Introduction
The US government faces many problems, and some of them can be solved quite naturally, but others are acquiring an enormous scale. One of these problems is the vast number of homeless veterans who have returned from various wars. These are people of different ages: there are constant wars in the world, and fighters return to the United States annually. Unfortunately, hostilities leave traces on the lives of some of them. For one reason or another, many veterans lose everything that they had and become homeless. The purpose of this paper is to describe the main causes of this situation, to consider the approaches of different scientists to the problem, and to offer ways to solve it.
Scope of Problem
There are many reasons why veterans are forced to spend nights on the streets and in shelters. The first of these are mental illnesses acquired during hostilities. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has pursued an unusual disability policy in recent years. If a soldier returns from a hot spot with physical injuries (for example, amputated limbs), then they usually put him into a center for disabled veterans. Visitors to these centers receive round-the-clock care.
If a veteran without arms or legs ends up on the street and journalists notice him, then the reputation of the Department of Defense will be damaged. The whole country will learn how the authorities treat the heroes who fought for American freedom and democracy. As for veterans with mental disabilities (depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, memory lapse, and others), VA leaves them outside.
For example, on the streets of New York, some homeless people hold cardboards with inscriptions about the presence of a diagnosis of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). These people do not lie: every year, millions of new PTSD cases are found in the United States, and most of these people are veterans. Such a disorder can manifest itself years after returning from the war. It is PTSD that is the leading cause of the mass suicide of combatants. Besides, researchers state that “Their complex pattern of health contains components of both chronic medical and chronic psychiatric health problems” (Weber, Lee & Martsolf, 2018, p. 27). Thus, the lack of access to quality medicine has a significant adverse effect on the lives of veterans.
The second reason veterans are homeless is alcoholism and drug addiction. For example, Mabhala, Yohannes, and Griffith (2017) state that the veterans “identified substance misuse and alcohol dependency as a main cause of their homelessness” (p. 14). The main problem related to it lies in the lack of programs for the quick adaptation of military personnel to a peaceful life. Most veterans moderately consume alcohol or marijuana when they return from war. VA, however, reaches out to them only when the addiction becomes chronic. By this time, the alcoholic or drug addict often loses control of himself and refuses help. Thus, helping many of these people is not possible at all.
The third reason for veterans’ homelessness is the breakup of the family. People often return from war seriously changed, and their wives, children, parents, friends, or other close people do not recognize them. As a result, the likelihood of a family collapse increases by almost ten times compared with any other non-veteran family. VA is aware of a causal relationship between participation in hostilities and the breakup of the family, but it never mentions this anywhere. Victims of divorce themselves often do not see the connection between the military past and loneliness.
The next reason is unemployment: a significant part of the youth, having returned from the war, cannot find a stable income. VA allocates insufficient amounts for the employment of veterans, and war heroes have no priority for employers. Moreover, many businesses are afraid to hire veterans, since there is a stereotype in society about their psychological problems. For this reason, veterans do not have the opportunity to earn a living and somehow get settled.
The fifth reason is the lack of available and cheap housing. For instance, according to studies, about 12% of women veterans are experiencing housing instability (Dichter, Wagner, Borrero, Broyles & Montgomery, 2017). The federal government and individual states enthusiastically help the poor, immigrants, people with disabilities, and other categories of citizens. However, veterans are not only priority candidates for apartments: in some cases, they are refused because of the military past. It is believed sometimes that they already receive “enough” from the state. Unfortunately, VA benefits usually close the way to the quota of preferential apartments.
The sixth reason for homelessness is government policy: adapting to a peaceful life, many veterans quickly realize that state policy towards them is full of cynicism. Most ordinary Americans do not know anything about the problematic everyday lives of real heroes and patriots. Complaining about the tough life among veterans is not accepted. Thus, most veterans, having returned from the war, fall into a complicated situation and cannot get out of it without assistance.
