Homelessness risk among women veterans

Homelessness persists as a public health problem in the United States and is associated with many negative health, economic, and social outcomes. One group that is overrepresented within the homeless population is U.S. Veterans: on one day in January 2012, more than 62,000 Veterans were homeless. Although only 8% of homeless Veterans are female, their risk of homelessness is three times that of non-Veterans. Prior research has identified violence and abuse as precursors to homelessness among women in general and female Veterans specifically; other risk factors include adolescent childbearing, low-wage employment or unemployment, lack of affordable housing, disability, poor health, and post-traumatic stress or anxiety disorder.

To identify Veterans at risk of homelessness—or experiencing homelessness but not accessing services—the National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans developed a hospital-based universal screen for housing instability and risk. During its first quarter of implementation, this screen was administered to almost 1.4 million Veterans seeking primary care services, more than 107,000 of whom were female. These initial data indicate that female Veterans were more likely than male Veterans to report homelessness (1.1% vs. 0.9%) and risk for homelessness (1.8% vs. 1.2%).

Using data collected during the first year of implementation of this universal screener—as well as information from Veterans' electronic medical records—this presentation will discuss gender differences in demographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, and health services utilization patterns for Veterans at risk of homelessness. These findings will inform strategies specifically for homelessness prevention interventions for female Veterans.