Homelessness in America: Research Paper

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Should the people who fight to protect our homes get paid more? For the first time since 2010, troops have seen a pay raise of more than 3.0 %. And they may not have to wait another decade before the next one arrives. But is that enough? About 11% of the adult homeless population are veterans. Also, homeless veterans are younger on average than the total veteran population. And why should this be? This is the problem I want to get solved. Why should soldiers get paid less than minimum wage? While some people say that with all the benefits they get from other companies they shouldn't need to get paid more, veterans and active duty should get paid more than they are now because higher pay would help veterans tremendously. Veterans fight for our safety only to come home and go through financial hardships which makes them some of the most underpaid people in America. Veterans are 50% more likely to become homeless than other Americans thanks to poverty, lack of support networks, and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing. About 1.5 million veterans are considered at risk of homelessness. At risk is defined as being below the poverty line and paying quite 50% of household income on rent. It also includes households with a member who features a disability, an individual living alone, and people who aren't within the labor pool. Research shows that the best risk factors for homelessness are lack of support and social isolation after discharge. Veterans have low marriage rates and high divorce rates; and, now, 1 in 5 veterans lives alone. Social networks are particularly important for those that have a crisis or need temporary help. Without this help, they're at high risk for homelessness. Nearly half of 1,000,000,467,877 veterans are severely rent burdened and paying quite 50% of their income for rent. More than half of veterans with severe housing cost burdens fell below the poverty line and 43% received food stamps. Approximately 45% of the 1.6 million veterans from the Middle East are seeking disability compensation. The average weight to urge a disability claim processed is now eight months. Payments range from $127 per month for a 10% disability to $2,769 for a full disability in addition to the complex set of factors influencing all homelessness.

With the increase of pay for every soldier in the military and its veterans this could help much with decreasing veterans homelessness. This could help with the decrease of 11% of veterans' homelessness and just overall could help calm soldiers coming from combat zones because that would be one less thing on their minds that they have to worry about. People still say that veterans get a lot of benefits once they get out of service and with that they should be able to hold their own which is mostly true veterans do get a bit of benefits once out of the service but those benefits mean nothing if those soldiers can’t understand what those benefits are and how to be responsible with their money. They also say that instead of increasing the pay we should give veterans or even soldiers classes or some way to teach soldiers how to use their money wisely. Giving soldiers and veterans that opportunity to get help with being financially literate is a great thing but soldiers making a minimum of 20,000k a year is not a good thing for someone that is willing to sacrifice their life to protect us and then not even have enough money to live stable. Homelessness is a complex social problem with a variety of underlying economic and social factors such as poverty, lack of affordable housing, uncertain physical and mental health, addictions, and community and family breakdown. These factors, in varying combinations, contribute to duration, frequency, and type of homelessness. To be fully homeless is to live without shelter; however, many experience partial homelessness which can include uncertain, temporary, or substandard shelter. Homelessness is difficult to define, thus governments struggle with uncertainty when creating and implementing policies they hope will effectively manage or eradicate this problem. According to a study in 2014, veterans are slightly more likely than non-veterans to be homeless 9.7% of the general population are veterans, but 12.3% of the homeless population are veterans. These risk factors were found by using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. This is the first systematic review to summarize research on risk factors for US veterans experiencing homelessness. They evaluated 31 studies from 1987 through 2014. The risk factors that are most common among this population are substance abuse disorders and poor mental health, followed by low income and other income-related issues, a lack of support from family and friends, or weak social networks. Homeless veterans are at high risk for co-occurring disorders, defined as mental illnesses that include at least one alcohol or other drug use disorder and at least one non-drug related mental disorder. However, epidemiological studies examining the prevalence of COD and associated mental health status in this population are limited. The goals of the study were to describe a history of diagnosed mental disorders among homeless veterans admitted to a transitional housing program, and to check the associations of the earlier diagnosed COD and other mental disorders with current mental health status.

