According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, most national homeless veterans are male, single, based in urban areas, and they suffer from alcohol and/or substance abuse and mental illness. Veterans mainly constitute approximately 11 percent of the homeless adults in America. Homeless populations are transient, which makes it difficult to make an accurate calculation of the total number of homeless veterans. It is estimated that there were 2,700 homeless veterans in 2010, and the number has been on the rise. While the government commits to providing safe, secure, and clean housing that facilitates an environment that is drug and alcohol-free, the issue of homeless veterans is still rampant. Why is this the case? The combination of the complexity of the issue of homelessness – extreme decline in availability of affordable housing, access to health care, and livable income – most of the displaced veterans live with permanent effects of substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to the lack of social and family networks. Furthermore, military training and occupations are not always transferable to the civilian workplace, which makes the veterans disadvantaged when searching for employment.
The Department of Veteran Affairs is responsible for the veterans, and they have special homelessness programs directed to the homeless veterans. These programs provide up to 150,000 homeless veterans with quality healthcare and other services aimed at improving the quality of their lives annually. Also, over 40,000 homeless veterans are provided with pension and compensation benefits per month. The department collaborates with community service providers to offer as many helpful services to the veterans as possible. Through these partnerships, it has been possible to reduce the total homeless veterans by approximately 70 percent since 2005.
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Many organizations dismiss veterans as not needing a formal housing setup. However, this notion is very wrong! Veterans are in dire need of a coordinated effort that aims at providing nutritious meals, secure housing, basic physical health care, mental health counseling, substance abuse care, and personal empowerment and development. Veterans also need job training, assessment, and placement assistance. It is important that all the programs for assisting homeless veterans to be focused on helping them obtain and retain employment. The most helpful and effective programs for the homeless veterans are nonprofit, community-based, and specifically directed towards the at-risk veterans.
There is currently a limitation on government money and available services and resources. For this reason, it is important that community groups spread out a hand to help provide the opportunities, support, and resources that many people take for granted. These opportunities include healthcare, employment, and housing. Veterans who take part in collaborative programs are liable for more services, and they are better positioned to become productive, tax-paying citizens once more.
All these efforts to reduce veteran homelessness is eventually paying off with a notable decline in the homeless veterans by 40 percent since 2016. This progress is encouraging because there is hope that the homeless veterans will eventually get what they are hoping for: quality living standards and freedom from drug and substance abuse. Most veterans have lived for a long time in the streets and bushes engaging in war. The leading causes of veteran homelessness include inadequate support networks, dismal and substandard living conditions, and general poverty. It is about time that they received a formal and permanent housing and family setup.
