Thursday, March 26, 2015
Jonas Center Release Homelessness Report Targeting Female Veterans
Roughly 34,000 female veterans are homeless, and many have children who share the burden, according to the report. The authors estimate that the VA currently spends approximately $136,000 in services for every homeless veteran – “nearly every penny of it after the veteran has become homeless. Very little attention is paid toward prevention. We need a paradigm shift,” noted Castro. In 2010, the White House Veterans Affairs (VA) unveiled a plan to end veteran homelessness by the end of 2015 and although the numbers appear to be decreasing, it has not yet attained that goal.
According to the report, female veterans encounter a series of challenges that put them at risk for homelessness as they transition out of the military into civilian communities. These come atop physical and mental health issues they may have incurred during their military service. They may also have limited transferrable career skills and difficulty adjusting to new self-identities in civilian culture....