Women Veterans Are More Apt to Become Homeless

Men - they certainly took up most of the space in my book about my father and his experiences in World War II. The fighting Army then was made up entirely of men, with women occupying the more supportive roles. Of course, times have changed now, and women are part of the fighting force in Iraq and Afghanistan. Here are some startling and disturbing statistics about women veterans and homelessness, offered by Bryan Bender, of the Boston Globe (July 5, 2009). This came to me via Ilona Meagher's terrific blog.

"As more women serve in combat zones, the share of female veterans who end up homeless, while still relatively small at an estimated 6,500, has nearly doubled over the last decade, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. For younger veterans, it is even more pronounced: One out of every 10 homeless vets under the age of 45 is now a woman, the statistics show. ...

"Overall, female veterans are now between two and four times more likely to end up homeless than their civilian counterparts, according to the VA, most as a result of the same factors that contribute to homelessness among male veterans: mental trauma related to their military service and difficulty transitioning into the civilian economy. ...

"According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, a nonpartisan advocacy group in Washington, about 23 percent of the homeless population in the United States are veterans. Nearly half are from the Vietnam era and three-fourths experience some type of alcohol, drug, or mental heath problem. Most of the homeless vets, who are estimated by the Veteran’s Administration to number at least 130,000 on any given night nationwide, are men older than 50.

"With a new generation of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan leaving the armed forces, however, the demographics are swiftly changing. And with more women serving on active duty - a full 15 percent of the military is now female - the share of female homeless veterans has grown from about 3 percent a decade ago to 5 percent, according to the VA."



There are more problems for women veterans. The Government Accounting Office (GAO) issued a report recently detailing significant barriers faced by women veterans when trying to access VA care. You can read more about this on the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) website. This group works hard for the welfare of our veterans.