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Navigating Veteran Homelessness in San Diego

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Navigating Veteran Homelessness in San Diego Navigating Veteran Homelessness in San Diego Freddy Villafan Sociological Practice California State University San Marcos Research Guidance Committee: Kristin Bates, Ph. D., Chair Linda Shaw, Ph. D Sharon Elise, Ph. D Keywords: Homeless, Veteran, Military, San Diego SECTIONS Acknowledgment……………………………………………………………………….3 Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………5 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..7 Statement of the problem…………………………………………………………….....8 Ending Homelessness in 2015……………………………………………….....13 Literature Review……………………………………………………………………....15 Space and Social Environment and Criminalization of the Homeless………....16 Veteran Homelessness…………………………………………………….........21 Theory…………………………………………………………………………………..27 Foucauldian principles and system critique…………………………………….27 Standpoint theory……………………………………………………………….30 Methods…………………………………………………………………………………33 Sample………………………………………………………………………….34 Setting…………………………………………………………………………..35 Stand Down Event and Central/ Southern San Diego………………………….35 Participants……………………………………………………………………………..38 Interviews………………………………………………………………………………44 Findings………………………………………………………………………………...47 Getting out: Negotiating a Leave from the Service…………….....................................48 Discharge Status………………………………………………………………..49 San Diego – America’s “Friendliest” City? …………………………………...51 Living Out: Negotiating the Streets as a Homeless Veteran…………………………...53 Trust in Veteran Community: Legitimating Knowledge ………………………54 Solidary in Strangers: Communities of Kindness………………………………57 Roofs and Rules: Insight of Shelters……………………………………………59 Veteran Affairs………………………………………………………………….60 Non-Veteran Affair Resources………………………………………………….64 Hiding Out: Negotiating Dangers as Homeless Veterans………………………………66 Anti-Homeless Policies vs Ending Veteran Homelessness……………………..66 Criminalization of Homeless……………………………………………………72 Recommendation from the Veterans……………………………………………………76 Final Thoughts…………………………….…………………………………………….79 Public Policy Recommendations ……………………………………………………….80 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………82 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………….85 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost I would love to thank the person that sacrificed her life crossing the border, from Mexico to the United States when I was four-years-old so that I could have a better life. The risk my mother took and the life she has given me is one that I will never be able to repay. I am forever indebted to her. I love you Mom! To my brothers and sisters, Manuel, Guillermo, Belen, and Diana you all have taught me so much. To the girl that I met six years ago who has been there for me every step of the way, who has constantly pushed me to challenge myself, more than anyone else. For making me go back to school and telling me not to stop when I finished my Bachelor’s degree. For believing in me every step of the way. I love you Olivia! LJS Thank you to Dr. Kristin Bates. I met Dr. Bates two years ago when she approached me after class and told me how excited she was about my research. That was the first time a professor showed genuine enthusiasm about my research. Dr. Bates anytime that you need me to babysit or take care of your cats just let me know. Thank you, it was a pleasure working with you. Dr. Shaw, thank you for making me revise my sections and questions. I appreciate you pushing me to challenge myself and improving the depth and quality of my work. Dr. Sharon Elise, thank you for stepping in at the last minute. I appreciate all your input. Dr. Karen Glover, I appreciate the encouragement you provided when I was an undergraduate. You were one of the first professors that truly believed in me and motivated me to apply to graduate school, thank you. Thank you Dr. Suarez for your 3 feedback and encouragement. To my MASP cohort, I appreciate your unconditional support and friendship throughout this whole process. Thank you to all participants who took the time to talk to me and share their stories. I express my deepest gratitude for our conversations and their kindness. 4 ABSTRACT The purpose of this project is to validate the voices, experiences, and needs of homeless veterans in San Diego, California. I investigated how homeless veterans navigate and negotiate homelessness and related services in San Diego County. This study seeks to understand veteran homelessness in relation to San Diego military bases, government and non-governmental veteran organizations, and the types of funding that circulate through these institutions and spaces. This study utilized qualitative research methods to explore the following questions: What are the unmet needs of the homeless veteran population that are addressed (in)efficiently or not at all? What are the strengths and weaknesses of programs and services that seek to address veteran homelessness in San Diego? How do veterans engage with these services, if at all? This study utilized a phenomenological method to address research questions through individual narratives. For my data collection I conducted (13) face-to-face semi- structured interviews. The interviews demonstrate there is a multitude of state, city, military affiliated (such as Veteran Affairs), and community organizations (non-profits, churches, individual and philanthropic efforts) attempting to fill gaps of homeless needs and services provided. Participants provided their own direct and indirect evaluations of various programs and practices that they find troubling or helpful. Veteran’s discharge status played an essential role in determining their access to services as well as their comfortability and likelihood they would share their veteran status with others. Participants’ responses revealed different experiences with their veteran identity depending on their discharge status because it influenced their access to services and fear of judgment from others. I explore these varying understandings of “deserving” and 5 “undeserving veteran status.” One of the most significant patterns that emerged was the organic homeless veteran community that circulated information about resources, news, politics, laws, and other services. There was a heightened sense of legitimacy if information came from another veteran. These channels of information played an instrumental role in determining what services the veterans would seek out and who they would trust. There is the potential that the results of this study can be used to educate lawmakers and other decision makers about best-practices concerning the dispersal of money and resources to veteran homelessness. 6 INTRODUCTION In the first week of December 2013, I went to downtown San Diego for December Nights, a holiday festival located in the famous Balboa Park. This holiday festival attracts more than 100, 000 people with free museums, music, and food. As I made my way to the festival on the city shuttle, I remember feeling excited to attend my very first December Nights. On the way to the park, the shuttle driver made a right turn onto Imperial Avenue, and I gazed out the window to see various tents lined up on the side of the street, accompanied by people lying down in sleeping bags, and a few others gathered around in camouflage jackets. One man had on a shirt that stated he was a veteran. That excitement and joy instantly disappeared when I saw all the people in sleeping bags and tents lined up on the side of the street underneath the bridge overpass. I thought about that scene all night, trying to understand how homelessness in San Diego had become such a growing issue. I struggled to make sense of veteran homelessness in an area that houses several large military bases, family housing programs, and recent increases in funding to put an end to this very issue. As a veteran and having graduated boot camp in San Diego at the Marine Recruit Depot myself, I always believed San Diego to be a military friendly town. The large military population is coupled with red, white, and blue pride boasted on business windows, bumper stickers, and uniformed service members are vibrant throughout the towns that neighbor the many bases and naval shipyards. This shaped my inquiry towards examining why San Diego, being the military friendly city that it is perceived to be, experiences such high rates of homelessness among veterans. But more importantly I wanted to better understand the homeless veterans as they navigate San Diego 7 specifically; seeking to understand the role the military plays in their lives, if any, now that they are experiencing homelessness, as well as the role of community resources. How do these services engage homeless veterans, and what do the veterans think about them? Through my literature review I encountered several perspectives on homelessness as an issue, staggering numbers, and ideas about contributing factors to homelessness. In this paper, I will discuss some of the problems that veterans face, discuss the literature of homeless and homeless veterans, and the way my research attempts to fill the gaps I identify in the scholarship. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Homeless veterans holding up signs, wearing camouflage uniforms, and using Styrofoam cups to collect loose change from drivers waiting at stoplights are commonplace on the streets of San Diego at major intersections, mall exits, and near military compounds adjacent to highly trafficked neighborhoods. While many homeless persons panhandle for money at intersections in San Diego, an overwhelming majority of signage (usually a side of a cardboard box or thin poster board) references “veteran” and
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