Characteristics of urban male homeless veterans and non-veterans in Omaha, Nebraska

ABSTRACT

The current study examined differences between urban homeless veterans and non-veterans on sociodemographics, housing, clinical characteristics, and psychosocial factors. We recruited a sample of 196 homeless men (101 veterans, 95 non-veterans) from the Omaha, Nebraska metropolitan area. Structured interviews were conducted by research staff. The results showed that the two groups were similar in most respects, though there were several notable differences. Homeless veterans were found to be older and more educated than non-veterans, more likely to have married, and reported having fewer non-adult children. Multivariable models controlling for age further showed that veterans reported a higher number of medical problems and were more likely to report being diagnosed with major depression or PTSD than non-veterans. Comparison with previous studies suggests changes in certain characteristics of homeless veterans over the past few decades that may reflect the growing proportion of veterans from the all-volunteer force, initiated after the draft ended in 1975. Findings from this study were consistent with previous comparative studies suggesting limited changes in recent decades in the characteristics of homeless veterans as compared to non-veterans, although the high prevalence of major depression and PTSD merit special treatment for these disorders.

KEYWORDS:

• Homelessness
• veterans
• mental illness
• housing

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the many Veterans Affairs staff members and study participants who made this project possible. In particular, we are grateful to: Subhash Bhatia, MD and Linda Twomey, LCSW and Al Washko, former VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System Director; for their continuous encouragement and support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr. Ramaswamy is a Staff Psychiatrist at VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System and Associate Professor in Psychiatry at Creighton University.

Dr. Driscoll is a Health Science Specialist at VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System.

Dr. Tsai is a core investigator for the VA New England MIRECC and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine.

Jodette Rose was a clinical research coordinator at VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System.

Dr. Smith is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biostatistics in the College of Public Health at University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Dr. Rosenheck is a senior investigator for the VA New England MIRECC and Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine.

ORCID

Jodette Rose http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3311-056X

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by VA New England Mental Illness, Research, Education and Clinical Center; Nebraska Educational Biomedical Research Association.