Homeless Veterans Research Paper

Words: 620
Pages: 3

Veterans experiencing homelessness are a vulnerable military population, as they are experiencing issues of disparity and inequality. On any given night in America, there are 130,000 and 200,000 homeless veterans on the street (Military.com). This number represents one fourth of all homeless people. According to the National Coalition for the homeless, three times that many veterans are having troubles due to excessive rent burdens, therefore putting them at an increased risk of homelessness (2012). The United States homeless population includes veterans who have served in World War II, the Korean War, Cold War, Vietnam War, Grenada, Panama, Lebanon, Persian Gulf War, and Afghanistan and Iraq (OEF/OIF). However, almost half of the homeless veteran population served during the Vietnam era, placing this population at the highest risk of homelessness in veterans.
Due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (OEF/OIF), there has been a rise in the needs of veterans, including the needs for veterans who are homeless. Researchers have found that both male and female veterans are overrepresented in the homeless population and the number of homeless veterans has increased due to these conflicts (Perl, 2015). Some factors
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The study found that male veterans were at a higher risk of homelessness as opposed to women veterans. Around ninety-one percent of homeless veterans are male, as opposed to women making up nine percent of homeless veterans. Race and ethnicity was another area looked at, with the findings that “African American veterans make up 38.8% of the homeless veteran population, compared to 11.3% of all veterans” (Perl, 2015). Lastly, age was a risk factor that impacted veterans becoming homeless. More than fifty-four percent of homeless veterans are 65 or older, veterans between the ages 31-50 have the greatest percentages of