirty, smelly, homeless veteran and blame the veteran for letting themselves get into such a situation. Our society needs to take ownership in working with our sState and fFederal gGovernments to come up with successful solutions that will produce positive results in eliminating homelessness among our veterans. Daily they give their all for each of us. The first step in solving a problem is to understand why the problem exists. Veterans have been separated and isolated from society and when they return home they are lost and feel out of place or out of touch. Most are wounded and need help getting back on their feet. Many homeless veterans suffer from health related problems and experience alcohol, drug, or mental problems such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD, the result of current wars, makes...
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...Homelessness is a major social issue facing our society today. Homelessness among United States Veterans in particular is at epidemic levels for those returning to civilian life. Given the Iraq and Afghanistan tours and number of soldiers returning from multiple tours in “hell”, it is little wonder the number of homeless vets has more than doubled in the past two years. (Zoroya, 2014) Serious measures need to be taken to save our “fallen soldiers” from the depressing life on the streets of America. But in order to do this we must first understand the life of homeless vets to determine why conventional attempts at solving this problem just don’t work. Our society needs to take ownership in working with State and Federal Government to implement successful solutions which produce positive results in eliminating homelessness among our veterans. The number of Afghanistan and Iraq veterans who are homeless or risk losing the roof over their heads is increasing as more of these soldiers return home from active duty. At the end of September, 2014, 531 of these vets were living on the streets of Connceticut. (Zoroya, 2014) These numbers are actually much higher because it only represents the number staying in shelters or those receiving federal temporary housing vouchers to pay rent as noted in Department of Veterans’ Affairs reports. (Zoroya, 2014). There were more than 62,600 homeless veterans in the United States according to data from January 2014 report released by...
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...Homelessness in America is a huge issue in our nation today, with an array of causes and effects. There are many reasons why people become homeless.They are unable to afford their rent so they have no place to go but the streets. A complete solution to homelessness has yet to be found. But, activists have came up with many alternatives for example like affordable housing and homeless shelters. Alarmingly twenty-two percent of people in shelters were children. There are a lot more statistics like this that just wanna make you cringe. But, they are receiving shelter and food so that is a great alternative than sleeping on the streets. Although this isn't a complete solution to the issue of homelessness we are getting closer to a final solution. Homelessness has gradually become a...
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...Homeless Veterans In April 1997 Venessa Turner joined the U.S Army and advanced to the rank of sergeant. Venessa was deployed to a camp 20 miles west of Baghdad, when one day she collapsed in 130 degree heat. This put Turner into a coma and she nearly died of heath failure. In 2003 Venessa was released with a pending medical discharge from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C, after her release, her story turned for the worst. The military did end up discharging Venessa Turner, with no place to live or ongoing health care. The result of this lead to Venessa having to move place to place, sleeping on friend and families couches and it was just her alone she also had a daughter. With no help from the VA or military housing Venessa and her daughter was left homeless. (National Coalition for Homeless Veterans) “One of every three...
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...intended to have, and shall have the same validity as my handwritten signature. Student's signature (name typed here is equivalent to a signature): Christopher Holland Introduction The purpose of this paper is to explore the homeless population in the United States while thinking critically. The research for this paper shall detail the history of homeless from its first noticeable conception. The paper will examine the time line of homelessness stating contributing factors as well as detailing the homeless struggle. This paper shall research the nature of the social problems or issues experienced by homeless people meanwhile showing the stereotyping and discrimination of homeless people. This paper will explore the different demographic groups along with common clinical issues and intervention strategies. After the research has explored the many aspects of homelessness then this paper will detail the future intervention to alleviate the the struggle of homelessness. The History of Homelessness The history of homelessness teaches us the epidemic dating back as far as the Middle Ages where most emphasis was put...
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... This paper is an overview of homeless veterans in the United States. I will discuss how this issue fits into the field of sociology while determining which sociological theories from our text apply. Next, I will explain what is known and unknown about America’s homeless veterans. Then, I will discuss the value of sociological research into this issue. Finally, I will determine if there are practical implications of sociological inquiry. There is a serious homeless problem that plagues many Americans, including those Americans that fought for our country. Although we tend to hold servicemen in high regard, many people are very insensitive to those veterans that become homeless. Most people believe that homelessness is due to controllable factors such as laziness or refusal to work. Nothing can be further from the truth. Veterans not only make up a disproportionate percentage of the homeless population, but also stay homeless for longer. In fact, veterans are at a greater risk of becoming homeless due to a number of factors including unique military skills not needed in the civilian sector, combat-related health issues, minimal income due to unemployment, and a shortage of safe, affordable housing. Prior to becoming homeless, many veterans at risk of homelessness have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder or have acquired addictions during their military service. “At least 45 percent of homeless veterans suffer from mental illness, while over 50 percent...
