Veterans and Homelessness

Abstract

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have brought renewed attention to the needs of veterans, including the needs of homeless veterans. Researchers have found both male and female veterans to be overrepresented 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 2007-2009 recession and the subsequent slow economic recovery also 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 of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). 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), and transitional housing (Grant and Per Diem program) as well as supportive services (the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program). The VA also works with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide permanent supportive housing to homeless veterans through the HUD-VA Supported Housing Program (HUD-VASH). In the HUD-VASH program, HUD funds rental assistance through Section 8 vouchers while the VA provides supportive services. In addition, the VA and HUD have collaborated on a homelessness prevention demonstration program. Several issues regarding veterans and homelessness have become prominent, in part because of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. One issue is ending homelessness among veterans. In November 2009, the VA announced a plan to end homelessness within five years. Both the VA and HUD have taken steps to increase housing and services for homeless veterans.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 29, 2013
Accession Number
ADA591159

Entities

People

  • Libby Perl

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Afghanistan Conflict
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Demography
  • Department Of Veterans Affairs
  • Families (Human)
  • Geographic Regions
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Hospitals
  • Iraqi-War
  • Law
  • Medical Personnel
  • Psychiatry
  • Public Health
  • Sexual Assault
  • Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Urban Areas

Readers

  • Rehabilitation and Prosthetic Care for Military Service Members and Veterans with Limb Loss or Disability.