Research Proposal Part 2

Homeless Veterans and Mental Illnesses

Introduction

Homelessness is a problem that affects approximately 140,000 veterans every year and on a given night, 60,000 veterans are usually without a home according to the research conducted by the National Center on Homelessness among Veterans for the Veterans Affair (VA). Most of the homeless veterans are male’s returning from the service with wounds and scars, most of them cannot always be seen. Many of the veteran’s mental illnesses such as those related to substance abuse, PTSD, anxiety, and depression, among other disorders, are the main obstacles that the veterans face in the finding and the maintenance of a secure housing. It is therefore imperative for them to be offered mental health services with the aim of assisting them to become stable. This research aims at looking at homeless veterans and how mental illnesses contributes to this problem. The paper also describes homelessness as the social problem and the need for change, the vision of the desired change or improvement of the conditions, and lastly the project objectives.

Description of a social problem in need of change

Homelessness refers to the condition whereby people do not have a permanent shelter or dwelling such as a house or even an apartment (McNamara, 2008). The people who are homeless usually experience challenges in the acquiring of this, as well as the maintenance of a safe, regular, adequate, and secure housing. Homelessness is a very big issue and there is a great need for the solution to be obtained. This research focuses on the homeless veteran and how mental illness contributes to the problem of homelessness.

The article, “Reducing Homelessness in Veterans with Mental Illness,” by Jackson, (2013), denotes that about 140,000 veterans are affected by homelessness every year. Approximately 60,000 veterans don’t have a home to sleep in every single night. This article reveals that the numbers have a positive downward slide due to the dramatic decline of the numbers in the last six years. Efforts have been put in place to eradicate homelessness. Some of the approaches that have been adopted include; dedicated outreach, the use of the housing first approach, adoption of an array of housing programs, and the provision of the homeless-specific services by the VA, which are continuously calculating these statistics.

Mental health issues are the main causes of homelessness by many of the veterans. These mental health issues include; anxiety, substance abuse, depression, PTSD and other disorders. To add on to this, social-economic disadvantages and lack of affordable options also make it difficult for the veterans to find and maintain a secure housing. The mental illnesses contribute to the problem of housing in many ways. One particular way is the fact that mental illnesses usually makes it difficult for an individual to obtain the necessary skills, support, and also take advantage of the opportunities that are available for economic development, development of good family, social relationships, and housing. This thus leads to the shutting down of the ability of an individual to hope and cope with the prevailing situations.

Another way in which mental illnesses contribute to the problem of housing, is lack of affordability and the problems with the family members and the landlords. In this, a veteran with mental illnesses and do not have disabilities that are related to the military services usually live on a fixed income of about 640 dollars every month, and they thus can’t afford to obtain housing in the private market. On the other hand, due to the mental illnesses, veterans may lose their houses due to conflicts with their families, landlords, or due to the extended hospitalizations which prevents them from affording their rent every month. This project would potentially be implemented in Washington DC; it’s one of the states in the United States which has the largest number of homeless people.

To change the problem of homelessness, there is a need for the VA not to carry the whole burden itself, but to allow the communities involved to carry out their responsibility of combating homelessness. The VA alone cannot change this social problem, and it thus needs to work hand in hand with the communities in Washington, and other states, so that people can realize that the responsibility of veterans is in the hands of all. There should be cooperation among all the people so that a solution to the multi-layered problem can be obtained. The non-profit organizations and businesses should come up and offer job opportunities to these veterans so that they can be able to earn a living.

This action research project is very relevant in that it will lead to the obtaining of an integral model of offering support and treatment to the veterans. In this, the peer support people, employment staff, social workers, clinicians and the housing specialists should work hand in hand so that they can have an equal voice in the model and get an understanding of the interaction of the services and system, as well as, the delivery of the best employment practices. This proposed action could assist in getting a solution to the problem because unemployment and underemployment are the main causes of homelessness and a fast work strategy should accompany the housing first strategy. This is essential in the prevention of veterans’ homelessness.

Vision of Desired Change or Improved Conditions

The idea of the desired change is to reduce the homelessness among the veterans and determine how mental illnesses contributes to homelessness. The proposed action research will aid in bringing out the desired change and improved conditions in that it will assist in knowing the causes of the homeless and hence the appropriate measures will be adopted to assist in finding a solution to the problem at hand. When the causes of homelessness are well known, the veterans will be advised on the best course of action to take and they will be treated in the cause of the mental illnesses to ensure that if they already have houses and that they maintain a good relationship with the family members and landlords in order to avoid losing their houses. The other intention of the project is to assist the veterans who are unemployed to secure jobs in the community so that they can be in a position to afford the rent. This will greatly aid in the solving of the problem because unemployment and underemployment are considered as one of the causes of homelessness.

Project Objectives

One of the steps that I will take to achieve the vision change and the project change is to ensure that the veterans who have the mental illnesses have access to medication. Most of the veterans usually suffer from invisible wounds, and it is thus important to ensure that they access the necessary mental health services to ensure that their emotional scars are healed. Healing of these scars greatly reduces the risk of homelessness among the veterans and also helps them to get stable and independent (Tanielian, & Jaycox, 2008). The other step that I will take to achieve the vision change and project change, is to work hand in hand with the peer support people, employment staff, social workers and the housing specialists among others to ensure that they deliver the best services to the veterans. Lastly, I will also ensure that an integrated model of support and treatment is adopted to assist the veterans who are homeless and suffering from mental illnesses receives the necessary medication and get a dwelling place. Homelessness amongst veterans is not a new issue. It is something that has been going on for decades. It is not something that will disappear on its own. Taking step as I have stated, can help in achieving the vision change and can lead to many areas being one step closer to ending this growing problem.

References

Jackson, K, (2013). Reducing Homelessness in Veterans With Mental Illness. Social work Today. Retrieved from http://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/051313p8.shtml

McNamara, R. (2008). Homelessness in America. Westport, Conn: Praeger.

Tanielian, T. & Jaycox, L. (2008). Invisible wounds of war : psychological and cognitive injuries, their consequences, and services to assist recovery. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Center for Military Health Policy Research.