Metraux Stephen, Cusack Meagan, Byrne Thomas H, Hunt-Johnson Nora, True Gala
National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans, U.S. Department of Veterans Affair.
Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Psychol Serv. 2017 May;14(2):229-237. doi: 10.1037/ser0000136.
Despite the scale of veteran homelessness and government-community initiatives to end homelessness among veterans, few studies have featured individual veteran accounts of experiencing homelessness. Here we track veterans' trajectories from military service to homelessness through qualitative, semistructured interviews with 17 post-9/11-era veterans. Our objective was to examine how veterans become homeless-including the role of military and postmilitary experiences-and how they negotiate and attempt to resolve episodes of homelessness. We identify and report results in 5 key thematic areas: transitioning from military service to civilian life, relationships and employment, mental and behavioral health, lifetime poverty and adverse events, and use of veteran-specific services. We found that veterans predominantly see their homelessness as rooted in nonmilitary, situational factors such as unemployment and the breakup of relationships, despite very tangible ties between homelessness and combat sequelae that manifest themselves in clinical diagnoses such as posttraumatic stress disorder. Furthermore, although assistance provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and community-based organizations offer a powerful means for getting veterans rehoused, veterans also recount numerous difficulties in accessing and obtaining VA services and assistance. Based on this, we offer specific recommendations for more systematic and efficient measures to help engage veterans with VA services that can prevent or attenuate their homelessness. (PsycINFO Database Record
尽管退伍军人无家可归的规模以及政府与社区为终结退伍军人无家可归状况而采取的举措，但很少有研究以退伍军人个人的无家可归经历为特色。在此，我们通过对17名9·11后时代退伍军人进行定性的、半结构化访谈，追踪退伍军人从服役到无家可归的轨迹。我们的目标是研究退伍军人如何变得无家可归——包括军事及退伍后经历所起的作用——以及他们如何应对并试图解决无家可归的阶段。我们在5个关键主题领域确定并报告结果：从服役过渡到平民生活、人际关系与就业、心理与行为健康、终身贫困与不良事件以及退伍军人专用服务的使用。我们发现，退伍军人主要将他们的无家可归归因于非军事的情境因素，如失业和关系破裂，尽管无家可归与战斗后遗症之间存在非常明显的联系，这些后遗症在创伤后应激障碍等临床诊断中表现出来。此外，尽管美国退伍军人事务部（VA）和社区组织提供的援助为让退伍军人重新获得住房提供了有力手段，但退伍军人也讲述了在获取VA服务和援助方面的诸多困难。基于此，我们提出了更系统、高效措施的具体建议，以帮助退伍军人参与VA服务，从而预防或减轻他们的无家可归状况。（PsycINFO数据库记录）
