Addressing homelessness among veterans has been a top policy priority for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) since 2009. Part of the multitiered strategy to prevent and end homelessness among veterans was the implementation of a universal screen for housing instability among all veteran outpatients at VA facilities. Data from more than six million veterans responding to this screen have provided insight into veterans’ housing instability, as well as the characteristics of individuals and structural forces that may influence housing insecurity among veterans; the current article synthesizes these findings. Although the universal screen for housing instability has been effective at linking veterans with needed resources, questions remain regarding the best ways to ensure that they remain in safe, affordable, adequate, and permanent housing.
BachhuberMarcusRobertsC. BrentMetrauxStephenMontgomeryAnn Elizabeth. 2015. Screening for homelessness among individuals initiating medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder in the Veterans Health Administration. Journal of Opioid Management11 (6): 459–62.
2.
BurtMartha R.PearsonCarol L.MontgomeryAnn Elizabeth. 2007. Community-wide strategies for preventing homelessness: Recent evidence. Journal of Primary Prevention28:213–28.
3.
ByrneThomas H.CashyJohnMetrauxStephenBlosnichJohn R.CusackMeagan C.CulhaneDennis P.McInnesD. KeithCulhaneEmmett F.MontgomeryAnn Elizabeth. 2020. Examining the association between registered sex offender status and risk of housing instability and homelessness among veterans. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, doi:10.1177/0886260520959646.
4.
ByrneThomas H.FargoJamison D.MontgomeryAnn ElizabethRobertsC. BrentCulhaneDennis P.KaneVincent. 2015. Screening for homelessness in the Veterans Health Administration: Monitoring housing stability through repeat screening. Public Health Reports130:702–10.
5.
ByrneThomas H.MontgomeryAnn ElizabethFargoJamison D. 2016. Unsheltered homelessness among veterans: Correlates and profiles. Community Mental Health Journal52 (2): 148–57.
6.
ByrneThomas H.MontgomeryAnn ElizabethFargoJamison D. 2019. Predictive modeling of housing instability and homelessness in the Veterans Health Administration. Health Services Research Journal54 (1): 75–85.
7.
CarterSarah P.MontgomeryAnn ElizabethHendersonEmmett R.KettererBrianDichterMelissa E.GordonAdam J.ShipherdJillian C.KauthMichael R.BlosnichJohn R. 2019. Housing instability characteristics among transgender veterans cared for in the Veterans Health Administration, 2013–2016. American Journal of Public Health109 (10): 1413–18.
8.
ChhabraManikSorrentinoAnneliese E.CusackMeagan C.DichterMelissa E.MontgomeryAnn ElizabethTrueGala. 2019. Screening for housing instability: VA providers’ reflections on addressing a social determinant of health. Journal of General Internal Medicine34 (7): 1213–19.
9.
CulhaneDennis P.MontgomeryAnn Elizabeth. 2019. Homelessness among military veterans: The United States as a recent case study in political will and evidence-based policymaking. In Street homelessness and Catholic theological ethics, eds. KeenanJames F.McGreevyMark, 63–69. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.
10.
CusackMeagan C.MontgomeryAnn ElizabethHunt-JohnsonNora J.DichterMelissa E.TrueGala. 2019. Making connections: Understanding how screening, triage, and referral processes can promote veteran housing stability. Social Work in Public Health34 (6): 483–91.
11.
FargoJamison D.MetrauxStephenByrneThomas H.MunleyEllen A.MontgomeryAnn ElizabethJonesHarlanSheldonGeorgeCulhaneDennis P. 2012. Prevalence and risk of homelessness among U.S. veterans: A multisite investigation. Preventing Chronic Disease9:110–12.
12.
FargoJamison D.MontgomeryAnn ElizabethByrneThomas H.BrignoneEmilyCusackMeagan C.GundlapalliAdi V. 2017. Needles in a haystack: Screening and healthcare system evidence for homelessness. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics235:574–78.
13.
HamiltonAlison B.PozaInesWashingtonDonna L. 2011. “Homelessness and trauma go hand-in-hand”: Pathways to homelessness among women veterans. Women’s Health Issues21 (4): S203–9.
14.
MontgomeryAnn ElizabethByrneThomas H.CusackMeagan C.ChhabraManikSorrentinoAnneliese E.DichterMelissa E.TrueGala. 2020. Patients’ perspectives on elements of stable housing and threats to housing stability. Journal of the Society for Social Work Research11 (4): 545–67.
15.
MontgomeryAnn ElizabethByrneThomas H.TregliaDanCulhaneDennis P. 2016. Characteristics and likelihood of ongoing homelessness among unsheltered veterans. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved27:911–22.
16.
MontgomeryAnn ElizabethDichterMelissa E.ThomassonArwin M.RobertsC. Brent. 2016. Services receipt following veteran outpatients’ positive screen for homelessness. American Journal of Preventive Medicine50 (3): 336–43.
17.
MontgomeryAnn ElizabethFargoJamison D.ByrneThomas H.KaneVincentCulhaneDennis P. 2013. Universal screening for homelessness and risk for homelessness in the Veterans Health Administration. American Journal of Public Health103 (S2): S210–11.
18.
MontgomeryAnn ElizabethFargoJamison D.KaneVincentCulhaneDennis P. 2014. Development and validation of an instrument to assess imminent risk of homelessness among veterans. Public Health Reports129:439–47.
19.
MontgomeryAnn ElizabethMetrauxStephenCulhaneDennis P. 2013. Rethinking homelessness prevention among persons with serious mental illness. Social Issues and Policy Review7 (1): 58–82.
20.
MontgomeryAnn ElizabethRahmanFazlur A. K. M.ChhabraManikCusackMeagan C.TrueGala. 2021. The importance of context: Linking veterans screening positive for housing instability with responsive interventions. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research48 (9*): 23–35.
21.
MontgomeryAnn ElizabethRahmanFazlur A. K. M.CusackMeagan C.VarleyAllyson L.ByrneThomas H. 2020. Correlates of transitions into housing instability among veterans accessing Veterans Health Administration health care. Medical Care58 (12): 1105–10.
22.
MontgomeryAnn ElizabethShipherdJillian C.KauthMichael R.HarrisKeith W.BlosnichJohn R. 2020. Use of Veterans Health Administration homeless programs among transgender and non-transgender veterans experiencing self-reported housing instability. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved31 (2): 909–19.
23.
MontgomeryAnn ElizabethSorrentinoAnneliese E.CusackMeagan C.BellamyScarlett L.MedvedevaElenaRobertsC. BrentDichterMelissa E. 2018. Recent intimate partner violence and housing instability among women veterans. American Journal of Preventive Medicine54 (4): 584–90.
24.
MontgomeryAnn ElizabethSzymkowiakDorotaTsaiJack. 2020. Housing instability and homeless program use among veterans: The intersection of race, sex, and homelessness. Housing Policy Debate30 (3): 396–408.
TsaiJack. 2019. Introduction and history of veteran homelessness. In Homelessness among U.S. veterans: Critical perspectives, ed. TsaiJack, 1–11. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
27.
TsaiJackRosenheckRobert A. 2015. Risk factors for homelessness among U.S. veterans. Epidemiologic Reviews37:177–95.
28.
TsemberisSam. 2015. The Pathways model to end homelessness for people with mental health and substance use disorders. Center City, MN: Hazelden.
29.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 2020. The 2019 annual homeless assessment report to Congress. Part 1: Point-in-time estimates of homelessness. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Available from https://files.hudexchange.info.
30.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 2011. Veteran homelessness: A supplemental report to the 2009 annual homeless assessment report to Congress. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Available from https://files.hudexchange.info.
