Homelessness a problem for women veterans

Homelessness a problem for women veterans
by Melissa Schmitt
Jun 12, 2008

WASHINGTON -- When Debra Filter enlisted in the Army in 1978 as a 22-year-old high school graduate, she saw it as a way to escape childhood abuse, get an education, and see the world.

She didn't get what she signed up for.

On the night of her graduation from basic training, Filter said several fellow soldiers raped her. The next day, her drill sergeant told her, in front of the rest of her platoon, that she ought to be ashamed of herself.

It was like pouring salt on an open wound--Filter had suffered years of sexual and physical abuse during her childhood. Distraught, she said she did not report the rape; she went AWOL for two days.

She was discharged from the Army shortly thereafter with an honorable discharge, according to her military records.

"I joined the military to escape abuse in civilian life," said Filter, 49. "But I found it again in the military."

Filter bounced around over the next two decades, plagued with nightmares, panic attacks and bouts of depression. Unable to hold down a job, she ended up homeless, living between women's shelters and her cousin's couch before finding out about U.S. Vets, a temporary housing and employment assistance center in Las Vegas, NV.

She is one of roughly 7,000 homeless female veterans living in the United States today, according to Department of Veterans Affairs statistics--a number that VA officials expects to rise as more women return home from Iraq and Afghanistan, where women are on the front lines as never before in our nation's history.

Combat-related stress is a risk factor for homelessness, according to Peter Dougherty, who is the director of homeless veterans programs at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"We're finding among younger women, that they play a much more mission-critical role…in today's military, women are much more likely to be at or near the front of a military operation," he said.

Sexual trauma, whether experienced in the military or in civilian life, is another risk factor for homelessness, according to Dougherty.

This complicates matters for those who provide services to homeless veterans. About 75 percent of female veterans report being victims of sexual abuse, suffered either in the military or in civilian life.

In an ideal situation, women veterans would be housed separately from men and receive separate counseling and other services.

"The great struggle is you have this burgeoning trend of female homeless veterans in a traditionally male homeless provider network," said Scott Rose, director of Way Station Inc., a Frederick, MD-based homeless shelter that serves women veterans. He said that women veterans represent 11 percent of the newly homeless in the veteran population.

"Many of these women are suffering from trauma--the last thing they need is to be in a male environment."

And it's difficult for providers to develop specialized programs for women veterans, as most providers are strapped for resources already.

According to Dougherty, out of 500 Veterans' Affairs-run homeless shelters, 300 can accept women, and none can accept women who also have children. Only 15 have programs that address women veterans specifically, or have separate living arrangements from men.

Debra Filter tried for years to get into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) peer support group for women-only through the Veterans Affairs mental health center in Las Vegas, in addition to the counseling she receives about once a month.

Frustrated, she decided to fill the gap by starting her own group in October 2006 with other female veterans living at U.S. Vets.

Called “United Women Warriors,” the group meets once a week. All are women veterans who are homeless, and many say they suffered sexual abuse while serving in the military or in civilian life, eventually leading to a diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder. Many attempted to relieve their anguish with drugs or alcohol.

Military Sexual Trauma: A risk factor for homelessness


23 out of 100 women who use the VA health system reported experiencing sexual assault in the military
Sexual assault is a risk factor for developing
PTSD--another risk factor for homelessness
Homeless Women Veterans: At a Glance


Approximately 7,000 women veterans are homeless
Numbers are expected to increase as more women return from Iraq and Afghanistan
Women veterans are four times as likely to go homeless than their civilian counterparts
75 % report experiencing sexual abuse, in the military or in civilian life
Half suffer from substance or alcohol dependence
One third have mental illness
Of 500 VA veterans shelters, 300 say they accept women
15 VA shelters have women-only programs
None can accept women and their children

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http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/washington/news.aspx?id=94017