5068.0 New research on homeless veterans: Exploring services, subgroups, special impacts, and treatment outcomes

Wednesday, November 10, 2010: 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Oral
At any point in time about one-third of the adult homeless population consists of veterans. Current population estimates suggest that 130,000 to 150,00 veterans are homeless on any given night and perhaps twice as many experience homelessness at some point during the course of a year. Homeless veterans now receive housing assistance and housing supportive services in a variety of VA and community programs that provide a broad range of alternatives to facilitate permanent housing solutions. As these programs have evolved, increasing research effort has been directed to evaluation of program outcomes. A review of this literature reveals that the outcome paradigms have typically focused on mental health characteristics (e.g., serious mental illness, substance abuse) of veterans and program elements (e.g., transitional housing with mental health treatment support) as factors influencing outcome. More recent research in veteran homeles! sness has taken a broader view, recognizing the importance of more comprehensive assessment of the veteran receiving services and of the programs providing these services. In this symposium, we introduce recent studies reflecting this research effort. These studies provide the results of investigations of: the impact of disaster on homeless veterans, defining characteristics of the special population of elderly homeless veterans, the relative impact of active substance abuse profiles on short-term transitional housing outcomes, and analysis of empirically based elements of community-based housing services.
Session Objectives: Identify at least two new topic areas that are the focus of evolving research on homeless veterans and veteran’s housing programs
Moderator:

8:45am
Comparison of mental health utilization among homeless veterans following the 2004-2005 florida hurricane seasons
Edward Hickling, PsyD, Lisa M. Brown, PhD, William Lapcevic, MSST, MPH, Robert Campbell, JD, MPH, PhD, Ron Olney, PhD, Kathryn Frahm, PhD, Gustave Sison, PhD, John Schinka, PhD and Scott D. Barnett, PhD
9:00am
Characteristics of homelessness among the older veteran population
Lisa M. Brown, PhD, Kathryn Frahm, PhD, Lawrence Schonfeld, PhD, Victor Molinari, PhD, John Schinka, PhD and Roger Casey, PhD

See individual abstracts for presenting author's disclosure statement and author's information.

Organized by: Mental Health
Endorsed by: Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs, Caucus on Homelessness, Peace Caucus

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)

See more of: Mental Health