A Thesis Entitled Veteran Homelessness

A Thesis

entitled

Veteran Homelessness: Protecting our Protectors

Ann Marie Sifuentes

The University of Toledo

May 2018

This document is copyrighted material. Under copyright law, no parts of this document may be reproduced without the expressed permission of the author. An Abstract of

Veteran Homelessness: Protecting our Protectors

Ann Marie Sifuentes

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Masters Degree in Sociology

The University of Toledo

May 2018

In 2010, the White House promised to prevent and end homelessness among veterans in five years. However, the Intergovernmental Council on Homelessness stated that in

2013, nearly 139,857 veterans were still homeless and used an emergency shelter or transitional housing program during that year. This thesis explores the reasons for veteran homelessness and attempts to identify ways of addressing this problem so that veterans do not continue to fall through the cracks. It uses insider research in combination with ethnographic fieldwork to explore the ways that the risk factors for homelessness influences the lives of individual veterans. A combination of individual and institutional factors lead to veteran homelessness and many recommendations are made to address this problem.

iii

This research is dedicated to all the men and women who have served in the past, present and future. Due to these brave individuals, especially the wounded warriors, I was inspired to conduct this research.

Acknowledgements

This research was accomplished due to a number of individuals, and I am truly grateful to each and every one of them.

This thesis would not have been possible without the continuous support of my mentor and my Professor, Dr. Mark Sherry who also served as my Committee chair. He has guided me through my graduate education, he was very understanding with my continuous military obligations, and I am deeply indebted to him.

I would like to express a sincere appreciation to my committee members, Dr.

Shahna Arps and Dr. Karie Peralta for their unwavering patience, guidance and encouragement.

To all the organizations as well as the veterans who volunteered their time and entrusted me with their personal life stories.

To my fellow graduate students who have stayed with me during my program to the wee hours of the night and have encouraged me with my studies.

A very warm thank you to my military family, especially to SSgt (HM2) Thom

Reese, HM1 Randy Clady, my Unit, and all of my Chiefs who have supported me throughout my military career as well as my education.

I would like to recognize my family for their unwavering and loving support. My children, Alyssia and Briel, my granddaughter, Kinney, my parents, Maria (Lucy) and

Desiderio (Mike), and my best friend, James, and to my extended family. v

Table of Contents

Abstract ...... iii

Acknowledgements ...... v

Table of Contents ...... vi

List of Tables ...... vii

List of Figures ...... viii

List of Abbreviations ...... ix

1 Introduction…...... 1

1.1 Introduction ...... 1

1.2 Significance of the problem ...... 1

1.3 Unique dynamics in Toledo ...... 3

1.4 Motivation for this research ...... 5

1.5 Research Questions ...... 10

1.6 Definitions ...... 11

1.7 Chapter Outline ...... 11

1.8 Conclusion ...... 12

2 Literature Review…...... 13

2.1. Introduction ...... 13

2.2. Risk factors for veteran homelessness ...... 13 vi

2.3 Personal Narratives ...... 19

2.4 Conclusion ...... 29

3 Methodology ...... 31

3.1 Introduction ...... 31

3.2 Ethnography ...... 31

3.3 Insider Research ...... 34

3.4 Veteran Homelessness Scale...... 35

3.5 Coding ...... 37

3.6 Ethical Approval ...... 38

4 Results and Analysis...... 39

4.1 Introduction...... 39

4.2 Fieldwork...... 39

4.3 Personal Narratives...... 57

4.3.1 Michelle ...... 58

4.3.2 David ...... 66

4.3.3 James ...... 78

4.3.4 Gabe ...... 83

4.4 Conclusion...... 86

5 Conclusion ...... 89

References ...... 92

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List of Tables

3.1 Veteran Homelessness Scale...... 36

4.1 Veterans Matter Clients January 2013 – September 2017 ...... 49

4.2 Female Veterans with Families helped by Veterans Matter ...... 50

4.3 Veterans Matter Clients by Branch of Service ...... 51

4.4 Veteran Homelessness Scale...... 57

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List of Figures

1-1 Veterans Matter Website Screenshot 4/16/18 ...... 4

1-2 Walk to End Veteran Homelessness ...... 5

1-3 Sifuentes military members ...... 6

1-2 From one of my field operations ...... 7

1-3 At a National War Memorial with the Honor Flight...... 8

1-4 Serving at a military dedication ...... 9

4-1 Veterans Matter Website Screenshot 1/24/18 ...... 41

List of Abbreviations

ACU ...... Army Combat Uniform

APFT ...... Army Physical Fitness Uniform

CASF...... Contingency Aerodynamic Staging Facility

DAV ...... Disabled American Veterans

DFAC ...... Dining Facility

DOD ...... Department of Defense

FOB ...... Forward Operating Base

HUD ...... Housing of Urban Development

KIA ...... Killed In Action

LCVSC ...... Lucas County Veterans Service Commission

MEPS ...... Military Entrance Processing Station

MOS ...... Military Occupational Specialty

MST ...... Military Sexual Trauma

NAVCOM ...... Navy Command

NCO ...... Non-Commissioned Officer

OCS ...... Officer Candidate School

OEF ...... Operation Enduring Freedom

OIF ...... Operation Iraqi Freedom

OND ...... Operation New Dawn

PMS...... Planned Maintenance System

PSD ...... Personnel Support Detachment

PT ...... Physical Training

PTSD ...... Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

SES ...... Socioeconomic Status

TBI ...... Traumatic Brain Injury

VA ...... US Department of Veterans Affairs

VASH ...... Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing

VSC ...... Veterans Service Commission

Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 Introduction

This thesis explores the issue of veteran homelessness. In my opinion, the mere existence of homelessness among veterans, who have (to use a well-known phrase)

‘wrote a blank check to the nation, up to and including their lives,’ is a national shame. It is shameful that the people who protect our rights and freedoms should be forgotten and become destitute when they complete their military service. This situation is unjustifiable and must end.

1.2 Significance of the problem

In 2010, the White House promised to prevent and end homelessness among

Veterans in five years (United States Interagency Council on Homelessness 2010).

However, the Intergovernmental Council on Homelessness stated that “In 2013, over the course of the year nearly 139,857 Veterans used an emergency shelter or transitional housing program” (United States Interagency Council on Homelessness 2015:26-27).

These figures did not include the large numbers of people who sleep in cars, in parks, and in other places outside the shelter system. Estimates of the size of this population vary widely, because the methodologies used to make such calculations are often different 1

(Tsai and Rosenheck 2015). Regardless of the estimated size, this is a major problem and a source of disappointment and shame for the country. Homeless veterans commonly experience PTSD, depression, anxiety, poor sleep quality, and pain symptoms (Kip,

D'Aoust, Hernandez et al. 2016). Veteran homelessness also causes earlier deaths, worse health, and great emotional and financial trauma. We, as a Country, owe our veterans more than this.

According to the Disabled Veterans National Foundation, the vast majority of homeless veterans (96%) are single males from poor, disadvantaged communities.

However, the number of homeless female veterans is on the rise: from 2006-2011, the numbers increased from 150 to 1700 as a result of homeless female veterans from the

Iraq and Afghanistan wars. They also indicate that 18% of homeless veterans assisted by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are female - and that proportionately, female veterans are far more likely to be homeless than any other US group. Also, veterans aged 18- 30 are twice as likely as the general population to be homeless – and the rates are even higher if they are young and poor. There is an over-representation of people of color - 56% of homeless vets are African-American or Hispanic. They are also more likely than other homeless people to be disabled (53% compared to 41%). Health conditions are common among homeless veterans: 50% have mental illness; 2/3 have substance abuse issues; and many have a dual diagnosis. Additionally, veterans experience long-term homelessness longer than non-vets; 6 years compared to 4 years

(Disabled Veterans Foundation 2018).

There are significant barriers experienced by particular groups of veterans. There are governmental failures even in terms of estimating the size of the problem. For 2

instance, neither VA nor the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) collected data specifically on the number of homeless women veterans (though it collects data on the numbers of homeless veterans and on homeless women) (United States

Government Accountability Office 2011).

1.3. Unique dynamics in Toledo

The issue of veteran homelessness is a nationally-recognized problem, with unique dynamics in Toledo. Veterans Matter, a local organization, is recognized as a national leader in providing support for homeless veterans, and a model for other states.

It has successfully housed over 2000 veterans at the time of writing, according to the

Executive Director, Ken Leslie, in an interview I had conducted with him for this thesis.

Veterans Matter is an incredibly important organization nationally which advocates for homeless veterans. It is based in Toledo. The organization’s website, http://veteransmatter.org/ describes its history:

Veterans Matter was started in Toledo by Ken Leslie, himself formerly homeless, to provide deposits to house 35 local homeless veterans and veteran families with children who qualified for long-term HUD/VA voucher-assisted living. Urged by music industry friends like Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, John Mellencamp and others who wanted to help house the homeless veterans in their home states, Ken created an online cloud-based system in which allowed the VA homeless coordinators in those states to quickly access and secure deposits for the veterans, literally in minutes.

As of April 2018, the Veterans Matter website again states that it has housed 2000 veterans and aims to house 1000 more (see below).

Figure 1-1: Veterans Matter Website Screenshot 4/16/18

I began my involvement with Veterans Matter in September 2015, as part of an independent study in my undergraduate degree. This undergraduate coursework was approved by the UT Human Research Subjects Committee. I started my ethnographic fieldnotes at that time, establishing trust and relationships, noting the ways in which the organization ran, introducing myself to the people who attended meetings, and volunteering for the organization. Perhaps the most significant event for the organization, in terms of community involvement, is the annual Tent City event and the Walk to End

Veteran Homelessness. I participated in both these events. I will describe my subsequent involvement in these events which occurred during the course of my Masters thesis in subsequent chapters. For now, it is sufficient to note that I had already established my credibility with the organization due to my long-term commitment to the issue prior to the beginning of my Masters research.

Figure 1-2: Walk to End Veteran Homelessness

1.4 Motivation for this research

As well as seeing this situation as a source of national shame, my own veteran experience provides the motivation for this study. I am a Veteran. After 9/11, I had heard that there was a shortage in the Navy for Hospital Corpsman (Medical), and I had worked in the medical field for 8 years, so I decided to enlist in the Navy. I feel a deep and abiding ethical commitment to other veterans who have served the country with honor: the country has a need to protect our protectors. This thesis is therefore inevitably informed by my own autobiography. My family was a military family, from my

Grandfather, to my father, uncles and cousins. However, I was the only female that had decided to enlist. I had the support of my family even though I was a single parent.

Figure 1-3: Sifuentes Military Members (From Left to Right: Francisco (Poncho)

Morales Sifuentes, Desiderio M. Sifuentes, Ann M. Sifuentes)

I was attached to a Medical unit which deployed overseas within four years of my enlistment. We were deployed to an Army Hospital, Landstuhl, in Germany. I was assigned to triage all injured military members from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. My team was the first to take the wounded warriors off the planes and medically triage them.

The physical and mental injuries that I had to learn to deal with were overwhelming. Out of the 400 deployed Navy personnel, 72 of us remained a second year. We were responsible for training our replacements and preparing them for the possible unforeseen circumstances that they would have to learn how to navigate during their deployment time.

Many of us had families at home, we missed family holidays, birthdays, as well as children’s “firsts or lasts” are all things that can never be replaced, However, this common experience of lost moments, shared trauma, and a sense of comradery that was built during these times is something that connects military people everywhere. 6

Figure 1-4: From one of my field operations

As someone who is still involved in the military, and who has generations of military service people in her family, I am able to draw on a unique, extensive range of military connections.

I have also had the honor of escorting retired and senior veterans on their honor flights to the national war memorials in Washington DC, a deeply moving experience for people who have lost many fellow veterans in battle. The honor flights are a small token of appreciation for veterans (which initially began for veterans from World War Two and terminally ill veterans, but also now include Korean War and Vietnam War veterans).

During my time spent with the honor flight veterans, I was able to connect with them on a more personal basis once the veterans found out that I was also a veteran. I had learned that many did not share their stories with their families. I was humbled to listen to their

stories. After visiting these memorials, I that some veterans had a sadness to see their fellow veterans names on the memorial. These memorials are very much a tribute to their sacrifices, as well as their honor.

Figure 1-5: At a National War Memorial with the Honor Flight

I have also had the honor of serving at many military funerals, paying my respects to those who have proudly served the country and acknowledging the sacrifices they have made. These funeral services have further enmeshed me in the military culture, and reinforced my local and regional connections with multiple branches of the military.

Therefore, my perspective is not only from the Navy, as I have been exposed to fellow veterans from every branch of the military. 8

Figure 1-6: Serving at a local military dedication

Literature on “insider research” (Berger 2015, Brannick and Coghlan 2007, Coghlan

2007, Sherry 2006, Teusner 2016) suggests that this relationship between a researcher and research participants can make access to participants easier and enable the researcher to understand the nuances of particular specialized terms. It can also mean that research participants trust the researcher more. Being an insider, as well as a researcher has distinct advantages, disadvantages and challenges. As Dwyer has commented, “As a qualitative researcher I do not think being an insider makes me a better or worse researcher; it just makes me a different type of researcher” (Dwyer and Buckle 2009:56).

For many military people, insider research is the only form of research with credibility: they believe that only their “military family” understand what they have been through. For me, coming back home to my family and children was a struggle. I had 9

always assumed that it would be a smooth transition. However, veterans as well as myself had soon realized that life went on without them. Their children grew up and learned how to survive without their Mom or Dad there every day. Their friends and family went on to live their lives which did not include them while they were deployed. They felt as if they didn’t belong. These examples is what makes it hard for military members to reintegrate when coming back from deployments. They cannot wait to get home to their loved ones, only to find out that their loved ones did survive without them. Even though their loved ones missed them dearly, the veterans feel as though they are not needed anymore.

There are also the military members that come back with Post Traumatic Stress

Disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) from what they have experienced while on deployment. Sometimes the physical and mental health problems may not be obvious from the start so it goes untreated. They feel as if nobody can understand what they are going through but their military family. This sense of being part of a military family means that I have earned the trust of other military people. My ‘insider research’ therefore has unique benefits in terms of access to the true thoughts and beliefs of other military veterans. There are challenges of being an “insider researcher” that did arise during my research. For example, learning the hardships of my fellow veterans and the barriers that they are still facing does create a significant amount of empathy as well as obligation to help.

1.5 Research questions

The key research question being addressed in this thesis is “Why do veterans become homeless?”

Subsidiary questions are 10

• Do veterans and their advocates have perspectives which are not recognized in

previous research which they might share with an insider researcher?

• What combination of individual and institutional factors contribute to veteran

homelessness?

1.6 Definitions

The key terms which need to be defined for this thesis are veteran and homeless. Here are the ways these terms have been defined for the purposes of this study.

Veteran: Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations defines a veteran as “a person

who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or

released under conditions other than dishonorable.”

