Heroes or Hopeless? Homeless Veterans Caught in a Dysfunctional System
It is suggested that a dysfunctional system for obtaining veterans' benefits contributes to veterans becoming, and remaining, homeless, and proposed reforms will be presented.
Abstract
I. INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM A. National Demographics B. Michigan's Homeless Veterans II. CAUSES AND CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO VETERANS' HOMELESSNESS III. CURRENT VA STATUTES, REGULATIONS, AND PROCEDURES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROBLEM OF HOMELESSNESS A. Benefits Available to Veterans 1. Pension Benefits 2. Disability Compensation for Service-Connected Injuries or Illnesses B. Difficulties in Obtaining Benefits 1. Who Is Eligible? 2. Delays in Determination of Eligibility 3. Common Bars to Benefits a. Length of Service b. Character of Discharge c. Alcohol and Drug Use 4. Development of Evidence and Need for Corroboration 5. Rating System 430 6. Limitation on Attorney Representation IV. PROGRAMS THAT ASSIST HOMELESS VETERANS A. VA Programs B. Programs for Homeless Veterans in Southeastern Michigan 1. VA Domiciliary Rehabilitation Treatment Program: Detroit VA Medical Center 2. Michigan Veterans Foundation Detroit Veterans Center 3. Piquette Square, a Project of Southwest Solutions 4. Southeastern Michigan Veterans Stand Down 5. Veterans' Courts V. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTED REFORMS I. INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM It has been recognized for some time that veterans are overrepresented in the homeless population. (2) Various reasons have been proffered for the overrepresentation. This article will summarize the current state of homelessness among veterans, and discuss the relationship between homelessness and ability to obtain monetary veterans' benefits. It is suggested that a dysfunctional system for obtaining veterans' benefits contributes to veterans becoming, and remaining, homeless. Some proposed reforms will be presented. A. National Demographics The 2011 "point-in-time" estimate of homelessness among veterans is that 67,495 veterans were homeless in the United States. (3) That figure represents approximately fourteen percent of all homeless adults. (4) The good news is that this figure reflects a decline of nearly twelve percent in homelessness among veterans since January 2010. (5) An estimated fifty-nine percent of these veterans were sheltered, while forty-one percent were unsheltered, in 2011. (6) According to a joint study conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, "in 2010, homeless veterans accounted for 1 in 150 veterans and 1 in 9 veterans living in poverty." (7) "Veterans are overrepresented among the homeless," as they account for less than ten percent of the total adult population in the U.S. (8) The typical profile of a veteran living in a homeless shelter is a male (ninety-two percent of homeless veterans), between the ages of fifty-one and sixty-one (forty-one percent), who has some type of disability (fifty-one percent). (9) Veterans who currently are most at risk of being homeless are those who served during the Vietnam era. (10) Reasons given for this include a higher incidence of substance abuse in this group and selection of more "potentially ineligible" recruits for service. (11) The 100,000 Homes Campaign (12) found that veterans were homeless approximately two years longer than their non-veteran counterparts. (13) That survey also disclosed that, among veterans who had been homeless for more than two years, more than sixty-one percent reported a serious physical health condition, fifty-five percent reported a mental health problem, seventy-six percent reported substance abuse, and thirty-two percent reported all three.In Homeless veterans are older than nonveterans; 21.3% were over the age of sixty, compared to 9.4% of homeless non-veterans. (15) Women comprise only a small segment (approximately eight percent) of homeless veterans, and "only 7% of the total veteran population. …