The use of data to assist in the design of a new service system for homeless veterans in New York City.
OBJECTIVE
Operation Home is an agreement between the City of New York and the US Department of Veterans Affairs to design a new service system to help end veteran homelessness in New York City. The authors' task was to obtain data to inform the design of this new system.


METHODS
A variety of methods were used. The group reviewed relevant literature and data from street homeless survey samples, analyzed shelter data, and consulted with VA homeless program staff on the findings. We then surveyed case managers at a veterans' shelter regarding their clients and determined their housing eligibility using a standardized logic model, and led two focus groups of veterans at this shelter regarding their views of the current shelter system and services for homeless veterans and how these might be improved.


RESULTS
Among those resident in shelters during 2006, 37.2% of self-identified veterans compared to 0.9% of others reported their prior residence as supported housing, suggesting the need for more intensive case management at veterans' supported housing sites to help them sustain their tenure. The lack of interconnectedness among the various information systems made it more difficult to collect and analyze pertinent data. To begin to address this, a data match was undertaken to estimate the proportion of veterans resident in the veterans' shelter who were not in receipt of VA benefits to which they may be entitled.


CONCLUSIONS
The data obtained through collaboration between staff from NYC's Department of Homelessness Services, US Department of Veterans Affairs facilities in the New York/New Jersey region and Common Ground Community led to information that informed the evaluation design of the new system. The identification of gaps in available data on homeless veterans will lead to projects both to improve and share data.
Evaluation and Health Services Research, VISN 3 MIRECC, James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY, 10468, USA. Rosalind.Henderson@va.gov
Claire
C
Henderson
Jay
J
Bainbridge
Kim
K
Keaton
Martha
M
Kenton
Meghan
M
Guz
Becky
B
Kanis
D000328:Adult; D019090:Case Management; D005260:Female; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D015279:Organizational Culture; D011638:Public Housing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*