Homeless: Being homeless was defined under Section 330 of the Public Health

Service Act (42 U.S.C., 254b) as: “An individual who lacks housing (without regard

to whether the individual is a member of a family), including an individual whose

primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility (e.g.,

shelters) that provides temporary living accommodations, and an individual who is a

resident in transitional housing.” A homeless person is an individual without

permanent housing who may live on the streets; stay in a shelter, mission, single room

occupancy facilities, abandoned building or vehicle; or in any other unstable or non-

permanent situation.” However, this thesis broadens this definition, consistent with

the HEARTH Act of 2009 Amended Section 103(a) of McKinney-Vento, to move

away from what had been a requirement for literal homelessness. This expanded

definition includes people in transitional housing, living in a hotel/motel, and people

who are facing imminent loss of housing, such as being evicted within 14 days. 11

1.7 Chapter Outline

This chapter has set the stage for the thesis, outlining the significance of the problem, describing my motivation for the research and my insider researcher position, outlining the key research question and subsidiary questions, and providing definitions of both homelessness and veterans. Chapter Two summarizes the existing literature on veteran homelessness, which tends to be divided into two main camps: those academic studies of the risk factors for veteran homelessness, and personal narratives which tend have the advantage of providing a closer look at personal stories, but also provide a number of practical suggestions for addressing veteran homelessness in local communities. Chapter Three, Methodology, describes the ethnographic approach adopted in this thesis in more detail. It discusses topics such as initial encounters with the field, engagement with the larger veteran homelessness community in Toledo, and also methodological issues such as coding. Chapter Four, Results and Analysis, presents the findings of this research, both through an analysis of responses to survey questions and through an in-depth examination of personal stories. Chapter Five, the Conclusion, summarizes the importance of the research and identifies areas for future investigation.

1.8 Conclusion

This chapter provides an introduction to veteran homelessness and outlines the approach to be taken in this thesis. It is now necessary to summarize the existing literature on veteran homelessness in order to identify its key themes and to begin to suggest some answers to the question “Why do veterans become homeless?”

Chapter 2

Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

The first section of this chapter will summarize the academic literature on risk factors for veteran homelessness. These studies are important in identifying the broad challenges which veterans face that may lead them to become homeless. However, they are lacking in terms of providing the human side of this experience. The second half of this chapter will therefore look at literature which has adopted a more personal tone, including autobiographies and books by homeless advocates.

2.2 Risk factors for veteran homelessness

Many factors can contribute to a Veteran becoming vulnerable to homelessness.

Some of these factors escalate the risks that veterans face versus non-veterans, while others are shared in common with homeless people more broadly. For instance, some of the reported risks are combat exposure, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), poverty, social isolation, behavioral health disorders, and mental health disorders (Carlson,

Garvert, Macia et al. 2013, Draine, Salzer, Culhane et al. 2002, Rosenbeck and Fontana

1994, Rosenheck, Frisman and Chung 1994, Rosenheck, Bassuk and Salomon 1999).

Tsai and Rosenheck suggest that other risk factors include substance abuse, adverse childhood experiences, and past incarceration, but there is a need for more study on premilitary, military, and postmilitary risk factors (Tsai and Rosenheck 2015). As well, service in Iraq or Afghanistan was associated with higher risk, according to

Metraux et al. (2013). Military Sexual Trauma (MST) also increases the rate of homelessness. According to one study, 10% of those who had experienced MST became homeless within 5 years (Mota, Pietrzak and Sareen 2016). Another study suggests that illicit drug use, pathological gambling, alcohol use disorder, and personality disorders also increase the risk of homelessness (Edens, Kasprow, Tsai et al. 2011).

An important caveat should be made before discussing these risk factors any further. Those who are chronically homeless tend to self-report different experiences than first-time homeless vets. Consistent with other studies, they found that serious mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder or PTSD, and substance abuse would be linked with recurring or chronic unsheltered housing and emergency sheltered. On the other hand, those who experienced first-time or single episode homeless were more likely to be experiencing physical health problems, economic difficulties, or other mental health problems (Creech, Johnson, Borgia et al. 2015).

Combat exposure has been found to have increased PTSD in veterans (Carlson et al. 2013), and PTSD is itself a factor which places people at a higher risk for homelessness (Rosenbeck and Fontana 1994). There are also non-combat military stressors that are believed to increase the risk for PTSD such as dangerous or unstable conditions, witnessing injury, death, or atrocities (Litz et al. 1997). Both the combat and

non-combat military trauma exposures puts veterans at a higher risk for both PTSD and homelessness.

A study by Metraux et al. (2013) focuses on the veteran’s community that was serving during the conflicts of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation Enduring

Freedom (OEF), and the most recent Operation New Dawn (OND) and identified many of the increased risk factors that are associated with their homelessness after re-entry into the civilian life. They found that service in Iraq or Afghanistan is also associated with higher risk of homelessness. Some media and advocates suggest that these higher rates of homelessness may be caused by the high rates of Traumatic Brain Injury and Post

Traumatic Stress associated with modern warfare, but Metraux et al. (2013) cannot comment on this suggestion because it was not the focus of their particular study.

Previous studies have also shown that OEF/OIF veterans have high rates of homelessness. One of the studies found that 7,431 OEF/OIF veterans out of 445,319 veteran records that were examined from the US Department of Veterans Affairs were homeless. This study looked for “risk factors” and was able to find a connection between veteran homelessness and socioeconomic status along with other demographic factors such as lower levels of education attainment, being Black or Hispanic, being unmarried, military rank, urban location, disability rating and psychiatric diagnoses (Fargo, Metraux,

Byrne et al. 2012b). Indeed, one study suggested that 53% of homeless veterans had a disability or chronic health condition (Fargo, Metraux, Byrne et al. 2012a).

In “The Risk Factors for Becoming Homeless Among a Cohort of Veterans Who

Served in the Era of the Iraq and Afghanistan Conflicts,” Metraux et al. (2013), states that veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), and 15

Operation New Dawn (OND) face an increased risk of homelessness after re-entry into civilian life.

Large-scale studies confirm an increased risk for homelessness among veterans of recent conflicts. Another study by Metraux et al. (2013) reviewed two cross sectional studies which concentrated on homelessness of among OEF/OIF veterans. One of the datasets they reviewed covered 1.1 million veterans who received care at the VA for mental health services. Ten percent of the veterans in this population identified as having experienced homelessness. Out of this 10 percent, 4 percent of the veterans were found to have served in the OEF/OIF conflict. Another study which they reviewed stated that out of 445,319 veteran records from the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), 7,431

OEF/OIF veterans that were homeless. Although there were no gender-specific associations, they were able to find a connection between the range of socioeconomic status (SES), along with other demographic factors such as “lowered education attainment, black race, Hispanic ethnicity, unmarried, enlisted rank, urban location, disability rating and various behavioral health diagnoses” (Blackstock, Haskell, Brandt et al. 2012:255).

Perl (2015) researched homelessness among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, identifying risk factors based on data collected in 2005-2006 from veterans ages 17-64, who were separated from the military and who did not have any prior episodes of homelessness. Perl collected this data from the DOD and VA records. These members included active duty, reserves, as well as National Guard. The groups were broken down into the following categories: gender; OEF/OIF male veterans; OEF/OIF female veterans; non-OEF/OIF male veterans; non-OEF/OIF female veterans. Data revealed that 16

1.8 percent of the veterans in the study had experienced a homeless episode. The following risk factors were found to have a significant relationship with homelessness: military pay grade, active duty service, TBI, psychotic disorders, adjustment disorders and mood disorders, anxiety disorders and personality disorders, and PTSD. In more recent studies, veterans have emphasized their unpreparedness for their transition from military to civilian life upon being discharged from the military. This can result in in homelessness before the veteran is even able to establish a stable living environment

(Metraux, Cusack, Byrne et al. 2017).

According to the Office of Inspector General, their research is the only population-based cohort study completed which focuses on the incidence of homelessness as well as the possible risk factors for homelessness among OEF/OIF veterans (Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General 2012). Their data was merged from the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans

Affairs (VA), involving approximately 310,685 male and female veterans who were separated from the military from July 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006 with no background history of homelessness prior to separation from the military. Overall, 3.7 percent of the veterans have experienced an initial episode of homelessness five years’ post-separation from the military (Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General 2012:41).

One of the strongest risk factors for homelessness that was found during this study was the presence of mental disorders. Approximately half of the veterans who were

“newly” homeless were additionally diagnosed with a mental disorder or illness prior to being discharged from active duty. This study also stated that “the rate of diagnosed mental disorders among newly homeless veterans increased from 64-76 percent prior to 17

becoming homeless and increased to 81-92 percent at the end of the study” (Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General 2012:ii). There were six specific mental illness categories that were used for this particular study for individual categories. They were PTSD, adjustment disorders, mood disorders, personality disorders, psychotic disorders and other anxiety disorders (excluding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Veterans who had experienced Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), substance-related disorders, or military sexual trauma faced even higher rates of homelessness.

This Department of Veterans Affairs study also reported that the veterans who were enlisted with lower pay grades, those who were younger, those who have been diagnosed with a mental disorder, and those who had experienced a TBI at the time of discharge from active duty were more likely to experience homelessness. Veterans who had served during OEF/OIF along with the women veterans have experienced higher episodes of homelessness after their separation from the service. Findings in this particular study discovered a presence of mental illness and or substance-related disorder was the strongest predictor for homelessness after being discharged from active duty. It also revealed that prior to becoming homeless, 78-83 percent of the newly homeless veterans had been diagnosed with some mental disorders.

Unfortunately, the stigma of mental illness within the military is so significant, and so pervasive, that many people do not report their illness. While individuals are serving in the military, one might have a fear of anticipated stigma, a fear of looking weak or needing help especially if it is for mental health problems. “Approximately 60 percent of military personnel who are experiencing mental health problems will not seek help” (Sharp, Fear, Rona et al. 2015:144). This stigmatizing belief can cross over to the 18

veteran’s social support system or lack of support system and without appropriate support, the risk of homelessness will increase for someone with a severe, untreated mental illness.

2.3 Personal Narratives

The previous section of this chapter discussed the academic studies on homeless veterans. It is a useful set of literature, and helps identify some broad factors that can operate in the background of an individual veteran’s life. But these studies do not show the human side of life as a homeless vet or how the various risk factors influence an individual’s life history. To understand these dynamics, it is necessary to turn to a different set of literature. This literature involves personal narratives. They show what life is like for a veteran who is homeless, and they often have a range of suggestions on how to address the problems that homeless veterans face.

Homeless Hero’s (sic) American Veterans in Need: Freedom is Not Free, Soldiers of

Freedom (Wells 2016) is a combination of photographs of homeless veterans and practical suggestions for assisting their plight. The photos are largely male (of the approximately 80 homeless people in the photographs, 55 apparently are men), and largely white (it appears that approximately 58 are white). There are many shots of people who are covered in blankets, which makes their sex, gender and race impossible to identify. Six are displaying handwritten signs of being a Vietnam veteran, but no others identify which section of the military, or which conflicts, they may have served in.

One of the most powerful signs which an African American man holds in this book states “Thank you for seeing me as a Veteran and not a homeless man.” This is interesting, because it suggests that although he was without housing, his Veteran status 19

is more important to him. The academic literature review on risk factors certainly suggests that his veteran experience and his race have left him at higher risk of homelessness than non-veterans. However, the most important element of this book, as far as this thesis is concerned, is the list of suggestions about actions that people can take to address the situation of veterans. This very powerful statement of tips for addressing veteran homelessness stresses the need for changes in personal interactions, education, practical assistance, policy, institutions, and legislation. The book points to many vital elements of addressing veteran homelessness which have been ignored in the academic literature discussed above. The book’s personal, practical focus makes it worthy of detailed attention.

It starts with education – individuals educating themselves about veteran homelessness, treating people as individuals, showing kindness and respect, and rejecting stereotypes about homelessness. Educating other people, for instance, children, is another step. As well, people in certain professions can teach about the homeless, contact media outlets, publish shelter information, and encourage relevant organizations to host fund- raising events. They can also recruit local businesses to support such initiatives. Creating lists of needed donations can help ensure that the most needed items are received.

Practical suggestions for people encountering homeless veterans include providing food, carrying lists of homeless shelters, and giving money to individuals or nonprofit organizations serving homeless veterans. Wells also recommends that people make donations, including donations of clothes and groceries (and also recommends asking the shelters which types of food they need). These recommendations reflect the fact that poverty is a major contributing factor to homelessness for many people. Another 20

suggestion is for professionals to donate their time and services to the organizations which support homeless veterans. This is a population with many unmet needs – including the need for professional advocacy and support.

Volunteering at a shelter or a soup kitchen is another way people can help homeless veterans. Alternatively, people can volunteer their skills in particular areas

(such as food preparation or practical skills such as gardening, machinery maintenance, or photography). These services are an important reminder that people who become homeless are often dehumanized and treated as though they do not exist – the demoralization that sets in after such treatment can be one factor in meaning that a person’s experience of homelessness is chronic rather than temporary. Follow-up programs also need volunteers, and these programs can help prevent vulnerable people who have left homelessness from falling back into their previous situation.

Homeless people experience alarming rates of unemployment and hiring a veteran can be another powerful step to addressing their personal situation. Another practical step might involve helping a homeless person apply for aid or helping them contact relevant agencies. Supporting political initiatives which help homeless people is another step.

Such initiatives can include encouraging people to vote, challenging voting policies that expect people to have a fixed address and contacting legislators about issues that affect the homeless. Advocating for homelessness prevention programs and policies is another of Wells’ recommendations.

Inspirational Stories of the Homeless: Dignity, Nobility, Decency (Williams 2016) is another important contribution to our understanding of homelessness – again one which is very different from the academic literature discussed above. Williams explains 21

that he is an honorably discharged homeless veteran who also volunteers to hand out bag lunches on a daily basis. The book is full of life lessons from the people that Williams has served at this soup kitchen. What stands out most in this book is its emphasis on the dignity of homeless people, and the life lessons they teach in terms of humility, kindness, and decency. This is a lesson for all researchers on homelessness and one which I will also try to convey in the personal narratives in Chapter Four.

Hungry people sharing their meals with children in soup kitchens, or allowing families with children to eat first, reinforce the compassion and sense of community which is found among people who are themselves in dire situations. Williams emphasizes the ways homeless people are finding and creating a community among people who are excluded by the wider community.

Williams’ passionate exploration of the personal struggles of homeless people emphasizes the important lessons that those who work or volunteer with this population are taught:

Maybe the homeless have an endowment for us. They remind us of our humanity. They strike a chord in each of us to be kind, charitable, to have sympathy, to have mercy, to acquire understanding, and to act with tolerance and compassion, since to see the pain of those on the streets without wanting to make a difference would be heartless (2016:15).

Williams is incredibly self-reflective in this book; he talks about the ways in which his behavior was initially governed according to strict rules, such as refusing to give people more than one lunch bag. However, he learned over time that people were not out to fraudulently or greedily take more food than what they were entitled to – they often had families and children who they were feeding with these bags. He stresses that taking people at their word when they express a need for more food is a kinder, gentler, 22

and more authentic relationship-based action than simply following bureaucratic rules.

He concludes that his early suspicions about bag lunches were essentially a denial of the dignity of the people he was serving. Believing them was a shared act of humility.

Understanding the personal living situations of homeless people – such as those who must walk a mile to find a shower or toilet – has helped Williams to develop his sense of understanding and empathy. The qualities which are necessary to understand the lives of homeless people – and which they gift to those who work with them - include

“charity, sympathy, kindness, tolerance, mercy and compassion” (2016:15) and “honesty, humility and courage” (2016:21). Such positive contributions by homeless people to the lives of others are rarely acknowledged in the academic or government reports discussed above. And yet they are a vital reminder of the two-way connections which can be established with homeless people.

Like Wells, Williams emphasizes the need to take practical steps to address the situation of homeless people. He acknowledges the magnitude of the problems they face, but stresses the need for doing something. His emphasis on the need for people to act, individually, touches on many of the goals of this thesis. Williams states “None of us alone can end the pain of homelessness; however we can choose to not let what we cannot do prevent us from doing what we can do” (2016:21). Williams also stresses that none of the people in his book were always homeless – it is necessary to explore the reasons why this happens to them. Similarly, Williams describes his goal – a goal shared in this thesis – “I have attempted to be a scribe here for souls that rarely have a voice”

(2016:74).

