Genre Questions

The purpose of this report was to educate readers on the statistics of homeless veterans
and some of the possible factors leading to homelessness. To organize the report I separated each
paragraph by a possible factor, and in addition I put a heading for each paragraph. Since the
research question was so extensive, each factor required its own research method. In the end I
wanted readers to feel a sense of injustice towards veterans care, and because this was a report I
chose to leave any personal bias out of the picture, and only showed statistics. In the future
instead of using such a broad research question, I might benefit from narrowing my focus into a
more specific question.

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Lewis Walker
Professor Lisa Packer
English 2010
01 Mar. 2016
Factors of Veteran Homelessness
According to the Department of Defense there are 1.4 million people serving in the
United States military as of 2016, approximately making up .04% of the American population.
The National Alliance to End Homelessness reported in 2014 there were an estimated 578,424
people experiencing homelessness in the United States. (National Alliance) Of that group 9%
were veterans. Also there are 1.4 million veterans at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of
support networks, and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing. These
are the people who served in World War II, The Korean War, Cold War, Vietnam War, Grenada,
Panama, Lebanon, Persian Gulf War, and finally the most recent Afghanistan and Iraq. The
purpose of this report is to take a closer look at some of the possible factors to why so many of
Americas heroes are either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
Table 1:
Homeless Population and Subpopulations, 2014

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Source: The State of Homelessness in America 2015, National Alliance to End Homelessness, 01 Apr. 2015. Web.
01 Mar. 2016

Military to civilian
For any veteran one of the most challenging moments of their life will be transitioning
from military to civilian. One of the hardest trials is finding a job similar to one that you did in
the military. For example, what kind of job does an infantryman apply for? An article written by
Jon Marcus, a reporter for the times gives the story of Navy veteran Benny Lloyd who had
experience in the medical field performing lifesaving medical treatment. When Benny enrolled in
nursing school at the University of South Florida he learned that none of his experience was
worth any credits. Benny said The only benefit of my time in the military is that the university
recognized my basic training and tossed me two credits for phys-ed. Stories such as Benny
Lloyds are happening all over the country, making it difficult for veterans to put their experience
and training to use. Jon Marcus pointed out in the article:
In addition to time, the problem is costing veterans money to pay for courses
about subjects they already know, often subsidized by taxpayers through
GI Bill

benefits that have totaled nearly $35 billion since 2009.

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Certifications and degrees earned through the armed forces don't always transfer to the civilian
workforce, and this could be part of the reason the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that some
684,000 veterans are unemployed. (DoD Personal)
Mental and physical health
According to the Department of Veteran Affairs, 45% of homeless veterans suffer from
mental illness including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and an outstanding 70% suffer from
substance abuse. Of that 70%, only 21% are undergoing treatment. Are veterans getting the
healthcare they were promised? According to an investigation written by Drew Griffin for CNN,
Veterans Affairs healthcare wait times range from three to six months for some medical issues.
For mental health medical issues, CNN obtained an internal document from the VA showing that
the average wait time to be initially seen was 43 days.
Table 2:
Homelessness among Veterans in Substance Abuse Treatment, by Age Group: 2011

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Source: Teds Report, SAMHSA, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 07 Jan. 2014. Web. 1
Mar. 2016.

Lack of education
The Defense of Manpower Research reports over 90% of active duty members have an
education profile of a high school diploma or some college. Being an active duty member does
come with the benefit of tuition assistance, a program designed to pay up to 100% of tuition not
to exceed $4,500 per fiscal year. However eligibility is ultimately up to the members chain of
command. But even with this benefit, statistics from the veterans affairs show that 85% of
members that separate from the military only have a high school diploma with some college.
This combined with some of the issues listed above could be the reasoning behind so many
homeless veterans.

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Works Cited
Characteristics of Homeless Veterans. National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics.
Department of Veteran Affairs, Sept. 2012. Web. 1 Mar. 2016
DoD Personnel, Workforce Reports & Publications. DoD Data Reports. Department of
Defense, 1 Feb. 2016. Web. 1 Mar. 2016
Griffin, Drew. Veterans Still Facing Major Medical Delays at VA Hospitals. CNN.
Cable News Network, 20 Oct. 2015. Web. 01 Mar. 2016
Marcus, Jon. Vets Want Class Credit For Military Skills. Time. Time Magazine,
06 May 2014. Web. 01 Mar. 2016
National Alliance to End Homelessness. 21 Apr. 2016. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.