Unsheltered Homelessness Among Veterans: Correlates and Profiles.
We identified correlates of unsheltered status among Veterans experiencing homelessness and described distinct subgroups within the unsheltered homeless Veteran population using data from a screening instrument for homelessness that is administered to all Veterans accessing outpatient care at a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facility. Correlates of unsheltered homelessness included male gender, white race, older age, lower levels of VHA eligibility, substance use disorders, frequent use of VHA inpatient and infrequent use of VHA outpatient services, and residing in the West. We identified six distinct subgroups of unsheltered Veterans; the tri-morbid frequent users represented the highest need group, but the largest group was comprised of Veterans who made highly infrequent use of VHA healthcare services. Differences between sheltered and unsheltered Veterans and heterogeneity within the unsheltered Veteran population should be considered in targeting housing and other interventions.
Boston University School of Social Work, 264 Bay State Rd., Boston, MA, 02215, USA. tbyrne@bu.edu.|U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans, 4100 Chester Ave, Suite 201, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA. tbyrne@bu.edu.
Thomas
T
Byrne
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans, 4100 Chester Ave, Suite 201, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA. Ann.montgomery@va.gov.
Ann Elizabeth
AE
Montgomery
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans, 4100 Chester Ave, Suite 201, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA. Jamison.fargo@usu.edu.|Department of Psychology, Utah State University, 2810 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT, 84322, USA. Jamison.fargo@usu.edu.
Jamison D
JD
Fargo
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D057286:Electronic Health Records; D005260:Female; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D058014:Veterans Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
Homelessness; Latent class analysis; Serious mental illness; Substance use disorders; Veterans