Service members discharged for misconduct have much higher rates of homelessness, study says, By Alan Zarembo, August 26, 2015, Los Angeles Times: “Veterans whose behavior got them kicked out of the military have dramatically higher rates of homelessness than those who left under normal circumstances, according to a new study by researchers from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Among VA patients who served in Iraq or Afghanistan between 2001 and 2011, 5.6% were discharged for misconduct. Yet these patients accounted for 28.1% of veterans who had been homeless within their first year out of the military, the analysis found. The type of misconduct that resulted in discharge typically involved drug or alcohol use…”
Tag: Military service
Veteran Homelessness and Unemployment
An end to jobless vets? New VA job program raises hopes, By Gretel Kauffman, June 28, 2015, Christian Science Monitor: “The US Department of Veteran Affairs has launched a new program which offers individualized assistance to the roughly 50,000 unemployed veterans living on the street. Through the Homeless Veterans Community Employment Services program, more than 150 community employment coordinators (CECs) will help veterans at VA locations across the country by identifying those who are job-ready and establishing relationships with community employers who may be able to find them jobs. The coordinators will also connect veterans with resources to help them succeed in their jobs once they find employment…”
Homelessness Among Veterans
Innovative program is tailored to prevent homelessness among vets, By Tony Perry, February 16, 2014, Los Angeles Times: “Kris Warren, a Marine veteran with combat duty in Iraq, remembers the disorientation and other problems that kept him from reentering civilian life. Finally he mustered the courage to ask for help from the Department of Veterans Affairs in Los Angeles. With that help over months, he was able to reunite with his wife and children and avoid slipping into homelessness. Now, Warren, 36, is part of an innovative VA program set to begin in San Diego: a residential treatment facility exclusively for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in danger of becoming homeless…”