Summary / Overview

In 2009, President Obama and Secretary Shinseki committed to ending homelessness among Veterans. In support of that effort, the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness 2010 developed by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) established as one of its goals to prevent and end homelessness among Veterans in five years. An understanding of the epidemiology of homelessness among Veterans and the methodological strengths and weaknesses of this evidence base may inform program-planning efforts and future research needs. Understanding the risk factors for homelessness among Veterans and how these risk factors compare to the general population is important in developing identification and prevention programs for Veterans at risk for homelessness. This report was requested by VA Central Office and The National Center for Homelessness Among Veterans as part of that effort to identify what is known and what is not known about the prevalence of homelessness among Veterans, and about the risk factors for homelessness among Veterans, including risk factors related to military service and incarceration.

The key questions were:

See also

• Cyber Seminar on ESP Report: Homelessness Among Veterans:
  video | slides | audio
• A Review of the Literature: Homelessness among Veterans (VA HSR&D Management e-Brief)