Marshall (2012) also highlights the personal side of veteran. She talks about the sense of personal, relationship, employment and financial loss which often leads to veteran homelessness. The following paragraph captures the vulnerability of homeless veterans:

Your wife or mate has gone. Either they have taken the kids, or the kids are grown and they no longer talk to you. The job is gone and the car is gone. The house and the church are also all gone. Your health, and your medical coverage, well, that is a tale unto itself. You are lost in the paperwork. Either you have not filled out the correct forms or you must show up in person to clarify the details. The nearest VA clinic is too far away with too many bus connections to make the trip worth the effort. You have not been taking very good care of yourself, worrying about your state of affairs for the last few years, and/or just to get by, you have been doing things that maybe you should not be doing to kill the pain (Marshall 2012:1).

What is important to remember, in the study of veteran homelessness, is that they must be heard in their own words. Unfortunately, Marshall’s book is all written in the second person (‘you’ experience this or that) – but the Forward states that the book contains vignettes of what people “may have seen” (2012:vi). The stories are eerily reminiscent of other narratives – for instance, in the problems with unemployment, home foreclosure, estrangement from family, social isolation, and the violence of homeless life.

There are some elements of the lives of homeless veterans which Marshall captures clearly in simple phrases. For instance, describing the smell of life of the streets as “Eau de Homeless” (a “wretched smell is emitting and permeated throughout the fabric of your pack”) (Marshall 2012:2) certainly captures a particularly visceral image.

But the absence of names, and actual stories, robs this account of much of its power. This absence offers an important lesson for this thesis: accounts of veteran homelessness without real stories are nowhere near as credible as other accounts. As well, this is an explicitly religious book, with quotes from the Bible, the Beatitudes, and 24

other Christian prayers. It specifically includes prayers to the Lord Jesus Christ and openly aims to convert people to the ways of his particular religion. In terms of sociology, it is clear that religion plays a major role in the life of some people who are homeless (many of the homeless shelters and soup kitchens are run by faith-based organizations). But the role of religion in the lives of homeless veterans is a topic beyond the scope of this particular thesis.

Homeless No More: A Solution for Families, Veterans and Shelters (Sweeney

2015) is a discussion of homelessness by the Executive Director of Dallas LIFE, one of the largest homeless shelters in Texas. Its strengths are the insights it offers into the personal challenges and vulnerabilities of people who find themselves homeless. For instance, in the following paragraph, Sweeney humanizes the personal journeys associated with some of the ‘risk factors’ discussed earlier in this chapter:

Homelessness does not happen overnight. Relationships do not fall apart in an instant. Addiction is often a gradual progression. Financial difficulties start as incremental bad decisions long before they end in bankruptcy. Even anger issues and mental illness – even when they are issues outside of our control – show signs long before they are fully manifested. And just as these issues take time to develop, they take time to resolve (2015:15).

The human element which seems to be missing from the academic literature is evident in Sweeney’s book. He captures the vulnerabilities and pain of people who are new to homelessness. This moment, when the individual “is most vulnerable and open,” is when they most need love, respect, and understanding. Being able to reach out on the basis of shared experiences seems to be particularly important in such a context.

“Reaching out our hand with our own experience, in both struggle and rehabilitation, can do wonders in the transformation of wounded souls” (2015:25). This sense that shared

experiences can help a person who is homeless is also part of the motivation for a thesis on veteran homelessness being conducted by a veteran.

Like Marshall, Sweeney’s own Christian faith is prominent in the book, and in its recommendations. Faith in Jesus Christ is ultimately presented as the solution for every problem in the homeless person’s life – whether it be addiction, relationships, employment, financial issues, or other challenges. The entire chapter on homeless veterans recognizes that they can face unique challenges – such as PSTD, TBI, physical injuries, and reintegration issues – but again, there are no specific solutions offered for those problems. Sweeney indirectly points to areas related to the experiences of veterans that need reform, but there are few specific recommendations on how to address these problems:

Our veterans should have complete access to their medical and healthcare benefits. Veterans shouldn’t have to wade through all levels of bureaucracy to receive the most thorough and highest care for their physical, mental and emotional needs. Veterans shouldn’t have to be on a waiting list to receive treatment from the best physicians. Veterans shouldn’t worry about whether or not they are going to be approved for surgery or after-care that they need for their full recovery (2015:97).

Unfortunately, Sweeney does not discuss any stories behind such generic recommendations. Instead, he focuses on the spiritual experiences of homeless veterans.

Every homeless experience is framed in terms of the need for salvation via Jesus Christ.

This tone is not particularly helpful for people who are not religious, and it is also disappointing in terms of failing to offer specific policies or programs that can be more veteran-friendly. In order to find such suggestions, other approaches are needed.

Homeless American Veterans (Young 2012) is an autobiographical story of one man’s journey to homelessness. Despite its title, however, Young states that he received

an “Other Than Honorable Discharge” (2012:89), which means he also does not qualify as a “veteran” under Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (Rather than acknowledge this fact, Young simply states that his eligibility for assistance through the

VA was limited in some respects (2012:90). Nevertheless, I will continue to review it here because it does highlight some of the personal factors that can lead to homelessness, and because of its title, it is clearly relevant to this chapter.

Young’s story humanizes many of the risk factors about homelessness discussed in the academic literature. Though he does not go into detail, he seems to have experienced adverse childhood incidents. For instance, although he says that his family was “low-middle class” (2012:6), he adds that “90% of my life has been a rough hell”

(2012:4). He has extensive involvement with the criminal justice system – six convictions for various crimes, including child molestation (2012:15-16). He also describes suicidal ideation – “Hey America do you know how many times I have thought of committing suicide? Just to end it all. Really!” (2012:89).

Young situates his social experiences of homelessness in the context of relationship problems and estrangement from his daughter. This lack of social connectedness also affects his experiences with the healthcare system – he wants someone to accompany him to doctor’s appointments.

Young’s story is also one of disability. He describes constant pain, delays in getting medical attention, problems with his knees, and seizures. As well, he cannot afford the prescriptions he receives from medical professionals. These significant health issues and experiences of disability were another risk factor identified in the academic literature. But the power of Young’s autobiographic narrative lies in explaining how 27

such factors play out in the context of everyday life. He constantly refers to being unemployed, poor, and without a romantic partner. He lives in dirty homeless shelters, where he must leave the room at 10am so that it can be “cleaned,” and where he can never sleep in.

Ironically, Young also talks about an “upside” of being homeless and in a shelter, namely having access to food, clothing, and a roof over his head (2012:35). He also describes another “upside” as trying to help other veterans, but the “downside” as having no social life (2012:59). In terms of his relationships with other veterans, Young also discusses powerful stories such as a Navy Seal whose payment was delayed for weeks because of the bureaucracy losing his paperwork. He also discusses the experiences of another veteran who was evicted because of being late with his rent – a problem which

Young said was caused by the lateness of that veteran’s checks.

In terms of the overall invisibility of veterans who have returned from service

Young describes them as “ghosts”:

So where are our American veterans, ghosts, now? How about sitting in a park bench somewhere asking themselves, “When am I going to get my next meal?” … I go to the day center for homeless people and then to wherever I can spend the day. Sometimes it is at the library, sometimes it is at a park (2012:28-29).

Roy Murry, who was a homeless veteran himself, explains that Homeless in

Homestead is a novel, with no claims to veracity (Murry 2016). However, in the Preface,

Murry states that he was a Green Beret Operation and Intelligence NCO (Non-

Commissioned Officer) from the Vietnam War and a Bronze Star recipient. There he briefly describes his own experiences, including asking for support from a friend and from homeless organizations. He laments:

Like many others in my situation, I had to fend for myself, hoping that someone would come to my aid. Those organizations didn’t have the funds to help all who are homeless. Those who are lucky, like me, get help, and with work return to what our society calls the good life. Of the 177, 373 unsheltered homeless in the USA, 49,933 are veterans, according to 2014 statistics.” (Murry 2016:i).

One theme of Homeless in Homestead is that the bureaucracy which disabled veterans encounter demand paperwork which they often cannot supply. For instance, the character “Don Quixote Smith” cannot provide DD214 paperwork (which proves veteran status) and does not have any proof of residency, leading to exclusion and barriers when encountering the service system. Though this book is called a novel, the theme of a bureaucracy which does not meet the needs of its vulnerable clients is certainly conveyed convincingly. This theme – that the bureaucracy which is supposed to support veterans may be creating more barriers for them – is one which was investigated in the interviews with homeless veterans in this thesis.

2.4 Conclusion

This chapter has summarized the literature on homeless veterans, dividing it into two main categories: those which focus on risk factors, and those which present personal narratives. Each of these sets of literature answer the key research topic from this thesis

(“Why do veterans become homeless?”) in different ways. The first set of literature, the academic studies of risk factors, tend to identify the population-level correlates of homelessness among veterans. The answers it provides to the question of why veterans become homeless include issues such as Post-Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, mental illness, substance abuse, adverse childhood experiences, unemployment, poverty, low military rank, military sexual trauma, and other factors.

But these risk factors do not explain why any particular veteran becomes homeless – to learn that, it is necessary to delve into the rich details of personal biographies. These biographies can provide a sense of the personal struggles that individual veterans have faced, and the barriers they have encountered in trying to access support. By combining some of the best elements of each of these approaches and supplementing them with other evidence gained through ethnographic fieldwork, this thesis will be able to provide a more complete answer to the primary research question.

Chapter 3

Methodology

3.1 Introduction

This chapter will explain the methodology used in this thesis – a mixed methods approach which combined a survey with a qualitative, ethnographic approach.

Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted over the period from September 2015 to March

2017 and included an internship with Veterans Matters (an advocacy organization for homeless veterans), participant observation in meetings and events specifically for homeless individuals in the Toledo area, interviews with homeless veterans, and meetings and interviews with key stakeholders. This chapter will describe the ethnographic approach in more detail and will outline the rationale for the use of grounded theory which relies on field work and ethnographic notes as a supplement to the interviews. It will also discuss the benefits of “insider research,” where a member of a community researches others with a shared identity (in this case, a Veteran studying issues that affect other Veterans).

3.2 Ethnography

The purpose of this thesis is to gain a better understanding of the reasons why

Veterans become homeless, and the best way to answer that question is to ask the people 31

directly involved – both the veterans themselves and the people and organizations who support them. This thesis therefore relies on a deep engagement in the field to try to understand the perspectives of homeless veterans and their advocates. Therefore, the thesis relies on ethnography as a methodology.

Amid comments that the ethnographer should be an active participant throughout the process; the personal and professional elements of participant observation are key dynamics (Amit 2000). Also, the duration of the research is very important in terms of the relationships which develop between the researcher and the people in the field.

Prolonged exposure is required with the research participants. The relationship that the ethnographer builds with the research participants is a key dynamic. As Amid states:

This onus towards comradeship, however incompletely and sporadically achieved, provides a vantage point imbued at once with significant analytical advantages as well as poignant dilemmas of ethics and social location (Amit 2000:2).

Ethnographers are encouraged to see their research participants as individuals who have relationships, experiences and stories that go beyond the research itself. Additionally, the background of an ethnographer may shape the way they interact with people in the field and vice-versa.

Hammersley’s (1994) work on ethnography has been very influential in

Sociology. He states that the key features of ethnography are:

• A focus on “real world” contexts as opposed to relying on the researcher to create

an experiment;

• Long-term involvement and engagement with the research site;

• Attempting to understand the topic from the point of view of the people

experiencing it; 32

• Using observation and informal conversations (as well as other techniques) to

collect data;

• Choosing a small (or relatively small) focus, such as an individual group or place;

• Analyzing the data by focusing on the words and explanations people use and

relegating statistical analysis to “a subordinate role at most” (1994:2).

Relying on ethnography means that theories are not imposed on the data. Instead, they emerge in the process of reflecting on the field notes, interviews, and observations

(Charmaz and Bryant 2011). The aim is to get a holistic perspective on the community which is being studied, through a deep immersion in the field (Hennink, Hutter and

Bailey 2010).

In Chapter Four, I will discuss my ethnographic fieldwork extensively. But before moving on, it is necessary to acknowledge that Veterans Matter has been a vital gatekeeper in this research. Hennink et al. (2010) define a gatekeeper as those “who have a prominent and recognized role in the local community; they typically have knowledge and characteristics of community members and are sufficiently influential to encourage community members to participate in a study” (2010:92). They also state that connections with gatekeepers are a sign of respecting the social hierarchy of a community, because they can provide valuable information about the local community, advocate for the research, and mobilize community members.

I must also recognize that my encounters with the field have always been shaped by my own insider position, and that position must also be discussed as a part of my methodology.

3.3 Insider research

I am an insider – a Veteran. My family was a military family, from my

Grandfather, to my father, uncles, nephew and cousins. However, I was the only female that had decided to enlist. I had the support of my family even though I was a single parent. Because I am an insider, I have been able to use my own experiences as a way to build trust and connections. My family’s extended network of veteran contacts reinforces my standing within the veteran community.

Insider research involves the researcher being a member of the community which is being studied – a position that provides researchers with unique insights into a community’s language, customs and beliefs (Farnsworth 1997, Sherry 2006, Unluer

2012, Zavella 1993). Greene summarizes the advantages experienced by an insider researcher as their knowledge of the context of the research, gaining access to the field in an easier and more intimate way, and encountering peers who are happier to talk with someone who understands. But there are also potential areas where an insider researcher may be criticized – such as being too subjective, biased, or close to the topic (Greene

2014).

Because the military experience is a unique one, with its own rules, regulations and laws outside civilian ones, and with its own unique life-threatening dimensions, and special connections to the heart of the nation, insider research is particularly valuable in this field. Veterans share many experiences. Many of us had families at home, we missed family holidays, birthdays, and family moments, but we built a comradery that is difficult to explain unless you went through a deployment. This common experience of lost

moments, shared trauma, and a sense of comradery is something that connects military people everywhere. In the words of Gade and Wilkins (2012:274).

…few endeavors common to human beings are as formative as wartime experiences… Many studies of wars and their aftermaths in the personal and political lives of the warriors who fight them document this ongoing “reverberation” in a variety of ways… Veterans of military service view themselves as a special and distinct class within society. Veteran status goes beyond a person-based social identity and becomes a group-based social identity, what Brewer (2001) describes as a process whereby the ‘fortunes and misfortunes of the group as a whole are incorporated into the self and responded to as personal outcomes.’

This sense of shared success and shared pain is reinforced in the motto ‘leave no one behind’ on the battlefield. For myself and many other veterans, this commitment continues in civilian life, and caring for troubled veterans who have fallen through the cracks is indeed one of the motivations for this thesis.

3.4 Veteran Homelessness Scale

In this thesis, the primary research method is a qualitative approach - a detailed ethnographic study. But during the coursework for my degree, I was also encouraged to gain experience with quantitative analysis, and in the process I developed the following

“Veteran Homelessness Scale” with categories being suggested from the literature review of risk factors in Chapter Two. This means that the approach is a mixed methods one, since it involves the collection of two or more kinds of data (Small 2011). I administered this scale in my interviews, and participants in this research were asked to discuss what they thought contributed most to veteran homelessness, based on their experience.

Please rate the following issues on a scale of 1 (not at all important) to 7 (extremely important) How important do you think the following factors are in terms of veteran homelessness?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not at all Low Slightly Neutral Moderately Very Extremely important importance important important important important

Traumatic Brain Injury

Substance Abuse

Post-Traumatic Stress

Mental Illness

Poor quality health care

Long term unemployment

Lack of services or poor quality services

Bureaucratic red tape

Lack of affordable accommodation

Problems with the criminal justice system

Family problems

Table 3.1: Veteran Homelessness Scale

The point of this scale is to see whether veterans themselves agreed with the factors identified in the literature, but also to start a conversation with them about the broader topic of veteran homelessness. A higher number for any particular problem would mean that they considered it very important, and would be a reminder for me to ensure I addressed it in my research.

