Characteristics and use of services among literally homeless and unstably housed U.S. veterans with custody of minor children

Tsai, J., Rosenheck, R. A., Kasprow, W. J., & Kane, V. (2015). Characteristics and use of services among literally homeless and unstably housed U.S. veterans with custody of minor children. Psychiatric Services, 66(10), 1083–1090. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201400300

Homelessness among veterans with young children is not well understood. Specifically, there is a lack of understanding regarding how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides services to homeless veterans with children. This study used secondary data drawn from the Homeless Operations Management and Evaluation System (HOMES) to examine the extent to which housing status (literally homeless vs. unstably housed, imminent risk of losing housing), gender, and child custody were associated with physical and mental health conditions as well as admission into housing programs among veterans referred to VA homeless programs. In total, data from 89,142 veterans (men, n = 81,046, women, n = 8,096; literally homeless, n = 67,410; unstably housed, n = 21,732; custody of minor children, n = 11,777) were included in the analyses. The results revealed that gender and child custody (but not housing differences) played an integral role in health conditions, such that both men and women with custody of minor children reported few physical and mental health conditions

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