Almost Half of OEF OIF Homeless Veterans Are African-American

Collateral Damage
Almost 50% of homeless Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are African-American
The Austin Chronicle
BY KAHRON SPEARMAN
JULY 17, 2015

Air Force veteran Edgar Whitfield PHOTO BY JANA BIRCHUM

Evidence of homelessness is easy to come by in Austin – drive past Downtown and witness a line of people waiting to access services at the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH). It's an unavoidable reality for any large U.S. city, but especially one like Austin, where affordable housing is scarce and the minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.

Within that population, one group is continually overrepresented: According to an Aus­tin Ending Community Homelessness Coa­li­tion (ECHO) report, as of January 2015, about 20% of Austin's homeless are veterans, a higher percentage than is found in any other area in Texas. (Nationwide, about 7.3% of the U.S. population has served or is serving in the military, and about 12% of the homeless population are veterans.) Veterans are not only more likely to become homeless, but are also more likely to stay on the streets longer than the average homeless person. And within that group, yet another group is overrepresented: Almost 50% of homeless Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are African-American.

According to Megan Podowski, who runs the supportive housing program at Caritas of Austin, the city's housing problem carries extra weight with veterans. "That's our biggest barrier in Austin. We're at a 98% occupancy rate, so landlords can and are charging well above fair market value. [The landlords] can be extremely picky, with any tiny blemish. We're not even talking about major criminal history all the time. If you don't have a spotless rental history, and if you've paid late a couple of times," she says, an applicant risks being rejected.
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