In practice, administering the scale became a great conversation starter. It would prompt people to share anecdotes or stories about certain issues or challenges for homeless veterans.

3.5 Coding

Coding is a significant characteristic that is used in grounded theory. The functions of coding are to secure categories from the data, and to integrate these into a unified theory (Gibson and Hartman 2013:83). There are several approaches on how coding is utilized within the literature. Some authors use the strategy of paraphrasing or summarizing the observations or what they are studying and there are authors that split the data into different categories and then will reassemble that data into a coherent theory

(Gibson and Hartman 2013). Other authors, such as Charmaz (2006) use an approach to split their coding into an initial phase and a focused phase which consists of utilizing the most substantial and more frequently used codes and then to integrate and categorize the substantial amount of data that is needed for research. The goal of the coding process is to identify the range of issues that were raised and also to understand the meanings of certain experiences raised by the participants.

An example of the coding process may help to illustrate the ways in which the materials were analyzed. For one interview alone, there were over 7000 words and 157 37

codes. These codes contained topics such as: family, relationships, dogs, shelters, pre- enlistment plans, goal of becoming Chief, Desert Storm, the Navy as the purpose of one’s life, education, issues with submitting claims, being fired from civilian jobs, civilian communication patterns, disability, gender, fuzzy memories, travelling, showering, flushable toilets, and many more.

3.6 Ethical Approval

This research was approved by The University of Toledo Department for Human

Research Protections, Social, Behavioral and Educational Institutional Review Board with Protocol Number 201645. The Principal Investigator was Dr. Mark Sherry, and I was the sole Student Investigator. Both the student researcher and the Principal

Investigator underwent human subjects training via the University of Toledo Institutional

Review Board. There were minimal risks to participants, including a loss of confidentiality, and in order to minimize this risk, data was stored in a password- encrypted computer and pseudonyms were used for the research participants. The entire ethical application was uploaded to the University of Toledo’s Kuali Coeus online system and was approved there. An informed consent form was approved by the Institutional

Review Board.

3.7 Conclusion

This chapter has outlined the methodology which will be used in the thesis, in order to explore the key research question “Why do veterans become homeless?” The next chapter will provide the results and analysis of this research which aims at answering this important question.

Chapter 4

Results and Analysis

4.1 Introduction

This chapter provides results and analysis of the original data collected for this thesis, presents the results of my ethnographic fieldwork, summarizes the answers I received to the Veteran Homelessness Scale I developed and administered, and provides a detailed analysis of some life stories of homeless veterans. This body of data helps provide an answer to the key research question of the thesis, “Why do veterans become homeless?”

4.2 Fieldwork

In discussing my fieldwork, I will begin by highlighting the importance of the key gatekeeper, Veterans Matter, but I will also describe my engagement with Lucas County

Veterans Affairs and the Lucas County Veterans Service Commission. The main gatekeeper in Toledo for services provided to homeless veterans is Veterans Matter. It is a nationally-recognized organization which provides funds for veterans seeking emergency housing assistance. I will describe my initial encounter with the organization, my attendance at two of their Tent City events, and a formal interview I conducted with

the Executive Director of the organization. The Executive Director of Veterans Matter connected me with another key gatekeeper at the Lucas County Veterans Affairs, Shawn

Dowling.

I added to my own personal knowledge of veteran experiences by doing an internship with Veterans Matter, a local advocacy organization for homeless veterans.

My initial fieldwork (contacting the organization, making connections) was done as a part of my undergraduate coursework. I have taken extensive field notes throughout the course of my research, documenting my entrance to the field, my relationships with homeless veterans and their advocates, and my observations and experiences at various events.

Veterans Matter was chosen as the site of my internship because of its national reputation in achieving success housing homeless veterans. It has been publicly endorsed by many celebrities, with John Mellencamp in particular being a key supporter. Below is a screen shot of the Veterans Matter Website taken on January 24, 2018 which documents their success in housing veterans and their families.

Figure 4-1: Veterans Matter Website Screenshot 1/24/18

I have attended regular meetings at Veterans Matters and took notes about the number of people attending, the focus of conversations and activities (such as medical issues, donations, food, upcoming events, and personal goals/experiences). Attending these meetings and volunteering for service activities with the organization for approximately two years has been one of my strategies for building trust and connections.

I initially became aware of Veterans Matter started when my Professor, Dr. Mark

Sherry, introduced me to their website. Dr. Sherry had told me about Ken Leslie who ran an organization that helps homeless veterans and thought that I would be interested.

While viewing the website, it was noted that Veterans Matter having a meeting that night.

I decided to attend the meeting because I was eager to find out more about this organization and about Ken Leslie.

My first encounter with Veterans Matter/1Matters occurred on Thursday, October

15, 2015. The name Veterans Matter/1Matter is used to be inclusive of all forms of homelessness. Both organizations are located at the same place, with the same staff, and have the shared goal of ending homelessness, but Veterans Matter is the organization which specifically deals with veterans who are homelessness and liaises with organizations representing and servicing veterans.

I arrived around fifteen minutes early for a community meeting. When I arrived, there were only three other people there. The conference room where the meeting was being held was set up to seat about 50 people. By the time the meeting was ready to start, the room was a full house. The meeting had started out by Ken introducing himself and telling the group what the plans were for their big annual event, Tent City, which was scheduled to start the following weekend. He asked that everyone introduce themselves and to tell everyone how many tent cities they have been involved with and what their dream job would be. There was a huge range of people and their experiences with Tent

City. The experience in the room ranged from never participated in the annual event before to some volunteers having nine years under their belt.

The volunteers were assigned to certain teams such as the medical tent, registration tent, food tent and donation tent. Every team had a team leader assigned to them. Ken asked for an update from each team leader, while noting what was still needed for the event. At that point, there were still quite a bit of supplies needed for the event.

Once we had a list of what was needed, the volunteers stepped up right away and assigned themselves to bring in the last of the food donations. Some volunteers even planned to go buy men’s clothing since they were in need of certain items. I had 42

volunteered for a few things while sitting in awe at the compassion and dedication that the other volunteers gave for this event. The meeting lasted approximately an hour and

Ken invited me to see the office area where they worked. The whole environment and enthusiasm from the group was very contagious.

The following week, on Friday, October 23, 2015 I arrived at the site for Tent

City at approximately 1200 to drop off the donations that I brought with me. My daughter and I had stayed for about 30 minutes to get the donations set up in the food tent. Then I left to wait for 1700, which was the scheduled time for Tent City to start. I arrived back at the site with a Navy co-worker to volunteer for the night’s events. Once registered as a volunteer, we were assigned to work in the donation tent. The donation tent held all the clothes, coats, shoes and blankets that were donated for Tent City. Throughout the evening, there were people dropping off donated clothes and coats to help support the mission. The donations were steadily dropped off throughout the night.

There were three major events scheduled the first night of Tent City. There was a community dinner, then the Parade of Compassion walk, and finally live music played for a few hours. At the scheduled time, the donation tent started handing out blankets to anyone who needed them. People in need were invited to sleep in the heated entertainment tent for the night. Handing out the blankets to approximately 200 people was sad yet fulfilling to me personally. Some of Toledo’s homeless did not understand what Tent City was and how we were there to support them. Once we explained to them that they could take the free blankets and sleep in the heated tent and eat a nice hot meal in the morning, they were just amazed. Before we left for the night, we went around the

entertainment tent to make sure that everyone had a blanket. Some people did not know about the blankets so we brought them what they needed.

The next morning, which was the second day of Tent City, we arrived at approximately 0630 in which everything was scheduled to start in our assigned tent. The wristband system that was used during registration was going to tell us who could come into the tent and what hours they were allowed to be there as well. For example, if a person had on a green wristband, then their time in the donation tent was from 0800 to

0900. In the donation tent, they had one person assigned to each table along with someone assigned to each section of the women’s and men’s coats. The clothing inside the tent was organized into sizes and gender. Also, there were rules about how many pieces of clothing each person was allowed: four shirts, two pants, five socks, one pair of shoes if needed and one coat if needed, and a hygiene bag. It was explained to the volunteers that people would not be allowed to shop for anyone but themselves. If they had children, then the children would have to be there as well.

The organization of the tent was quite impressive. Every 15 minutes, there was a group of 15 people allowed in the tent. Once those 15 minutes was up, that group had to leave and the next group came in. Unfortunately, our tent fell behind in the schedule because the number of people who were scheduled to be in the tent during that hour was excessive. After the first three hours, the control team at the front door of the tent started allowing 20 people in every 15 minutes. The line for the donation tent took a few hours and it never seemed to slow down. After about three hours, we started running out of men’s coats. Some men requested to try on the female’s coats because they said that they did not have a coat at all. This was the one of the hardest portions for me to deal with 44

because I felt that overwhelming obligation that something needed to be done to fix the obviously broken system that we have.

Even though my co-worker and I had signed up to work only until 1100 that morning, we ended up staying until 1600. There was a huge shortage of volunteers in our tent and I could not seem to make myself walk away. The compassion, dedication and selflessness I experienced with the volunteers at Tent City was overwhelming. I do not have a doubt that this organization and group of volunteers is something that I want to be actively involved with in the future. It would be a great honor and pleasure to work next to Ken and all the volunteers for 1Matters. During Tent City, they offered three hot meals, financial assistance for state identifications and birth certificates. They also offered dental checks, mammograms, housing support, and free haircuts.

I also volunteered at the Tent City event on October 21, 2017 from 0700-1400. I was assigned to the “Guide Tent.” The morning was brisk when I arrived at 0630. It was definitely a winter coat day. I checked into the volunteer trailer, received my name tag and assignment. I then checked into the Guide section which was approximately 20 volunteers. We were instructed to take around people who had the bands to the different stations where they had been registered. There were 10 different colored bands which represented what time they were allowed in the clothing donation tent. We were instructed to fill out a sheet for every person that we guided through the system. The information asked for the following information: name, age, gender, time, and if they had health insurance (and if so, what kind). Then we were instructed to circle which areas they wanted and needed to go to. The guide also had to fill out their name as well.

Throughout the morning, people would line up at the guide tent so they could be taken around to the different tents/areas. I did notice that throughout the morning as I escorted people around, other people that were either walking around or standing in line for services would ask why I was holding a clipboard and why they were not sent to the guide tent. I would either tell them where the guide tent was or I would grab them a clipboard and a sheet and assist them in filling out the form properly.

It may be useful to describe the layout of Tent City in order to convey the services it offers. For most people, the clothing tent seemed to be the most pertinent tent besides the ID line. Due to donations, there was approximately 75-100 people who were given a voucher to receive a State ID or a birth certificate. There was a public relations tent set up which consisted of tables for the Red Cross, Goodwill, Cherry Street Mission table, as well as health promotion services. There was also a food tent set up which served three meals each day for Tent City. It was connected to the dental tent. Inside the dental tent, people were able to get cleanings and even some minor dental work done. There were take-home bags which consisted of Tylenol, feminine hygiene products, dental hygiene products, gloves and mittens. There was also a women’s mobile trailer that was set up for women’s exams as well as mammograms. This trailer stayed busy throughout the day with women and their children standing by waiting on their mothers and grandmothers.

There was another tent set up with volunteers for giving haircuts. There were six chairs set up and rotating hairdressers. I noticed that this tent was also a fast paced and also remained steady the whole day as well.

Having been active in the field, I also interviewed Ken Leslie on July 27, 2017.

He gave me his answers to the key research question for this thesis, “Why do veterans 46

become homeless?” He told me that the causes of homelessness were: fire; the need for temporary housing; domestic violence; physical disability or mental health or mental disability; chemical abuse; and generational homelessness. He added that it was hard to come up with solutions to generational homelessness. (This issue of fire as a cause of homelessness among veterans was not mentioned in any of the previous literature).

One of the most interesting comments he made that day concerned the similarities and differences between homeless veterans and other homeless people. I asked, “What differences do you see between homeless veterans and other homeless people?” He replied, “Not a thing, if you are homeless, you are homeless. You do see more of a percentage of veterans becoming homeless than others. But the reasons are the same.”

However, he then referred to “Veterans seeing things that can cause them wanting to escape of what I like to define as PTSD. It doesn’t matter to me; it just matters how can they be housed.” This ambiguity around whether the experiences of homeless veterans are different from other homeless persons is important, though Veterans Matter does not seem to address it in their work.

During my fieldwork with Veterans Matter, I was strongly encouraged to search for homeless or formerly homeless veterans by personally going to a parking lot downtown on a Saturday morning. Every Saturday morning, there is a picnic for anyone in need of a hot meal. The parking lot sits adjacent to the Lucas County Main Library on the corner of N. Michigan Avenue and Adams St. I arrived at 1000 and there was already a long line of people standing waiting for food. I did get assistance from some of the volunteers working at the picnic to find any veterans in the crowd. I also would approach

people individually and introduce myself and inquire if they had a veteran status. I was able to locate some veterans that were more than willing to participate in my research.

Unfortunately, during my field work, I had come across individuals whose answers were not aligning with a typical veteran answer. For example, when asked what rank they were, I was told they didn’t remember. This is extremely unusual, and made me suspicious about whether they were actually veterans or not. Then when I questioned them about where they were stationed, I was told a city and state, or a Country instead of the typical veteran answer, which would involve a specific base. It was unfortunate that I was unable to use some interviews due to the questionable veteran status. Although Ken

Leslie had specifically recommended this event as a way to connect with veterans during my ethnographic field work with Veterans Matter, it did not seem as reliable as I had hoped. I soon realized that I would need to use other methods to recruit participants.

Regardless, I continued my engagement with Veterans Matter since I was interested in gaining a holistic understanding of the entire array of services and supports available to veterans who may be experiencing homelessness. But it made me a little more wary of simply accepting homeless people’s own self-identifications as veterans.

The following tables were collected during my fieldwork and summarize the data on homeless veterans and their families who were assisted by Veterans Matter between the dates of January 2013 to September 2017. I believe it is a sign of the trust and bond I had established with Veterans Matter that they would entrust me with the data on the numbers of veterans they have helped, for the purpose of aiding this thesis. The data provided by these tables identify the number of veterans that have requested assistance through the hubs of Veterans Matter throughout their different hubs across the Country 48

STATES VETERANS FAM ADULT CHILDREN TOTAL Toledo 242 315 264 51 Mid-Atlantic 13 23 15 51 Texas 677 1042 765 277 New England 9 11 11 0 Indiana 170 246 192 54 Washington 61 110 74 36 Michigan 322 505 376 129 Colorado 14 41 20 21 Mississippi 11 26 16 10 Ohio 97 143 112 31 California 1 2 1 1 Oregon 15 18 15 3 North 24 36 27 9 Carolina Tennessee 28 34 31 4 South 1 1 1 0 Carolina Florida 1 1 1 0 TOTALS 1686 2554 1921 634

Table 4.1: Veterans Matter Clients January 2013 – September 2017

FAMILIES FEMALES TOLEDO 315 30 NEW ENGLAND 11 2 MICHIGAN 505 37 OHIO 143 8 MID-ATLANTIC 23 1 INDIANA 246 21 COLORADO 41 3 CALIFORNIA 2 0 TEXAS 1042 98 WASHINGTON 110 18 MISSISSIPPI 26 3 OREGON 18 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 1 0 FLORIDA 1 0 TOTAL 2554 226 PERCENTAGE 9% FEMALE

Table 4.2: Female Veterans with Families helped by Veterans Matter

Veterans Matter serves people from every branch of the Armed Forces, as the following

Table demonstrates.

