A Thesis Entitled Veteran Homelessness
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A Thesis entitled Veteran Homelessness: Protecting our Protectors by Ann Marie Sifuentes The University of Toledo May 2018 Copyright 2018, Ann Marie Sifuentes 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 by 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 vii 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 viii 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 ix 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