G.I. Jane Needs A Place to Sleep (Article 1 of 4-part Series About Women Veteran Homelessness)

Date Posted: Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Category: Housing/Experiencing Homelessness - National

This article is the first in a four-part series titled "Coming Out of the Shadows: Women Veterans and Homelessness." It explores why women veterans experiencing homelessness are under-represented in homeless person counts, published statistics, and related reports. It suggests they often remain "in the shadows" because they do not present in "typical" homeless settings, but instead, "couch surf/double up" with friends and family as long as they can, stay in cars, and/or remain in relationships characterized by domestic violence amongst other arrangements. These unstable housing situations are not, by agency definition derived from law, necessarily considered as homelessness in federal agencies like the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Amongst root causes of their homelessness, military sexual trauma is considered a prevalent factor. In comparison with male homeless veterans, women veterans are more often single parents with children who do not want to lose custody of their children.

Read the full article at: The Huffington Post