Army Navy Marines Guard Air Vietnam Desert OEF/ Other Force Storm OIF/ OND TOLEDO 137 46 34 7 18 60 38 28 116 MID- 10 0 1 0 2 5 3 1 4 ATLANTIC TEXAS 398 128 79 7 65 155 167 93 262 NEW 3 4 0 0 2 5 0 1 3 ENGLAND INDIANA 94 32 18 0 26 19 38 17 96 WASHINGTON 45 11 3 1 1 13 17 10 21 MICHIGAN 176 66 46 3 31 66 47 53 156 COLORADO 6 6 1 1 0 2 4 6 2 MISSISSIPPI 5 1 0 1 4 2 2 3 4 CALIFORNIA 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 OHIO 47 19 14 1 16 17 15 14 51 OREGON 8 5 1 0 1 6 1 1 7 NORTH 16 3 0 0 5 4 4 8 8 CAROLINA SOUTH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 CAROLINA TENNESSEE 15 5 4 0 4 11 9 2 6 FLORIDA 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 TOTAL 961 327 202 21 175 366 345 238 737 PERCENTAGE 57% 19% 12% 1% 10% 22% 20% 14% 44%

Table 4.3: Veterans Matter Clients by Branch of Service

As well as providing access to such material, Veterans Matter also connected me to other organizations. Veterans Matter works closely with Veterans Affairs, and Ken

Leslie referred me to Shawn Dowling, a Licensed Social Worker at Lucas County

Veterans Affairs, in order to understand the issues of PTSD and veteran homelessness in more detail. I interviewed with Shawn Dowling from the Veterans Affairs (VA) at 1300 on September 8, 2017. Her office manages 18 counties in 2 states which includes 8 counties in Michigan and 10 counties in Ohio. Shawn oversees a staff of 33 with a $6

million-dollar budget. Her office has served approximately 2700 veterans this year so far and they have placed 758 homeless veterans in beds. She stressed that the VA has to follow the HUD protocol to identify homeless people. They identify homeless veterans in the following ways:

• Person to person (someone contacts them and informs them about a homeless

veteran);

• Via the National Homeless Hotline;

• Consults from providers;

• Self-referrals;

• From family members; and

• Street outreach.

Shawn Dowling stressed some of the differences between homeless veterans and other homeless people, and other key elements of the problem:

- Veterans have higher rates of homelessness than non-veterans;

- They are homeless for longer periods as well;

- Issues of pride;

- They have high levels of untreated mental health and substance abuse;

- Lack of support systems.

Currently, 15% of their homeless clients are from OIF/OEF/OND. Females are under-represented among those who they service - only 6% of their clients are females.

She also said that “females take longer to find themselves homeless however, they go quicker.” She indicated that women tended to exhaust every other avenue of possible 52

support before they became homeless – so when these resources run out, there are literally no other options for them. At that stage, they have no alternatives to seeking help from Veterans Affairs. (This delay in seeking help from Veterans Affairs is itself perhaps a sign that the agency needs to be more veteran-friendly and appear less difficult to deal with, so that veterans do not see it as a last resort option).

Both the VA and Veterans Matter address homelessness before they consider any other issues, such as the behavioral risk factors that may lead to homelessness. Shawn

Dowling stated that her office does not address the causes of veteran homelessness. “This office goes by the ‘Housing First’ philosophy and then after housing is established, there is OT (Occupational Therapist), Nurses, therapist, peer support specialists available.”

She added that other supports also include behavior intervention, veterans’ service officers, and supported housing projects. As well, they can connect people with St. Paul’s

Payee program (a financial management program for people with mental illness) and also organizations that adopt a harm-reduction model.

Shawn Dowling was another important gatekeeper because she offered to connect me to one of the major local services for homeless veterans, Commons of Garden Lake. It is a 75 One-bedroom apartment unit for chronically-homeless veterans. After one year of residence, a veteran can move out and obtain a voucher for Section 8 housing, but their income must not exceed $24,000 a year. Commons of Garden Lake has service officers and support providers on staff.

However, despite the many encouraging leads that I was given, and despite my own military status, I encountered significant barriers in accessing a person who was willing to return a call or voicemail from Commons Garden. Like many of the veterans 53

who I would interview, simply navigating that system was exhausting. I was offered phone numbers to specific workers however, when I would call, the operator always transferred me to what I found out later was a voicemail in Columbus. Regardless of the how many voicemails I left and numerous amount of times I called, my calls were never returned. I also found names and numbers through my own connections and made personal phone calls to local staff at Common Gardens, and was repetitively assured that someone would assist me and call me back nevertheless those phone calls were never returned either. It was indeed a rigid bureaucracy.

Regrettably, the Cherry Street Mission was incredibly bureaucratic and not particularly supportive of student research. I was informed that my research needed to be addressed with the board prior to performing any interviews. Nonetheless, once the approval came through, I would go through the repeated phone calls, leaving voicemail with only two returned calls over many months which had yet to result in a assistance for interviews. The system that exhausted veterans with its rigidity and failure to address their needs was no different for a veteran conducting research.

Regardless, my fieldwork included visits to every resource available to homeless veterans. Another important organization in the local area is the Lucas County Veterans

Service Commission (LCVSC) and I interviewed Mr. Lee Armstrong, the Executive

Director, in his office on April 12, 2016 at 1000. Mr. Armstrong stated that he retired from the Navy after 22 years as a Chief Petty Officer (1974-1996). He had pictures of the honor flights, pictures of himself during his prior military years, as well as a paddleboard which represents his teamwork, honoring achievements and remembering

milestones, which is a tradition in the Navy. He also showcased a shadowbox with his coins and ribbons.

Mr. Armstrong stated that the purpose of LCVSC is to aid veterans who have fallen on hard times. They currently have a VA social worker (state certified) available for the assistance of the veterans located in the LCVSC. The LCVSC was known as the previous Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act. Mr. Armstrong stated, “They went and volunteered to serve our country, now they are back. We need to make sure that we don’t turn our backs on them.” He stressed that there are certain guidelines that must be followed for a veteran to be eligible for assistance from the LCVSC. The veteran must be honorably discharged, must be a Lucas county resident for the last 90 days, and must be below 200% of the poverty level.

There are two main purposes of the LCVSC: providing veteran advocacy to the

Veterans Affairs (VA) and providing short-term emergency relief to eligible veterans and their families. They also provide services such as:

- Food vouchers. A single veteran can pick up one voucher a month, and a family

can pick up two vouchers a month under the Ohio revised code 5901;

- Emergency financial assistance with rent, utilities, and car repairs;

- Transportation to and from doctors’ appointments at Veterans Affairs in Ann

Arbor for veterans and spouses;

- Bus tokens;

- Assistance with seeking employment; and

- Veteran ID cards.

LCVSC also assists with indigent funerals and burials. They work with the area funeral homes with these types of funerals and burials. The VA provides burial benefits,

American flags, plot allowances and pensions.

Mr. Armstrong stated that 1 in 9 veterans are homeless, 14% of the homeless population are veterans and that 54% of the homes veterans are homeless due to the lack of funds. He referred to Veterans Matters role in helping with a down payment, or the first month’s rent, or with food and furniture. He also referred to the work of St. Paul’s

Community Center which assists with shelter, food, and social support.

This brief description of my engagement with government and community agencies operating in the field of veteran homelessness has pointed towards the depth of my engagement with the field.

I asked a number of homeless veterans whether they would like to complete my survey, the Veteran Homelessness Scale, which I developed after reviewing the literature in Chapter Two. This scale was previously presented in the methodology chapter. Here are the results from the four people who were homeless veterans who filled in the survey.

All of these people also answered some semi-structured questions in conjunction with the survey.

Lack of Problems

Poor services with

quality or poor Lack of criminal

Substance Mental health Long term quality Bureaucratic affordable justice

TBI abuse PTSD Illness care unemployment services red tape accommodation system 6 6 6 6 6 6 3 6 3 3

7 4 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7

4 6 6 5 4 5 4 6 3 1

7 7 7 7 6 7 7 7 5 7

Table 4.4: Veterans Homelessness Scale

The number of respondents in this scale are so small that it is meaningless to make any generalizations. But it is interesting to note that one person rated everything as

7 out of 7, except for substance abuse and another person rated everything as 7 out of 7 except for poor quality health care (which was rated 6) and lack of affordable accommodation (which was rated 5). A third person rated substance abuse, PTSD and bureaucratic red tape as the most important problems, but even then only rated them as being 6 out of 7 importance.

It is now necessary to turn to personal narratives which help explain and humanize the life of a homeless veteran. When people saw a scale, they wanted to tell their own stories so that they could explain their choices and tell their stories in their own words. Here are four of those stories.

4.3 Personal narratives

The second section of Chapter Two, the literature review, demonstrated the importance of humanizing the stories of veterans who become homeless. They are people with dignity, resilience, hopes, and dreams. They have often faced significant personal battles and prejudicial and uncaring attitudes. Systems that should have supported them have often failed them. In this section of the chapter, I hope to humanize this thesis by sharing three personal stories of homeless veterans.

4.3.1 Michelle

Michelle was in the Navy from 1988 to 1992. She had training school in Virginia and was primarily stationed in Rota, Spain. Her rate was Operational Specialist and her pay grade was an E-4. She was discharged due to the Clinton Administration’s decision to reduce the size of the Armed Forces.

I am careered Navy and the reduction in their forces the year initiated following Desert Storm which resulted in my being involuntarily discharged so I went in planning on, you know, 25-year career or the Warrant officer program once I made the Chief, you know, the navy is my freaking life. It's a family thing, you know, my family has all been Navy, and my uncles all have been Navy, and all of it, you know…”

She is still very angry and bitter about this experience – “I sold the Navy my soul and they chewed up and spit it out and said no thank you. And I'm kind of pissed about it still this day.” She reiterated these feelings about the military a number of times, commenting on one later occasion “I have a hard time not getting bitter when it goes to the whole veterans in military thing.”

Michelle was in Rota when Desert Storm broke out:

Our entire security force shipped out to Saudi which left the base - it left an American base on foreign soil without a security force. So, they rounded up all of us general duty persons and they put us through a, what they call expedited training, which is no fun at all about four days. We had seven months’ worth of security training crammed 58

into four days of time. And uh, and then we were security to keep the base safe when all of Spain was saying “Y'all don't need to be doing this Desert Storm stuff.” There were riots. We were, um, you know, people throwing things. It was dangerous and all kinds of crap and they had to a kind of lockdowns and say everybody who was out in town come onto the base and don't be out in the town anymore. And prior to that decree, all the people who are out in town got seriously attacked coming and going from work every day…

And then after, after Spain, at the very tail end of my enlistment, they finally put me on the ship. It was in the All Hands Magazine. I think it was the June of 92 issue that it was published in 92 about the first of us females to go on the USS Ainsworth. And so that was where I ended my tour, that was when I submitted my request for re- enlistment to the bureau of personnel in Washington and that's where I received the denial and I was not going to be permitted to re-enlist.

Michelle saw being in the military as her purpose in life and has not known what to do with her life ever since she was not able to re-enlist. “I have never been able to figure out what the hell am I supposed to do with my life since. Because that was what I was going to do with my life.” This is a big part of her personal struggle – when I asked her about reintegration, she commented “I never really integrated into the civilian life, and that is a lot of the problem that I have.” Some of the challenges she faces have to do with this sense of purpose, and some have to do with communication.

When I asked her “And what about, what do you think your biggest challenges were when you came back into the civilian life?” Michelle seemed to suggest that the different forms of communication between civilians and military people was a real challenge:

Well, it's, I guess trying to figure out. And it's still the biggest challenge I have today. Trying to figure out what the fuck anybody wants from me. Nobody will just come right out and speak plainly. Everybody talks between the lines and, and, and fucking whatever. I don't know. It's not clear cut the way it is in the military when they want you to do something, they tell you what to do and they provide you with instructions about how to do, it in the civilian world. Everybody speaks in ambiguity that expects you to somehow telepathically understand what they're talking about. I have never gotten the hang of it at all. That's why I can't function out there… 59

You liked the black and white? the instructions? Everything. Instructions in black and white.

It seems like it needs to be that way because when the civilian tells you to do something and they don't provide you the black and white instructions and so you decide you know how to do what they say to do it's always wrong. That's not what I meant. And so you get fired because they tell you, go clean these or go do this. Go do that. And you do it, but you didn't do it the way they meant for you to do it. So you lose your job, but they will tell you what it is they mean for you to do it and they refuse to give you that information. I fucking hate it. I can't function like that. Either tell me straight up what you wants or be happy with the fact that I did what you told me to do, but you don't get to say do this and then fire me for doing it.

Michelle is currently homeless – she lives in a tent in the woods. It is heartbreaking to hear her explain that one of the reasons she initially joined the military was because she was kicked out of her home by her parents when she turned 17 and thought she would never be homeless again if she joined the military.

My family, when I graduated high school and I was only 17 at the time of my graduation, uh, I came home from the little wiggle out for ice cream after graduation to celebrate, and I come home and find, I trip over these suitcases in the entry way. And my family said, here is your graduation present, a matching set of Luggage. They are already packed, have a nice life and they locked the door. When I was 17 and had no idea I was about to be homeless. I just graduated high school, but you know, it's like that, kick the bird out of the nest. We've done our job, we're done, good luck. And that's, that's the kind of family I come from.

Being in the military offers opportunities for people such as Michelle who have little family support in terms of the opportunity to get an education. She explained at a later time that this was one of her motivations for enlisting:

…I had been hoping initially that I would get the opportunity to go to college and my parents made it clear that that was not going to happen and that they expected me to wind out some fucking hooker dead in the gutter with a needle in my arm. And I said, that's not going to be my life. I can do something better. And I joined the military because nobody else was taking me.

However, Michelle’s goals of having a career, an education, and a successful life did not eventuate the way she had hoped. As well as being without housing, Michelle has a history of long-term unemployment, and being fired from the jobs she does get. She explains:

I just kind of bounced around for a bit. I didn't have a place to be in, a place to live, stability, a solid job. I, I would, I would spend months, job searching, and then finally get a job and in less than two weeks I lost a job and be back to months of job searching.

She believes that the different patterns of communication, rules and work expectations between civilian life and military life are the reason why she is unable to succeed in civilian jobs. Military people are expected to follow instructions and to perform their required tasks with a high degree of detail, but this standard of work and pattern of communication is often absent in the civilian workforce. She gave the example of how the Navy uses a Planned Maintenance System (PMS) card, with detailed instructions and exact work specifications for every task.

They have a little “work party” back in my case, the name of it, but it was called a PMS card and it didn't matter if it was you're cleaning a toilet or you're disassembling major part or whatever, any little tasks that must be had to have a PMS cards and it walks you through step-by-step exactly how they want it done. And even if you've read the card a million times and you've got it memorized, you're still supposed to go by the card because you never know when they're going to issue a change. You know what I was saying?

Right.

The civilian world does not look like that. It doesn’t work like that. They say clean it and they don't give you any instructions on how do they want it clean but I'm military. So I'm cleaning it good, you know, I'm cleaning it to, to high standards. Oh no, don't clean it that good, you don't have that much time. It doesn't have to be that clean. Well hell if you want a half ass job, hire somebody who does half ass work! Don't hire a veterans (sic) and their attention to detail and their work ethic and then hire the veterans and bitch on them and fire them because of their attention to detail and their work ethic. 61

Michelle says that she has had many problems with the VA and disability system.