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... Abstract Most Americans have heard the term hobo, which is defined as a vagrant or transient among other definitions. The term is well known because a large number of Americans have been named such who lived on the streets, or “skid rows” of this country. Homeless individuals have existed throughout history; however, more recently, a larger number and many categories of homeless individuals occur. In this paper the subject to examine is the history of homeless persons in America, the nature of the social problems and issues experienced by the homeless, demography of the homeless, common clinical issues and intervention strategies, and a discussion of future interventions. Vulnerable Populations Homeless Persons Homelessness has been a phenomenon in America beginning in the late 1700s according to author Kenneth Kusmer. “Kusmer begins with an examination of homelessness from the late seventeenth century through the early nineteenth century. Although the number of homeless fluctuated somewhat in this period (rising in the late eighteenth century and in the 1820s), concern about the homeless was not widespread. The homeless were also largely an urban phenomenon; rural residents rarely encountered homeless persons. The Civil War introduced soldiers to railroad travel and to foraging, and after the war, some veterans continued to ride the rails and lead a homeless existence. However, it was during the depression of the 1870s that...
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...the lack of demand of work, people going homeless is rapidly becoming a problem. Also there are many other reasons why people are homeless, such as family breakdown or a natural disaster. In earlier times homeless people were typically blamed for their own circumstances or they were considered to be lazy, a drunk, or a criminal. During the Great Depression, beliefs about the homeless were changed. During the depression people were faced with hard times. Millions of people lost their jobs and homes, and those who still had a job struggled just to make ends meet. In the 1960s, mentally ill patients being discharged by the masses, also known as deinstitutionalization, were sent out to live on the street with little to no assistance. Homelessness has no demographic boundaries. People of all ages, gender, race, and educational background can become homeless. Single males make up the highest percentage of homeless people at 51%. Sadly, 39% of homeless people are children under the age of 18. The majority of these are children with their families at 33%. African-Americans make up 49%...
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...expected which include members of the military, the veterans, mainly those that have served during the time of the Vietnam War. As a direct result of Post Traumatic Syndrome and other mental/medical disabilities many in this group may not have a permanent home to call their own. To define homelessness according to the site for National Health Care for the Homeless Council (retrieved 2014), one of the official definitions for the state of being homeless or homelessness is presented as follows: A homeless individual is defined in section 330(h) (4)(A) 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 facility (e.g., shelters) that provides temporary living accommodations, and an individual who is a resident in transitional housing.” A homeless person is an individual without permanent housing who may live on the streets; stay in a shelter, mission, single room occupancy facilities, abandoned building or vehicle; or in any other unstable or non-permanent situation. [Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C., 254b)](National 2014) This is one of the definitions that tries to explain this large sociological perspective based on trends or patterns and the fact that this social situation requires such a broad explanation to attempt to cover all aspects of homelessness. This explanation does show how widespread and complicated...
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...Homelessness is defined as a lack of a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and is associated with poor health and subsequent morbidity (Gordon, Haas, Luther, Hilton, & Goldstein, 2010). Veterans make up about 11% of the adult population; they make up 26% of the homeless population (Weidman, Executive Director, & Vietnam Veterans of America, n.d). An estimated 47% of homeless veterans served during the Vietnam era, more than 67% served the nation for at least three years, and 33% were stationed in a war zone (Boone, Executive Director, & National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, n.d). Biases and Stereotypes Individuals label the homeless with stereotypes and personal biases due to lack of knowledge. These same stereotypes label the men and women who have served our country in WWII, Korea, the Cold War, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Some individuals believe that all homeless are lazy and do not want to work; they would rather sit alongside a road and beg for money, so they can buy their alcohol or drugs. Homeless are thought of as individuals who have made poor choices in their lives. Many veterans who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are thought of as crazy and not able to function in society any more. Individuals may think that veterans have it made with benefits provided for themselves and their families including better health care than most of the working population in America. Demographics Numerous reasons...
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...1120 Dr. Soto-Schwartz 15 October 2015 Veterans Affairs Helps Homeless Veterans Veterans Affairs is taking decisive action to end Veteran homelessness in five years. All Veterans at risk for homelessness or attempting to exit homelessness must have easy access to programs and services including prevention, housing support, treatment, employment and job training. Veterans Affairs programs and services aim to help homeless Veterans live as self-sufficiently and independently as possible. Veterans Affairs offer outreach, clinical assessment and referral to medical treatment, employment assistance, and supported permanent housing. One-third of adult homeless men and nearly one-quarter of all homeless adults have served in the armed forces. While there is no true measure of the number of homeless veterans, it has been estimated that fewer than 200,000 veterans may be homeless on any given night and that twice as many veterans experience homelessness during a year. Many other veterans are considered at risk because of poverty, lack of support from family and friends and precarious living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing. Ninety-seven percent of homeless veterans are male and the vast majority are single. About half of all homeless veterans suffer from mental illness and more than two-thirds suffer from alcohol or drug abuse problems. Nearly 40 percent have both psychiatric and substance abuse disorders. The Department of Veterans Affairs is the only federal agency that...
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