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National Survey of Homeless Veterans in 100,000 Homes Campaign Communities

November 10, 2011 Comments off

National Survey of Homeless Veterans in 100,000 Homes Campaign Communities (PDF)
Source: 100,000 Homes

Combat ought to be the most difficult experience of a veteran’s life, but many veterans go on to become homeless for eight or nine times the length of their deployments.

Trained volunteers with the 100,000 Homes Campaign surveyed over 23,000 homeless Americans in 47 communities across the country and found that veterans tend to be homeless longer than non-veterans. In fact, homeless veterans reported an average of nearly six years homeless, compared to four years among non-veterans. Among those who reported spending two or more years homeless, veterans reported an average of nearly nine years homeless, compared to just over seven for non-veterans. Age accounted for only part of this disparity.

Length of homelessness matters because the longer people spend on the streets, the more health risks they tend to develop. Among the 62% of homeless veterans who reported two or more years of homelessness, over 61% reported a serious physical health condition, 55% reported a mental health condition, 76% reported a substance abuse habit, and 32% reported all three.

As a group, veterans were 11 percentage points more likely to suffer from at least one condition linked to increased risk of death among the homeless population, which means the men and women who risked their lives defending America may be far more likely to die on its streets.

Categories: 100,000 Homes, health and health care, homelessness, mental health and substance abuse, veterans
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