She finds it overwhelming, in terms of sensory overload, simply to go to town where the office is located. She also complains that they have lost her paperwork with regards to a claim for disability. “I have, I've been trying to put in, and it's not like I put in my claim for VA disability and they come back and say, well, because it was a preexisting condition, we don't care that it was aggravated, it doesn't count, but it's not service connected. They don't even do that. They just throw it in the trash and pretend just like I never sent in the claim. And they have been doing it for over 20 years now.” Such frustrations with the VA system are rarely discussed in the academic literature on homelessness.

The academic literature on risk factors for homelessness also accepts legal/policy definitions of homelessness and applies them to the situation of homeless veterans. But the lived experiences of veterans such as Michelle gives us a much deeper insight into what homelessness really means, as the following conversation demonstrates.

What does homelessness mean to you?

Um, it actually means a few different things. Because I've discovered in my years of homelessness, but there are several different types of homeless and several different ways of being homeless. So this doesn't mean just one thing, uh, once you're in it and learn about it, there are people who are homeless and they devote their whole lives life to traveling, hiking or walking or whatever they have to do to being always on the move from one place to the next. And I think that a higher percentage of veterans choose that path of homelessness than choose to be the homebound. Because, you know, as veterans we were thrilled with how important it is to always stay on the move. You don't want to hold up in one place. You don't want to stay in one place. You don't want wind up getting pinned down. You've got to stay on the move if you want to survive. And I think that's why there are so many traveling homeless veterans as compared to how many homebound there are on the same street corner every day in the same town that whereas most of them are mobilized literally they are constantly

from state to state all over the country and they might stop for a week or two here or there, but they're always moving onto the next one.

I have found that homeless people who have like really literally nothing are far more generous and compassionate. Then people who have not been homeless and who has plenty, those who can afford to drop $5 in somebody's cup and they walk by don't do it. So, for those who have been out working all day trying to come up with $3.75 might drop one of those bucks and some other person had just walked by. Did they know what it's like to be out there trying to go home with money to survive on? And that's why I started this nonprofit mission here. As a matter of fact, it was because of the wonderful people that I met while I was homeless on the streets in Colorado. A couple years ago, um, my health had taken a turn for the worse and I'm not a homebound or traveler. I got myself a little spot of forest in the woods that I purchased quite cheaply so I own this. I just camp here, in a box. There's no running water. It's extremely primitive all like doing the dishes take all day because first you have to gather the fire wood, and cut it, and split it and then build the fire before you go and fetch the gallons of water that you are going to have to heat on the fire before you can even be able to wash the dishes. So all this is a lot more time-consuming than regular life. The lack of ability to days (sic) is probably the biggest problems because of my brain problem that I was the sort of person and I wake up in the morning and I take a shower first to help me get woke up, it was like my coffee. And then by lunch time, I would take another shower on my lunch break because I felt like I stank. When I got home, I took another shower so I was a clean body in sheets. And now I am lucky if I get to take a shower every three weeks.

In another part of our discussion, I asked Michelle “What are three words would you describe as being homeless?” and she replied “Uh, cold, wet and hungry.” She also stressed the dangers of the shelter system and strongly encouraged people to avoid the shelter system.

Yeah. I have stayed at a number of shelters and had a number of experiences to teach me why it is that you don't go to shelters, shelters and going, oh yeah, I've tried like six or seven different shelters in different states. It's never, a good idea and other people who say, oh, hell no, I won't go to a shelter and people just judge and say, there’s a shelter. Don't, don't go to a shelter. If you, for God’s sake, God forbid, if you ever find yourself homeless, please don't go to a shelter. They are dangerous and horrible and just the worst of, of environments. You're safer on the streets, on your own, than you are in a shelter.

So where did you stay if you weren't staying in the shelters?

Outside camping in a tent, but sometimes I didn't even have that stuff. That tends to be where you are when you're homeless. You're outside.

How safe did you feel when you were outside in the tent? Were you always. Did you always feel safe or no?

Um, well I had my service dog with me, so that was my safety that made me feel safe was my service dog. He protected me. A lot of that shit that could have happened. I don't think I would've felt safe if I hadn't had my dog, which has made a lot of homeless people have dogs. People know what you're doing. “Give your dog when you can't even take care of yourself.” Animal cruelty wants to steal your dog from you. This dog is the only thing that's keeping you from being raped. This dog is the only thing that's keeping you from being murdered for your Goddamn shoes. Do not take away homeless people’s dogs from them.

Michelle has not only struggled to find housing, her relationship history has been full of heartbreak. She has been married and divorced three times. She has two children from two of these marriages, but does not have custody of either child, and has fought

“two horrible custody battles” battles. If possible, she would advise her younger self

“Don't get into any relationships. Don't even fucking go there and stay celibate. That would've been the word. yeah, absolutely. Just don't fall for it.”

Michelle also stressed that homelessness reflects the ways people see other human beings, and in turn affects how homeless people view their own humanity. “The problem is that once people start treating you like you're not worth anything, it doesn't take a whole long time before you start feeling like they must be right.” It is a sad reflection on her life that when I asked “What do you think that you have learned from the military that best benefit you most in life?” Michelle replied, “Never trust anyone.” She says that she needs to be away from civilian life, because she can’t function “out there.” “I'd have to do myself a little bubble in the woods and stay here, away from the outside world

because I don't fucking understand that and I have been trying for decades and I still don't have a clue.”

In terms of analyzing Michelle’s personal narrative to answer the question “Why do veterans become homeless?” it is possible to see a number of factors in her life which have led to this tragic outcome:

- She did not have any plans for any career outside of the military, and has now

spent 25 years wondering about the purpose of her life. It seems she desperately

needed help finding a sense of direction prior to separation from the military.

- She did not have a supportive family to return to after her time in the military.

- Michelle’s experience of being homeless at 17 suggests that she needed additional

supports before being separated from the Navy to ensure that she had an

established social support system and that her housing needs were met.

- Her frustrations with the VA system stem partly from her inability to deal with the

overwhelming sensory environment of the city. Perhaps she needed some form of

disability accommodation that involved VA representatives making themselves

available at more appropriate venues. Alternatively, she needed individual

advocacy paid for by the VA so that someone would help her navigate the

bureaucracy. Without such help, she was left to fall between the cracks.

- The military has a transition program to help people seek jobs, further their

education, and start businesses. It is a five-day mandatory program. It seems that

Michelle may not have undertaken such a transition program, which were not

mandatory at the time. She might have benefited from such supports.

- Michelle needs long-term, ongoing psychotherapy and psychological counselling

because she reports PTSD. She also needs a thorough psychological evaluation to

see if she has an adjustment disorder or any other kind of psychological problem

(whether it is related to her military service or not).

- In her transition to civilian life, it seems that Michelle needed assistance re-

learning to communicate outside of a military context.

- She may have needed a job coach, or other employment supports, to help her keep

employment. Being unemployed so often has greatly increased her risk of

homelessness.

In essence, Michelle’s story helps us see that a veteran became homeless because she was already socially and economically vulnerable, she had no plans for alternative employment, she had no support in navigating the VA bureaucracy, she found it difficult to hold a job and communicate with civilians, and she was dealing with disability issues.

This was a vulnerable woman who needed more support after serving her country.

4.3.2 David

Unlike Michelle, who experiences chronic homelessness, David’s experience of homelessness lasted for a period of three to four months after he returned from deployment. David is formerly homeless; he has had stable accommodation renting an apartment for over two years. David explained his service history, which ended when he became a wounded warrior:

I enlisted end of 2011, beginning of 2012 and um, I ended up getting out and I got up early. I ended up doing about two and a half, three years. Um, I can't remember when I got out, I think 2014 is when I got out. I'm like middle of 2014, um, post- deployment. So, I deployed. I was gone for most of 2013 and um, I ended up tearing something in my knee and you know, um, you know, I finished out my deployment. I 66

can still move and still run, but it was like, wow, this really hurts. And it was like, you take some Vitamin, Motrin, and you know, and try not to run. I ended up, I left when I left Afghanistan I was like, 169 pounds by my, like six months back. I was like, back, I was like at 200 like post, like pre-Army weight because I couldn't run, I couldn't run, couldn't jump was like immediately put on a profile and no one could figure out what was wrong with my knee. And so, I ended up getting out. I'm talking to my commander. He was like, Hey, he's like, “Ok, I'll keep you on for another 2 years or I can sign your discharge papers and you can be out in like three months.” And I was like, “Oh, yeah, I'll get out.” Um, you know, at that point was having a lot of the PTSD stuff was starting to come up around that time from my deployment. And so I’m like, “I'll get out if you can get me out, get me out.” And um, so I got out late 2014 and um, had just recently gotten married and then moved back to Ohio at that point. And then of course, of course the sooner you get out all the problems start. So I got out of, you know, marriage fell apart and you know, like hit the shitter for about a year and I'm back on my feet now…

So you went into the military in 2011. You served in 2014. And what was your pay grade?

Um, I got out at E-3.

Alright. And what was your MOS?

I'm 68 X-ray was the identifier and it was a behavioral health technician…

David served in Afghanistan for nine months. “Yeah, and they cut them down, initially when we first started this whole Middle East thing, they were doing 12- to 15- month tours… Nine months was long enough.” I asked him “Where were you stationed in Afghanistan?” and he replied:

I was in, for the first part of my deployment, I was up north in a province called Kunduz and that's where it was just me, my captain who was a psychologist and my sergeant and we have kind of four FOB's that we had to take care of, um, you know, on a weekly basis either me and my will go out or my sergeant and my captain would go out and I'd be left by myself for a couple of days and we kind of hop out to these other bases that were the size of like a high school track field. “Hey, no one's going crazy. Right? Like, you're all good? OK, bye.” Um, and then for the second half we shut down that base and uh, they brought us back to um, the CASF in Bagram. Which was where the kind of main, main world was over there.

We shared stories, as veteran insiders, about the differences between Army and

Navy uniforms. He said “I don't like your peanut butters. You got your Donald's dogs and you know.” Then he talked about the life lessons he had learned from being in the military:

You know, in the Army, we have, we have a saying, I don't know if it's in the Navy, but we embrace the suck.

Embrace the suck?

Yeah. And so, it's just kind of like… all of this sucks, just embrace it. And I remember there was a time when we, when we were in Afghanistan and one of the sergeants, his son was born while we were over there. And uh, so he got to, you know, he had the day off and he was, you know, they have the computer set up in the hospital room and he was skyping with his wife, you know, she has sent over a care package before the baby was born. Of a, like cigars. And so, you know, it's like your son was born. And then that night we were out on our little patio, stoop that we had built, and someone was on their laptop, we were playing music and smoking our cigars, was just kind of hanging out. And um, the raid siren went off and, uh, you know, so I, you know, I threw my cigar on the ground and ran inside the door and everyone else ran inside and I shut the door and I was like, man, I hate this place. Just so you get to a point where it's not scary, frustrating that you have to stop what you're doing. And, uh, I turned around and my buddy Scott still has a cigar. And you were inside like we're going to the clinic building, what are you doing? And he's like, man, I'm not throwing out my cigar. You know, we have to wait for five minutes. So we went back outside after five minutes, picked up my cigar on the ground and finished it. You know, a lot of it is just those instances of just being bored.

What would you say is the most difficult aspect of participating in the military?

Um, the most difficult. I always say personally, it's the separation from everything. It's weird, like I'm a big Star Wars fan and so, you know, especially deployment is, you know, like you look at like the Jedi knights in Star Wars, and you know, they're not allowed to have attachments. No. You know, the love, no marriage, no possessions, no stuff like that. And it's very similar in that aspect of like you're taken away from everything and its very kind of startling to get used to. So for me personally, it's the separation from just your family and from what you know is normal. I'm to the point where like today by favorite things in the world are like really good carpeting or rugs, and ice cubes. I love ice cubes. You don't recognize how big of a deal, like, you know, the things you don't expect to miss. To me, it's like you expect to miss your family. It's like in a weird sense. No, because the distance, you're not always aware of it, but when you're reminded of it, um, it can be very kind of sobering. Like, I mean there were multiple times when I would be skyping with my family and the siren would go off and I'd have to be like, hey, you know, I'll call you 68

back whenever I can, bye. Shut the laptop and run. And in my thought, my mind is just like pissed off because I have to go, crap. I have to go grab my helmet again, throw my armor on and go sit under a bunker. But you know, in hindsight you think about how terrified did they have to be, you know, because they just heard an alarm and heard me say goodbye and it's going to be at least a day or two before I call them again and they don't know what's going on. So...

And sometimes we don't think about that then.

Yeah. And I certainly never thought about it then. You know, and I would get annoyed, like if my mom would just like hound me on Facebook, like, hey, haven't heard from me in a couple of days. I'm like, yeah, I'm working, I'm like doing shit mom, you know, but you're not aware of that because for you that's normal now it's normal for you to get shot at every day and it's not normal for everyone else. So it's that distance and that disconnect is really, I think the hardest part.

David’s comment that it is “normal for you to get shot at every day” demonstrates the cold realities of war. Veterans are exposed to life and death risks every day; this is another reminder of our debt to them.

David’s marriage fell apart after he returned from active duty. He also lost many friends in the divorce, as people either chose to remain friends with his wife (but not him) or they did not want to get involved in the situation following allegations of domestic violence by his wife. This divorce – a loss of his primary relationship – undoubtedly played a major role in his loss of housing. It affected him both financially and emotionally, not only in the short-term but also in the long-term.

My ex-wife and I split fairly shortly after I got out of the Army, you know, that's really when I got out, my anxiety and PTSD like kind of went full blown because again, I was in my, my understanding of it as I was no longer at that environment that was kind of maintaining it. And so, um, we were, we were at a point where we were fighting every night. We were yelling every night and then quickly from that, that escalated to her, you know, basically getting in the mindset of like, I don't want to be in this relationship anymore. But, I want a house, I want the car. So what do I do that? And within like a matter of a week, it was like, oh, the cops were at my house because, you know, my wife is saying I hit her. So you know, and again, the way that the justice system works is, you know, if, you know, my name was on the house, my name was on the car, but even before anything went to trial it was, you know, the 69

wife says, the husband hit her, the wife gets a house, the wife gets the car. ‘Sorry dude, you gotta get out.’ It was like overnight, um, you know, basically they picked me up. They were like, yeah, your wife said that you hit her. They took me in. I spent like two nights just in a holding cell. And then my Dad came, bailed me out and I mean, you know, Bob's your uncle, you know, there was like, oh cool. Now upon somewhere to stay, and I was employed at this point, you know, I wasn't making great money. I was making minimum wage, but, you know, I had a job five days a week and um, you know, my savings had been spent so I didn't have any money for a down payment on an apartment or anything like that. Um, because of the fallout with my marriage. Um, a lot of my close friends in the area either didn't want anything to do with it or ended up siding with her, so I had no friend support up here for good... I mean that was probably in like September and I didn't move into my apartment until really the end of November.

There were some other important risk factors in this story in terms of David’s path to homelessness, outside the loss of his marriage. He also reports PTSD and anxiety, involvement in the criminal justice system, low income and no savings, and lack of friends. However, his parental support is a source of strength and resilience, which helped him.

I asked David about the life lessons he had learned, and he expressed them in terms of the weapons he had been exposed to in war: rockets, guns, bullets and mortar.

There's going to be times when you don't think you're able to do something and there's going to be times when you know that you were not able to do something, but all you're going to be able to do is give yourself the best chance. So, I mean, I can sum that answer up with, with, uh, the, the quote we are saying we used to have, which was if you get killed from indirect fire which is, mortars or rockets, it's just your time to go, um, you know, um, god looked down and said take that one because it's so random. It's so chaotic. But now on the other hand, if you get killed from small arms fire or you get shot, that's your own fault because you stood up when you shouldn't have or you didn't duck when you should have. So we kind of, I learned very quickly during my deployment to let go of things that you can't control. One thing I can't control is a rocket flying over my head. So why am I going to worry about that? Or you know, what I can control is if I hear gunshots, I make sure my helmet is on, I can make sure my vest is on because those are the things that are going to impact that. A rocket, nothing's going to stop it, you know, but a bullet can be stopped by your helmet and stopped by your vest and you can shoot back at the bullets.

