Roadblocks to Housing after Disaster: Homeless Veterans’ Experiences after Hurricane Sandy (original) (raw)
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Use of outpatient mental health services by homeless veterans after hurricanes
Psychological Services, 2013
Little is known about the impact of hurricanes on people who are homeless at the time a disaster occurs. Although researchers have extensively studied the psychosocial consequences of disaster produced homelessness on the general population, efforts focused on understanding how homeless people fare have been limited to a few media reports and the gray literature. In the event of a hurricane, homeless veterans may be at increased risk for negative outcomes because of their cumulative vulnerabilities. Health care statistics consistently document that homeless veterans experience higher rates of medical, emotional, substance abuse, legal, and financial problems compared with the general population. This study used the 2004 to 2006 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Outpatient Medical Dataset to examine the effects of hurricanes on use of outpatient mental health services by homeless veterans. Homeless veterans residing in hurricane-affected counties were significantly more likely to participate in group psychotherapy (32.4% vs. 13.4%, p Ͻ .002), but less likely to participate in individual 30-40-min sessions with medical evaluations (3.5% vs. 17.3%, p Ͻ .001). The study findings have implications for homeless programs and the provision of VHA mental health services to homeless veterans postdisaster.
Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community, 2009
This study examined whether social support tied to relocation efforts and neighborhood social climate may mediate the effects of stressful life events on mental health outcomes following Hurricane Katrina. Participants were 108 adult persons made homeless by Hurricane Katrina and evacuated to Columbia, SC. Civic leaders developed an intervention model that emphasized (a) a one-stop point of entry, (b) living in hotels and apartments rather than shelters, and (c) matching hotels with volunteer "hosts" to assist in relocation efforts. Results revealed that perceived neighborhood factors and satisfaction with host relationship were related to several mental health outcomes. Neighborhood social climate partially mediated several mental health outcomes. Implications of this intervention model and the utility of social ecological perspectives on homelessness interventions are discussed.
Access to Care for Homeless Veterans During Disasters
Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 2018
Introduction: Since 1970, natural disasters have led to both temporary and permanent closures of multiple medical centers and outpatient clinics at the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) nationwide. Access to care during such events is critical for vulnerable populations, especially homeless veterans. As such, facility closures may disproportionately affect homeless veteran patients who are both more likely to experience adverse effects from disasters and face multiple barriers to care. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was administered to a probability sample of 2000 homeless VA patients living in and receiving VA health care in the Northeast United States. The survey was completed by 383 respondents (20% adjusted response rate). This pilot study examines predictors of difficulty accessing care in the event that the VA facility that homeless VA patients routinely use is forced to close because of a natural disaster. Results: In a multivariate logistic regression, homeless VA patients who had Medicaid were less likely (OR 0.38; 95% CI: 0.18-0.78; P < .01) to report that they would have difficulty obtaining care elsewhere if their normal VA facility was closed in a future natural disaster. Conclusions: Findings suggest that Medicaid coverage has the potential to facilitate access to care for homeless veteran VA patients during disasters. Policy changes that decrease Medicaid coverage could limit access to care for homeless veterans during closures of VA medical facilities.
Shelter, Housing and Recovery: A Comparison of U.S. Disasters
Disasters, 1991
In this paper we examine the issues associated with the tempora y sheltering and housing of victims after natural disasters in the United States. Specific topics addressed include differential access to shelter and housing aid according to social cluss, ethnicity and related demographic factors; the relationship betzueen post-disaster shelter and housing and long-term recovey; the role of social support networks in the sheltering of victims; and the implications of the research for the provision of shelter and housing aid after disasters.
2019
Social vulnerability acknowledges that social structures shape disaster vulnerabilities and recovery outcomes. Public housing residents are one of the most socially vulnerable people that experience significant losses in disasters. Many factors, such as lower income and limited access to information, cause a delay in the housing recovery of public housing tenants. To explore these challenges, I examined the disaster impacts and recovery of public housing units in Lumberton, North Carolina, following the floods induced by Hurricane Matthew in 2016. This research is a part of an interdisciplinary recovery-based field study conducted by the Center of Excellence for Community Resilience Planning funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Hurricane Matthew made landfall in North Carolina on October 8, 2016, as a Category 1 storm. Several communities, including Lumberton, were devastated by heavy rainfall and the river flooding that occurred after Hurricane Matthew. Lum...