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Military spending by the federal government is often considered vital support to employment and economic recovery. Clean energy and health care spending create 50 % more jobs than the equal amount of spending on the military. Education spending creates more than twice as many jobs. Many people already don’t like how much money the military spends on its own and increasing the spending to pay soldiers better just means more money the military gets. According to some economists, increasing military spending by $106 billion could create an extra 1 million jobs. 16 Moreover, accelerating the recruitment effort would give jobs to 36,000 men and women in the next year, providing employment at a time when it is sorely needed. Still, there is an extreme shortage of affordable housing, livable income, and access to good health care. A large number of displaced and at-risk veterans live with lingering effects of post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse, which are compounded by a lack of family and social support networks. Additionally, military occupations and training are not always transferable to the civilian workforce, placing some veterans at a disadvantage when competing for employment. A top priority for homeless veterans is secure, safe, clean housing that offers a supportive environment free of drugs and alcohol. Since 2009, the rate of veteran homelessness has been nearly sliced in half. With an overall decrease of nearly 50 percent of this population, and three states and 57 communities having almost ended veteran homelessness within their borders, efforts between VA, DOL, and HUD have clearly been successful. However, this should not create complacency, as major metropolitan areas saw slight increases in their homeless veteran populations between 2016 and 2017. This impressive rate of progress over recent years is in part due to VA using various evidence-based practices such as Housing First, Getting to Outcomes, and Maintaining Independence and Sobriety Through Systems Integration, Outreach and Networking: Veterans Edition. By implementing these programs with case management teams serving homeless veterans VA has been able to target veterans who struggle with comorbidities that add to their risk of homelessness, while helping them get a stable roof over their heads. These practices include but are not limited to, programs such as Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing vouchers, Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program, and Supportive Services for Veteran Families. The hud vash program is a collaborative program between hud and VA that emphasizes the Housing First model of care. In this program, homeless veterans receive a housing choice rental voucher from hud, which is paired with VA case management and supportive services to sustain housing stability and recovery from physical and mental health programs that may give to or result from homelessness. Approximately half of the veterans who have used this program have accomplished their goals or no longer need services. In 2016, hud vash housed 72,481 veterans. However, veterans fortunate enough to get hud vash vouchers also face difficulties. The VFW’s service officers have reported in various cities that their homeless veterans sometimes prefer sleeping under a bridge to living in unsafe neighborhoods eligible through their vouchers. With a high percentage of homeless veterans suffering from poor mental health, the VFW does not believe they should be forced to struggle with their PTSD in some of the most unsafe neighborhoods in the country. Nor should survivors of sexual trauma be forced to choose between homelessness and a neighborhood where their homes have been broken into and they are harassed on the streets. The VFW urges Congress, VA, and HUD to work together with local VAs to find solutions best for those cities to make sure hud vash vouchers put veterans in safe and secure housing.

Still, While some people say that with all the benefits they get from other companies, they shouldn't need to get paid more, Veterans and active duty should get paid more than they are now because higher pay would help veterans tremendously. Veterans fought for our safety only to come home and go through financial hardships, and make them some of the most underpaid people in America. The question on whether this is possible or not is not a question already a year ago the 2020 military pay increase was increased by 3.1% as announced by the Department of Defense on December 12, 2020. The DoD labels this increase as “the largest in a decade” and in fact, it is the largest since a 3.4% increase in 2010. So the US is already in a good place to continue to increase the soldiers' payments. The main issue that the US could see from doing this is that the military spending will increase and the price tag often reaches billions of dollars. This is usually the single largest line item in the budget of any country. This is not a good situation considering the fact that defense spending should not be more than spending on health and education. Military spending tends to have a negative impact on economic growth. Over a 20-year period, a 1% increase in military spending will decrease a country's economic growth by 9%. Increased military spending is especially harmful to the economic growth of wealthier countries at the same time, so we could help bring down suicide rates as well and take the percentages down because the 37% suicide rate is awful to think that these people don’t get the help from their military once they're out.

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Homelessness in America: Research Paper. (2023, September 19). Edubirdie. Retrieved April 28, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/homelessness-in-america-research-paper/
“Homelessness in America: Research Paper.” Edubirdie, 19 Sept. 2023, edubirdie.com/examples/homelessness-in-america-research-paper/
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Homelessness in America: Research Paper [Internet]. Edubirdie. 2023 Sept 19 [cited 2024 Apr 28]. Available from: https://edubirdie.com/examples/homelessness-in-america-research-paper/
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