David developed PTSD after his deployment. He said that he worked in a unit which specialized in treating psychological problems, so he knew that the Army does not immediately diagnose such problems as PTSD. It was initially diagnosed as adjustment disorder, but after a year (as per Army protocol), the official diagnosis of PTSD was made:

So that diagnosis didn't come in until I got out. While I was in, it was the Army is a weird thing and it's, it's funny talking about it because given what my job was I have a kind of the insider's perspective on how all the diagnoses work. So basically you will not get a diagnosis of PTSD until at least a year after the sort of the medical standard, I think is six months after an event, um, the Army does not like to give people a diagnosis of PTSD if they're active duty. They will diagnose you with adjustment disorder, which essentially is a clinically, it's a fair middle ground to be like, well, just, you know the event is too recent. So you can't call it PTSD, we call it an adjustment disorder. Um, is that's what they kind of said I had while I was active duty and then as soon as I got out, went to the VA up here, they were like, oh no, you have PTSD. I was like, I know I just need you to write it down legally.

As noted in Chapter Two, PTSD is a significant risk factor for homelessness.

David also said he drank heavily after being medically discharged (another risk factor for homelessness), but perhaps understandable when someone cannot cope with their PTSD symptoms. It was, in his words, a form of self-medication. He also relied on official medical prescriptions.

I mean basically being in a non-military environment was very hard.

And how did you cope with that?

Um, not successfully. Um, I drank, I drank a lot. Um, I drank a lot when I got back home and for like the next, like couple of years, which doesn't make it better. It is funny because we all know that. We all know that it doesn't help but what we do it anyway. Um, drank a lot and then just like heavily medicated with like, you know, you'd go to the doctor, say I can't sleep because you know, "here's some drugs though, take it and they will help you fall asleep" you know. So just like, like heavily medicating and heavily self-medicating in order to like be outside.

While unemployment was seen as a risk factor for homelessness in Chapter Two,

David’s experiences of homelessness was actually impacted by his employment situation.

He could not get to the homeless men’s shelter located on the other side of town and return to work on time.

I worked for the YMCA at the time, I'm just doing like front desk work and they had a men's shelter except it was on the Far East side of Cleveland and I worked on the far west side of Cleveland, so I had no way to get there and then be expected to get into work by 9:00 AM the next day. And then, you know, leave work at five and get there by seven, you know, the next step, you know, over and over again. And it was for a while. There it was park benches, you know, sheds behind parks. Um, you know, there was a parking lot where they used to, I remember in October like this, we had already had snow on the ground and there was a row of buses that, that we're always parked in this parking lot. So like one night I just scrambled underneath the bus one night and kind of wrap myself up in my coat and stuff. Um, you know, got a little bit asleep and then walked to work the next day. Got to work at 6:00 AM, you know, luckily it was a gym so we have showers and stuff, so you know, shower at work and then the show up and work a full shift and then start kind of wandering around at night until I got dark and then find a place to sleep for a handful of hours usually.

And when you were sleeping, did you ever try a mission or shelter then?

No, in Cleveland they are all located on the east, east, east end of the city. With even taking a bus out there, Um, it's gonna take you two hours to get there. Um, and that's if you can get to the bus that's running in that hour, plus you have to check in by a certain time at night. You were so. Exactly. And so, you know, it could, I have fought harder and kind of found a way to make that work probably. Um, but I have reached a point early on during that whole phase of, you know, I was still talking to my parents like, Hey, this is my situation and you know, like once a week, like my Dad will be like, “Hey, you know, the hotel, but the uh, you know, end of the city, we got, have a room for the weekend there, go get some sleep.” Or like when I got paid I'd spend, well I spent half my paycheck and go get a hotel room for a night and get some actual sleep. So it was doing that. I'm really wake early on, I begged my parents to let me just move back in because I just wanted to give up. Like just let me move back in with you. And to their credit, And I thanked my Dad recently for this, and I don't know how he took it to her, but they, they said no. My Dad was like, you know, we're not letting me back in. Um, and his stance was, “You can do this, you can figure this out, you know, make it work, use your resources to make this work.” And um, you know, I did, you know, towards the end of it, um, you know, in November a friend who I worked with who I'd known for many years, um, because of the whole time, 72

like, you know, I'm trying to keep this quiet, you know, and so my friend, you know, of course found out and, you know, she texted me one day when I was leaving work and she was like, “Hey, what are you doing? Just hanging out? But she's like, all, well come up to this bar and she goes, I'm going to the bar. Had a couple drinks. And she was like, “All right, come on, we're going home.” And she let me crash on her couch for like a month. Um, you know, no questions asked, you know, her only stipulation was like, “You know, if I'm not going to be home until midnight, you got to find something to do until midnight. But, you know, you're more than welcome to stay here, other than that.” So, you know, to this day like, you know, we're close friends and you know, that really I think, is what kind of saved me to, you know, from that point it was, you know, I didn't have to worry about where I was going to be every night.

This support from a coworker demonstrates the difference one person can make in the life of a homeless veteran. It also reinforces the theme mentioned in the literature review that social isolation is a risk factor for homelessness. Being socially connected helped David find housing. Because he was no longer looking for a place to sleep every single night, he was able to connect to support services which made a huge difference in his capacity to get a better job.

So I was able to concentrate and focus on, all right, let's look for apartments, let's look for resources. Um, and that's, uh, that's the point where I learned about the, um, oh gosh, what are they called in Cleveland here? The, um, the Veterans Service Committee or whatever, the VSC or whatever, which is the county run veteran’s assistance program and ended up getting connected with them and they were like, yeah, hey, we have this thing, if you find an apartment, we'll pay your deposit and first months.

How did you find out about that?

I think my Dad actually, my Dad's doing research and a lot of the court stuff was still ongoing. So we were trying to get it moved to a veteran's docket as opposed to the regular docket. And through that he was like, Hey, there's these people, I don't know exactly what they do, but you need to call them. Um, you know, and it was the VSC and I called them and explained the situation and they have a whole team of social workers who were there and were like, all right, well, you know, this is one of the things we do or you just have to come in and we'll give you a voucher, you know, basically find, uh, find a, uh, someone who's renting that'll accept these county vouchers and it's explained to them, it's not a monthly thing, you know, because you're working, but it's just for this deposit and, you know. 73

So basically, I got in contact with them that same week. I found an apartment that had an opening, I called, the landlords and um, the, you know, the husband was an Army that he was like, oh yeah, we're, we're familiar with the program. Absolutely. You know, we can show you the house in two days, you know, they showed me the apartment. I was like, where do I sign? And then basically that night they were like, yeah, you can stay here tonight. Here's the key, you know, let us know as soon as you get the voucher we will come and pick it up and we'll just start your lease then. So, um, yeah, it was all kinds of whole little serendipitous how it happened.

I was like, oh, well of course you're, you know, of course you're a veteran, you know, and they, I mean, they were great. They actually just recently sold the property to another guy, so I have a new landlord. But, he initially, I explained the whole situation and I was like, yeah, I'm at work right now, but I have your voucher right here and he was like, where do you work? I'll come by and I'll pick it up. I will give you a ride to the place and you can leave your stuff there, you know, very, very helpful. But it took going through all that to, to get to it.

Later in the conversation, we returned to David’s experiences with the organizations that aim to assist veterans. I asked him “And then, I know you mentioned the VSC as far as organizations, but were there any other person or organizations that helped you deal with your homelessness?”

Um, not really. I mean during that whole time I was also getting set up through the VA, but that was just more in super strict healthcare. Not, you know, in terms of, you know, the immediate situation.

And do you trust the VFC and the VA?

Um, now I do. Yeah, now that I get my check every month. Yeah. But I mean, the VA is a process and I don't think, I think if you don't have a clear understanding of the fact that it is a process, in the onset. I mean, again, I started all of that, then, and then once I got my apartment, like that all got back-burnered until about a year ago when I was like, OK, like No, my knee is still hurting. I should be getting paid for this, every month. Um, you know, or if my PTSD has a flare up. Like, you know, there was a while last year I missed like a week and a half of work because I couldn't get out of bed, you know, so really until like, I would say the past, you know, 8 months, um... I kind of back-burnered the VA stuff. Because again, it seemed bureaucratic. It was like, well, they're going to take forever. So I don't care. But the local level was much quicker to respond.

Like Michelle, David was able to describe homelessness in a deeply touching way. 74

What do you say being homeless means to you?

To me, I mean at the time personally the biggest thought was um, I don't matter and no one cares. That and the constant thought of, wow, I'm a statistic now. This is an actual issue, this is a thing that everyone hears about it and everyone is aware of, and now it's happening to me. And I mean through the whole time I was just in constant sort of disbelief that like, OK, what am I going to wake up? When is this going to stop? Um, you know, in the whole time, of course you're on edge. Um, you know, because part of the biggest problem with, with I think homelessness is you're not sleeping, you know, I would sleep maybe two, three hours a night for an hour at a time that I was still up all day working. You know, and I, I have a friend who, you know, isn't a veteran, but you know, early on in his life he went through the same thing where he was working and he got kicked out of his place, all of a sudden didn't have any savings.

And it was the same situation for him. And it teaches you, you know, don't take anything for granted. And to just be very weary. I mean, to this day I'm still very much like nothing feels better than laying down in a bed, you know, and it's just, it's a weird thing. You never expect yourself to be in that situation never in a million years would I have expected myself to be in that situation. I mean I was, you know, a upper middle class kid, you know, growing up with privilege and then, you know, all it takes is one bad turn of events and you can lose everything. So it's just, it's bizarre.

I also asked him “What do you think the hardest thing about being homeless?”

The hardest thing is... the hardest thing is to maintain a drive to get yourself out of it. It's very, it was very easy to get lost and in your own kind of like pity. And I felt sorry for myself for a long time until I realized that I can't afford to feel sorry for myself anymore. And, once you stop feeling sorry for yourself, you can start doing things. Um, so I would say that. Yeah.

I'm assuming, did you get depressed during this time?

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. It just made it worse and then all of the issues I already have, I mean, it all just kind of feeds into it, um, you know, and just make it worse. But it's hard to break that cycle.

And did you have trouble thinking as well during this time?

Oh yeah, yeah, I couldn't think straight. I couldn't maintain, you know, sort of cohesive thoughts for more than a couple minutes. And a lot of it I think has to do with. You're constantly stressed. I mean, it felt like deployment times 100.

And what about any alcohol or drugs while you were homeless? 75

Um, never drugs. I never did drugs um... drank when I could, but for the most part I couldn't afford it.

And can I ask, what are three words that you would describe as being homeless? Like what three words would you describe…

To associate with?

Yes.

Um, I would have to, I would have to say scared, angry and embarrassed.

Can you tell me what was the best and worst things that happened to you while you were homeless?

Um, let's see, the worst thing, the worst thing that happened wasn't really any one thing, but I mean it was, you know, like I remember one point my, my bosses at the time, pulled me into the office and they were like, “Hey, like we know you've been going through some stuff like are you, do you not have a place to stay right now?” And I was like, yeah, that's correct. And they were Kinda like, “OK, we just wanted to know.” And it was less than that. Um, and so that sort of attitude except reflected among everyone you know now. Your fear and I guess partial reality are kind of half- truth is like you're a pariah now and very few people want anything to do with you.

So I would say that's the worst is the sort of, you immediately feel outcast from any group you were ever a part of. You will be outcast from any group you were a part of. I mean people that I have known for 10 years, you know, who I said, “Hey, can I crash on your couch? I literally just need to save up for a deposit on an apartment.” And their response was, “No, I don't want to get involved.” And so that was hard. That was probably the toughest. But the best thing to come out of it is you get a real sense of one, what you're willing to do for yourself when no one else is going to help you. Um, and I don't mean that in a sort of mad max type of way. How far will you go? But really it's how far will you go before you give up? And I think I found my answer was I'll do whatever it takes before I give up.

David has also found a much better job, in a company which prides itself on hiring veterans. He has been with this company for two-and-a-half years. “Their veterans hiring program is great. I got through, I applied for like three jobs and had two offers within like, within a month. Um, and I got hired within that same month. So it was a very, they moved very quickly with their veterans.” 76

Like Michelle, David’s journey from deployment to homelessness has a number of answers to the key research question of this thesis: “Why do veterans become homeless?”

– David is a wounded warrior, so he is more vulnerable than other veterans to

homelessness after discharge. He had PTSD and a physical disability (his knee

injury) and therefore it was reasonable to assume that he was going to need

assistance in getting connected to the support services available to veterans after

discharge. He was failed by the system. It should not have been up to David

given his emotional distress, or his father, to seek out the VSC. These

connections should have been made for him before he was discharged. He should

have been in the veteran accommodation, employment and disability support

system immediately upon discharge because he was so vulnerable.

- David was eventually able to find employment with a veteran-friendly employer,

rather than the minimum-wage job at the YMCA which left him vulnerable to

homelessness in the first place. He could have been provided with a list (or

preferably, personally connected with these organizations) by a job coach or

military support person.

- David needed to be provided with extensive psychological support in the

community, given that he was already identified as suffering such extreme

emotional distress that he was medically discharged. It does not seem that this

necessary support was provided.

- David said that dealing with the veteran bureaucracy was “a process” which he

was not able to undertake until after he found accommodation. It must be far 77

easier to navigate than this so that veterans do not become homeless in the first

place.

- David’s chances of becoming homeless increased once he came into contact with

the criminal justice system. Again, it took his father’s assistance before his court

case was diverted into the Veterans Treatment Court. This is another failing of the

system. For a non-violent offender to be channeled into the Veterans Treatment

Court, all that is necessary is for a box on an arrest sheet to be ticked that

indicates the person is a veteran with either an emotional or substance-abuse

problem. David was both of these. He was failed by the system once again.

But unlike Michelle, David’s story ends with stable housing. His success therefore also offers a number of lessons on how to address the problem. One of these was the support he received from his father and mother. They were able to find resources for him and to pay for accommodation at hotels on some occasions. This support seems to have made all the difference. Likewise, the accommodation offered by his kind friend was the second chance he needed. Once he was able to have stable housing, David was able to succeed. This is an important reminder that homeless veterans are not doomed to failure -with the right support they can reintegrate and succeed. We owe them this.

4.3.3 James

James is a 35-year old man who was in the Army, serving for or three years, from

2003-2006. He was in the Military Police, with an E-1 paygrade. He served in Germany and was stationed in Weisbaden. James explained his decision to enter the military:

I was living in New York at the time. I had been debating about joining the military due to my family’s history of serving in the military. My father and grandfather served, and then after 9/11, I decided to enlist… I liked the comradery that was in the 78

military. In my job, we would have to endure nine months of MP training and then we were able to go in the field for three months and that was always the best time. We were able to bond as a unit.

He also said that being in the military “Builds character. You find yourself plus the bonds you make with your unit becomes your family while you are serving.” He learned “That family can extend beyond blood.” His experience in the military was

“Positive, for sure. I didn’t know who I was prior but I feel like it made me a stronger person.” However, James was very clear on the worst part of his time in the military – “It would have to be losing friends, brothers, and sisters to KIA” (Killed In Action).

Like Michelle, James said he found reintegrating back into the civilian world difficult:

It was exciting and terrifying at the same time. In the military, it was black and white but in the civilian world, it was all on you. You had to figure it out on your own. No one had your back.