2011
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are pleased to present Veteran Homelessness: A Supplemental Report to the 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. This second annual supplemental report is intended to provide policymakers, practitioners, and the general public with information about the extent and nature of veteran homelessness. The information provided in this report advances the federal effort to end homelessness among veterans in 5 years-as described in the 2010 Federal Strategic Plan to End Homelessness and the VA's plan to end veteran homelessness-through the collection of timely data on veteran homelessness. Representing the ongoing and coordinated commitment between HUD and the VA to end and prevent homelessness among those who have served in our nation's military, this Veteran Supplemental Report provides both 1-day and 1-year estimates of the number of homeless veterans in the United States. In addition to the snapshot and annual estimates, this report describes the demographic characteristics of homeless veterans, including race, ethnicity, gender, age, and disability status. These characteristics are compared to those of other populations including the non-veteran homeless population, the total veteran population, and the population of veterans living in poverty. These comparisons highlight the higher risks of homelessness faced by veterans, particularly poor veterans. Also discussed in this report are the locations of homeless veterans across the country as well as how they access and use the homeless residential system. Finally, annual comparisons of estimates are made to suggest how homelessness among veterans is changing over time. A summary of major findings is provided below. Estimates of Veteran Homelessness On a single night in January 2010, 76,329 veterans were living in emergency shelter, in transitional housing, or in an unsheltered place (e.g., on the streets, in cars, or in abandoned buildings). Approximately 57 percent of those homeless on a single night were sheltered-in emergency shelter or transitional housing-and 43 percent were unsheltered.
Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 2018
Hurricane Sandy was the greatest natural disaster to ever impact public housing residents in New York City. It affected approximately 80,000 residents in 400 buildings in 33 developments throughout the city. The storm left residents without power, heat, or running water, yet many chose not to evacuate. This qualitative study was conducted to understand the impact of Sandy among this socially, physically, and geographically vulnerable population. It is the first known study to examine the impact of disasters in high-rise, high-density public housing as a unique risk environment. Findings demonstrate (1) broad impacts to homes, health and access to resources, (2) complex evacuation decision-making, (3) varied sources of support in the response and recovery phases, and (4) lessons learned in preparedness. Results are contextualized within an original conceptual framework-"resilience reserve"-that explains the phenomenon of delayed recovery stemming from enactments of resilien...
American Journal of Disaster Medicine, 2014
Objective: To evaluate mental health outcomes among New Jersey shore residents with health impairments and disabilities after Hurricane Sandy. Design and setting: Six months following Hurricane Sandy, a cross-sectional survey of 200 adults residing in beach communities directly exposed to the storm located in Monmouth County, NJ, was conducted. Main outcome measures: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, mental health service use, and medication use. Results: The average age of residents surveyed was 59 years (SD = 13.7) and 52.5 percent (95% CI = 45.5-59.4) reported recent hospitalizations, physical limitations, fair to poor health status, multiple chronic health conditions, or physical disabilities. A total of 14.5 percent (95% CI = 10.2-20.1) of residents screened positive for PTSD and 6.0 percent (95% CI = 3.1-10.2) met criteria for depression 6 months after Sandy. In addition, 20.5 percent (95% CI = 15.4-26.7) sought some type of professional counseling after Sandy and 30.5 percent (95% CI = 24.5-37.3) experienced PTSD symptoms, depression, sought professional mental health support, or used psychotropic medications. In multivariate analyses, the best predictors of mental health and service use were having sleep problems, suicidal thoughts, moderate or severe pain, and having high exposure hurricane-related events. Analyses also suggested that noncollege graduates were more likely to receive mental health services (OR = 3.10, p = 0.009), while women were less likely to have depression (OR = 0.12, p = 0.038). Conclusion: Having physical impairments and health conditions were not directly related to adverse mental health outcomes following Sandy, but having sleep problems, pain, or suicidal thoughts were. Further research is needed to assess the health status of community residents with serious health impairments over time following disasters.
Housing Policy Debate, 2015
This article assesses the extent and predictors of homelessness among Veterans(both Veterans in families with children and single adults Veterans) exiting the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program, which is a nationwide homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing program geared primarily towards those experiencing crisis homelessness. Among rapid rehousing participants, 16% and 26% of single adult Veterans experienced an episode of homelessness at one and two years post-SSVF exit; the comparable figures at those follow-up times for Veterans in families were 9.4% and 15.5%, respectively. Relatively fewer single adult Veterans and Veterans in families receiving homelessness prevention services experienced an episode of homelessness at one and two years post-SSVF exit. Veteran-level characteristics, including age, gender, prior history of homelessness and recent engagement with VA healthcare were generally more salient predictors of homelessness following SSVF exit than variables measuring SSVF program factors, or community-level housing market conditions.