Previous Findings
There is a significant number of studies on the life, behavior, opportunities, and condition of homeless veterans. One of the standard methods of these studies is personal communication with them. Most researchers note that the situation remains unstable, and the state cannot provide assistance to each of these people. For example, in one experiment, scientists visited several centers for homeless people (Mabhala et al., 2017). It turned out that these people were in a difficult situation, but they had to act on their own without any help.
Many studies focus on the health of veterans. In particular, during the interviews with them, scientists find out what problems veterans face. Some participants claim that they are aware of their diseases and even tried to cope with them. However, they did not always have enough knowledge, resources, and opportunities to do this (Weber, Lee & Martsolf, 2017). Thus, scientists identify the main problems, which makes it possible to solve them. Studies also prove the difficulty of gaining access to all sorts of help. Many veterans, even having the need and desire to see doctors, are refused for various reasons (O’Toole, Johnson, Redihan, Borgia & Rose, 2015). Unfortunately, this exacerbates the situation, and in this case, veterans just cannot do anything.
However, studies show that not only the external environment harms the lives of homeless veterans. In some situations, veterans refuse to receive help because of some of their inner beliefs. For instance, they may have a bad attitude towards specific organizations or some negative mindsets (Christian, Abrams, Clapham, Nayyar & Cotler, 2016). This aggravates the situation and prevents people from rationally resolving it.
Critique of Literature
Unfortunately, not all scientists can offer practical and straightforward ways to change the situation. Just having an interview with many veterans, it is impossible to improve their lives. If these people describe their problems and the inability to solve them on their own, it is necessary to find ways to help them with this. Perhaps scientific research alone is not enough for this, and researchers need to unite with charitable organizations and government agencies. Despite this, a broad view of the problem allows identifying key points and understanding what needs to be emphasized. This is the very first step towards changing the lives of homeless veterans for the better, but scientists should not stop there.
Conclusion
Having studied various sources, it is possible to conclude that it is necessary to make a colossal effort to change the living conditions of homeless veterans. At the moment, there are many reasons why they fell into an unfavorable situation. This includes alcohol, drugs, housing inaccessibility, family problems, and others. Understandably, such a large number of demotivating and even killing factors have a significant impact on veterans.
Many studies prove the fact that society is aware of and shows interest in the problem. Scientists approach it from different points of view and distinguish different areas that should be paid attention to. However, not all of these studies likely lead to active actions aimed at changing these areas. Nevertheless, only with this approach will they be significant and useful. Thus, a positive trend can be noted in the study of the problem of homeless veterans. The more people will know about it and understand what to do in connection with this, the faster things will improve for the better.
References
Christian J, Abrams D, Clapham D, Nayyar D, Cotler J. (2016). Intentions to move from homelessness to social inclusion: The role of participation beliefs, attitudes and prior behaviour. Social Inclusion, 4(4), 16–27.
Dichter, M., Wagner, C., Borrero, S., Broyles, L., Montgomery, A.E. (2017). Intimate partner violence, unhealthy alcohol use, and housing instability among women Veterans in the Veterans Health Administration. Psychological Services, 14(2), 246-249.
Mabhala M. A., Yohannes A., Griffith M. (2017). Social conditions of becoming homelessness: Qualitative analysis of life stories of homeless peoples. International Journal of Equity in Health, 16(1), Article 150.
O’Toole T. P., Johnson E. E., Redihan S., Borgia M., Rose J. (2015). Needing primary care but not getting it: The role of trust, stigma, and organizational obstacles reported by homeless veterans. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 26(3), 1019–1031.
Weber J., Lee, R. C., & Martsolf, D. (2017). Understanding the health of veterans who are homeless: A review of the literature. Public Health Nursing, 34(5), 505–511.
Weber, J., Lee, R. C., & Martsolf, D. (2018). Pursuing the mission: How homeless veterans manage chronic disease. Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 12(5), 27–35.