James said he had little support on his return – a theme that is found both in the academic literature on risk factors on homelessness and in the personal narratives which have already been discussed. When I asked “What support did you have?” he replied,

“Not really a whole lot.” I followed up with “What were your biggest challenges?” to which he answered “Changing my mindset.” He was already a changed person after his military service. “Definitely. I was different than when I left.” He said that his mother and brother “…expected me to be the same person than when I left. But, it was a distant relationship.” I asked James “How did you cope?” and he said, “I never really did. I am still that way.” His emotional difficulties seem to be untreated because his priority has been finding stable housing.

James was injured during his military service, so (like David) he should have been flagged as someone who needed intensive support after his separation from the service.

I tore my AC joint, my lower back was messed up due to falls. I was also in a minor car accident, and I was stabbed in the forearm.

How did your military service affect your mental health and medical health?

Before I went in, I was eager, bright-eyed, and bushy-tailed but when I came out, I was depressed, angry and I didn’t trust anyone.

This trust issue echoes Michelle’s words. It seems hard for those who are homeless to trust others, when they are constantly dehumanized and treated as non- entities by other people and by systems which could and should assist them.

Like David, James seems to have developed a drinking problem after returning from the service. When I asked, “How and why did you become homeless?” he replied:

My wife left because I relapsed with my drinking. I lost my job by being laid off. I lost track of everything. I couldn’t get to school and after my wife left, I stopped caring about everything. I did have two years of college in criminal justice but did not finish.

Again, being unemployed is another risk factor in James’ journey to homelessness. His stories connect being jobless with being homeless. I asked “How often have you been homeless?” and he replied:

Since 2014. I was in Pennsylvania, then in Stockton and Sacramento, California but I was unable to find a job. My brother lives in Tennessee and he offered for me to come there to find a job since there were no jobs in California. I was able to find a job within the first few months.

James stayed at many different places when he was homeless. Sometimes he slept on the street, sometimes he slept in shelters or missions. He said that “the second place I stayed at… was a recovery center for alcoholics.” This was the first time he had mentioned a substance abuse problem (again, a well-known risk factor for homelessness). 80

Interviewed in April 2018, he said “I am currently living at a VA Domiciliary in

Tennessee since February 28, 2018.” The program consists of a 10-week program at the

Domiciliary and then he will enter a homeless program for 90 days. Previously, “I stayed at five different shelters and missions. The program consists of a 10-week program at the

Domiciliary and then he will enter a homeless program for 90 days.

What was your usual place to stay?

Prior to the Domiciliary, mainly outdoors, or anywhere with a cover over it. I did do some couch surfing too.

How safe did you feel?

I did not when I was staying at different places or on the street. I was jumped four to five times a month. At the VA Domiciliary, I feel safe. We have two-man rooms, a DFAC (Dining Facility), locks on the bathroom, there are security cameras and there is also a wall to separate us so we do have some privacy.

How clean is the VA Domiciliary?

It stays clean. We have to take turns cleaning different things each day.

Did you drink alcohol or drugs when you were homeless?

Alcohol.

Did any person or organization help you deal with your homelessness? If so, how?

Yes, the social workers at the VA and the DAV (Disabled American Veterans).

Do you trust the organizations that are supposed to help you?

Yes, the DAV helped me with my medical benefits. Plus, the VA had a field veteran stand-down in Sacramento, and I was able to talk to people there regarding my benefits and so forth. Unfortunately, I was without transportation so I couldn’t make it to the appointments afterwards that they had set up for me.

James’ positive experience with a stand-down connecting him to resources that took him off the streets and into housing specifically tailored for homeless veterans is 81

significant. It suggests that such events can make a big difference in homeless veterans lives. Stand-downs are well understood within military culture; perhaps they could be used more often to connect to homeless veterans.

Every homeless veteran I interviewed told me touching stories about their lives, but also made wise reflections on the experience of homelessness in general. I asked him to describe being homelessness and James said “Hopeless, unforgiving, and painful.” He added that he hardest thing about being homeless are:

Preconceptions that people have when you ask them for help. Or why you are homeless. Also, the loneliness, and the scars. The scars because you have to fight for everything you get both physically and mentally.

James, like many homeless people, is remarkably resilient. He has strengths that many people might not see, like the ability to get food when he has none, and the ability to find a shower when he basically has no access to running water.

Where did you get your food?

From food pantries in Stockton, California.

Was finding a bathroom or shower a problem?

Showers were a problem. I hung out by the gyms and would ask to come in as someone’s guest or sometimes I would be able to get a guest pass to take showers.

Going back to the key research question being explored in this thesis, “Why do veterans become homeless?” we can see a number of factors at play:

- The literature review in Chapter Two stated that being in a low paygrade in the

military placed veterans at a higher risk of homelessness upon discharge. As an E-

1, James was in the lowest paygrade; he immediately faced these higher risks.

- James’ family relationships had changed and suffered as a result of the trauma of

war. It seems that both he and his family needed more support in the reintegration

process.

- James had a substance abuse problem, and he needed intervention or treatment for

it. That is an ongoing need, and a central part of the housing program he is

currently in. He needed to be given this veteran-specific housing/treatment

program much sooner.

- James has serious emotional problems, perhaps due to being stabbed, but also due

to his difficulties settling back into civilian life. He needs significant

psychological assistance; the absence of this professional help in his life may have

contributed to his homelessness.

- James needed help with finding a job. He needed a job coach and veteran-

specific employment assistance. Without employment, his risk for homelessness

increased significantly.

- James might have benefited from assistance with his education. He did not

complete his education, and a lack of educational qualifications increases his risk

for poverty, unemployment and homelessness. Hopefully, he will be encouraged

to pursue an education as his journey from homelessness into a more stable

lifestyle continues.

4.3.4 Gabe

Although he is a disabled homeless veteran, Gabe does not currently receive any

VA benefits. He does receive disability benefits which he says is “Ok because it is still coming from the government.” He stated that “the VA has a right to turn down anybody” 83

but he does know of other homeless veterans in similar situations to himself that receive benefits. Gabe was interviewed during a weekly outside picnic that takes place across the street from the Main Library, Toledo in an empty parking lot. This picnic is provided by volunteers and is funded by volunteer donations as well as One Matters/Veterans Matter.

The picnic consisted of a hot meal and is free and offered to anyone in need. On this day,

I arrived at 1000 and stayed until 1145 am. The weather forecasted to be partly sunny however, it was very cold and windy that day with spurts of rain off and on. Gabe stated that he was a volunteer at the picnics so he also helps out when needed. Gabe was dressed in a fall jacket, ear muffs, black boots, jeans and also had a black back pack with him as well. During my time at the picnic, there was approximately 40-50 people being served meals. There were approximately 20 volunteers. The population that was there for hot meals consisted of predominantly males, roughly 70% Caucasian. There were two women in wheelchairs as well as two young children with their mother, and an infant with their mother.

Gabe explained how he came to enlist in the military: “I came out of high school, and due to the economy, which didn’t seem like it was getting any better. The military seemed like it was an easy way of getting your first job, guaranteed hiring.” I then asked him “Did you ever serve duty in another country?” and he replied:

No, I was just supplying the guys that went. I went to basic in Paris Island and then went to school in North Carolina for infantry school but then I went back to Paris Island because they found out I was not mechanically inclined. I was stationed in Paris Island.

For how many years did you serve? About three and a half years from 1981-1984. I got out a few months early because I almost died of pneumonia.

What was your rank while in the service? 84

I was a Private (PVT), E-1. They never promoted me. They kept me hidden and staying busy. In the middle of combat, you will get promoted a lot faster but I never got to see combat.

It became obvious that Gabe had many of the risk factors identified in the other stories. Like James, Gabe’s rank as an E-1 made him economically vulnerable to homelessness after he left the service. He again had physical health problems – in his words, “I almost died of pneumonia.”

Gabe is chronically homeless, and food insecurity is a part of that life. So his fondest memory while serving duty is the food. “All the food I could eat. Instead of going to the mess hall, I liked going to the mess hall for the students, I was able to fill my plate up. I loved it, I loved it. We ate good.” He found the jogging the most difficult. “I couldn’t keep up with the constant jogging.”

I asked Gabe “Do you consider your duty as having been a positive or negative life experience?”

It toughened me up for what I have seen in life. That is why I am still here today. I’ve been beat up, picked on, even from little guys, they say “oh you can’t even see me” because I am half-blind. I tell them, I may not be able to see you, but I can remember your voice. I can pick your voice out of a line-up.

What did you learn from the military that benefited you the most in life?

Not much benefit in life. The only skills that I learned was mechanical skills only. If I would’ve gotten a job in a big old factory…

When you came out of the military, did anyone explain or tell you what to do for the VA or other services that was available?

I go in and talk to them but the doctors in the VA, this is something other veterans don’t even know…when I first came out of the military, I was perfectly sound at that very minute so the doctors would say, “Oh there’s nothing wrong with him besides a little hyper.”

Unfortunately, my discussion with Gabe was cut short due to factors beyond our control. The noise in the street was so loud that it became almost impossible to hear each other. This is an effect of life on the street. And Gabe was very hungry and he needed to eat.

His comments reveal many important factors related to veteran homelessness that help explain why he has fallen through the cracks:

- He is living with a vision impairment (a disability, like so many other homeless

veterans),

- The skills he learned in the military did not translate into employment in civilian

life. He needed support to bridge the gap between military employment and

civilian employment.

- He does not receive assistance through the VA, even though he is a disabled

homeless veteran. This is a failure of the system. He is a chronically-homeless

disabled veteran who needs and deserves more support.

4.4 Conclusion

This chapter provides the original evidence with which I address the key research question, “Why do veterans become homeless?” It is clear that this is a problem with many dimensions, but it is worth noting that every one of the veterans in this study had more than one risk factor. They all battled reintegration issues (which the military acknowledges is a major problem for many people after separation from the service), and they often battled physical or emotional challenges as well as financial and family ones.

But this chapter also allowed me to answer the subsidiary research questions. For the question “What combination of individual and institutional factors contribute to veteran 86

homelessness?” it was evident that individual choices around substance abuse and individual medical conditions were a problem, but that institutional failures were also common. There were failures to connect people to services, failure to support individuals and their families sufficiently in the reintegration process, failure to assist people secure appropriate jobs and housing, and many more.

The other subsidiary question for this thesis was “Do veterans and their advocates have perspectives which are not recognized in previous research which they might share with an insider researcher?” This chapter demonstrated that veterans trusted me with very sensitive information. They volunteered such information freely, and they also stated that they felt an affinity with me as another military person.

Earlier in the chapter, I quoted a small portion of the conversation that David and

I had regarding uniforms. I will provide its full context here, because it shows so much of the insider context of the entire conversation. It was a friendly, somewhat humorous discussion of military uniforms. He is discussing someone who is a person he is currently working with:

… he's a Navy vet and he's actually out on medical leave right now. He had a surgery done on his pancreas, but he, um, him and I always, him and I always, butt heads because like, ‘Oh, you know look at my dress shoes. My black dress shoes.” And I say, “You better shine those up.” And I was like, “In the army, we don't wear black dress shoes, we have boots.”

And you guys usually have only two uniforms?

I don't like your peanut butters. You got your Donald's dogs and you know.

Yeah, like 20 uniforms. It's ridiculous.

Yeah, we have our Camo's and then our class A's.

Yeah. That would be, that would make life a lot easier to, both our dress white 87

uniforms and dress blues, they're switching over. So the males and females look alike.

I think that's handy thing, you know, a lot of people like that. That femininity is still in the Army. I'll tell you what, in the army, I think I've only, the only time I've ever seen a female soldier in like the female Class A's is a, is that like if we're having like a formal ball or something. But even then, they're going to go rent the gown, but they're not going to wear their dress uniform but like for our class A inspection all of our females were in slacks. So me and me and one of my buddies Shafer, we were um, across the hall from each other in the barracks. When I was stationed in El Paso, we used to always joke about, I'm showing up in like the wrong period of uniform. Because we'd get our brief for the end of the day. And I was like, all right, PT tomorrow morning, but don't wear your PT uniform, just wear your standard uniform, and there was one NCO who would always specify like where your ACU's or you know, where your APFT your army physical fitness uniform, your APFT or whatever. But most of the other ones wouldn't specify, they would just say show up in your uniform. And so we always wanted to show up and like in an old Confederate uniform or something or like find some revolutionary war outfit to wear and just show up to the office with a musket.

This entire conversation would not have been possible if we were not both veterans. And David’s explanation of willingness to participate in this research was that he wanted to help another veteran tell what it is really like for homeless veterans. This is the power of insider research.

Using insider research, ethnographic engagement with the field, and paying close attention to the veterans who shared their stories, this chapter has shown that veteran homelessness does not come down to individual troubles alone. These veterans are incredibly vulnerable people and they are not being sufficiently supported at the times in their life when they need help the most. This situation must change.

Chapter 5

Conclusion

This thesis has explored the problem of veteran homelessness through insider research and a detailed ethnographic study. It has highlighted the vulnerability of these veterans, the debt that the nation owes to them, and the ways in which they could have been supported more in order to prevent them from falling through the cracks and into homelessness.

Chapter One set the framework for the thesis, discussing the importance of the issue, outlining my motivation for the study, describing the key research question and subsidiary questions and defining key terms. Chapter Two provided a literature review which was divided into two parts. The first part of Chapter Two summarized the academic literature on the risk factors for veteran homelessness. These risk factors would suggest that the reasons for veteran homelessness include:

- Post-Traumatic Stress;

- Traumatic Brain Injury;

- Other psychological problems;

- Chronic illness or disability;

- Involvement in recent wars (particularly in combat situations); 89

- Poverty;

- Long-term unemployment;

- Substance abuse;

- Low pay in the military;

- Lack of social support;

- Family problems; and

- Problems with the criminal justice system.

The personal narratives which were presented in the second half of Chapter Two told a very different story, however. Instead of focusing on the negative characteristics associated with homeless veterans only, they emphasized their dignity, resilience, kindness, vulnerability and humanity. They also stressed the collective community responsibility to change our own behaviors so that the attitudinal and other barriers which deny the humanity of homeless people are broken down. They advocate both individual and systemic change.

Chapter Three provided the methodology for this thesis. This methodology involves a combination of ethnography and insider research. The challenges and advantages of insider research were discussed – and the hope of this research was that veterans would trust another veteran more than they would a civilian. The shared knowledge, language, and experiences of being a veteran inspired this thesis and inspired other veterans to participate. My deep engagement with local veteran agencies also helped to reinforce the credibility of this thesis.

Chapter Four provided the results and analysis section of the thesis. It discussed the ethnographic fieldwork which was conducted, including discussing the process of 90

entering the field and negotiating a relationship with the key gatekeeper. Relationships with other major organizations in the field were also discussed. Chapter Four also provided the responses of four homeless veterans to the Veteran Homelessness Scale.

This scale was a useful way of engaging people in discussions about the broader causes of veteran homelessness, but it also led some individuals to share their stories. Four individual stories are presented in Chapter Four. These stories are framed in terms of the key research question – “Why do veterans become homeless?” – and the experiences of these individuals are used to highlight the ways they could have been better supported so that they did not fall between the cracks and did not become homeless.

There is a need for more research on this topic which does not simply paint a negative picture of homeless veterans and treat them as a collation of risk factors. These risk factors are areas where veterans can be better supported. Veterans with a TBI or

PTSD can be better supported so that they do not experience homelessness. They can be better assisted into the VA and disability systems before discharge. People with psychological or physical health problems can be connected with appropriate treatment centers before discharge, or immediately upon discharge. Connecting with the VA should not be so difficult that people wait until they are housed before they feel capable of doing it. When veterans become homeless because of these flaws in the system, they are being let down by a nation that owes them a lot more. They deserve better.

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