Research Paper on Trauma and Veteran Homelessness

Introduction

Trauma is the condition where a person is exposed to shocking events like threatened death, threatened or actual critical injuries, death, and threatened or real sexual violence. Most veterans globally undergo trauma after their retirement. Past war experiences cause this psychological situation that the people found very traumatic while serving in the army. Homelessness refers to a condition of people without a stable or primary home. This issue is spread in many parts of the world and the US; it became adverse from the time of the Great Depression which occurred in the 1930s. Veteran homelessness, therefore, is the situation where former army men are homeless. It is difficult to imagine people who served the state in the military sleeping or living in the streets. Unfortunately, it is a sad reality for most of them. Although we do not know the official count of the homeless veterans, the Department of Veteran Affairs made estimations that close to 40,000 veterans have no homes (Perl, 2015).

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Trauma is the most significant contributor to veteran homelessness. Most individuals undergo psychological stress after serving in the military which makes them leave their families or households and end up in the streets. The condition faced after experiencing traumatic events is called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which can be treated or prevented if detected in time (Perl, 2015). The purpose of the paper is to describe the relationship between the homeless military veteran population and their past life or traumatic events in the course of a war. Besides, it explains best practices in crisis intervention as well as divine interventions regarding the problem.

Research Objective

1. The primary objective of the research is to describe the connection between trauma (PTSD) and the homeless military veteran population.
2. Besides, it should help one to understand the necessary intervention practices to be employed to help avoid such situations.
3. To understand the theories that can be used to explain intervention or preventive measures of the problem.

Research Question

Is trauma the major cause behind the high numbers of veterans living in the streets?

Methodology

The primary study method used in this research was field interviewing. I conducted several interviews starting with the families of veterans to the veterans themselves. A total of 300 interviews were done, 200 for the families and 100 for the victims. Besides, additional information was obtained from written sources like articles, magazines or newspapers, and books. These materials played a critical role in the study as well since they gave relevant data regarding veteran homelessness as covered by previous researches. The sources helped to understand the topic of research better as well as elaborate on the theories necessary for conducting such a study.

Results

Out of the 300 people interviewed, 230 believe that the reason behind the veterans living in the streets is the post-traumatic stress disorder. Military people experience a lot of stress after they are released off their duties due to the past traumatic events. 40 of them thought that trauma was not the causative agent of this condition and believed that the veterans could not live without their work. However, 30 interviewees were not in a position to respond. Research from written materials provided similar information with most articles as well as books stating that the reason why we see veteran military population on the streets is due to trauma caused by shocking war events and the failure of the community to help them recover after retirement (Perl, 2015). Besides, most of the newspaper articles support this statement and insist that the society is obliged to do something to help solve the issue.

Discussion

Almost a third of the adult population without a home has served their nation in the army or Armed Services. Recent population estimates indicate that approximately 58,000 veterans live in the streets an any given night and there is a possibility that twice that number encounter homelessness situations at some instance before the end of every year. Several other veterans are declared near homeless due to their levels of poverty, living circumstances after dismissal, for example, substandard or overcrowded housing and cheap hotels, and the lack of support from their families and friends (Perl, 2015). Recent research on the number of male and female veterans of the Vietnam era living in the streets has risen and is more than that of the military persons that passed on during the war.

Additionally, a few veterans of the Desert Storm have been encountered in the homeless population as well. However, according to current epidemiologic studies, there is no causal relation between military service, operation in Vietnam, or war experience, and veterans' homelessness even though many veterans living in the streets served in the war in Vietnam and are affected by PSTD (Perl, 2015). Some of the potent factors suggesting the risk of homelessness include the family background, availability of family and friends to offer support, and many individual characteristics. Most of the veterans that are homeless are males and female only cover a small rate of 3% (Harris et al., 2018). The male is from poor backgrounds that are disadvantaged and are in most cases single. Comparing the homeless non-veterans and the veterans, the former are younger while the latter are older and of higher education levels. Besides, about 45% of the veterans lacking homes suffer from mental disorders and slightly above 70% have either alcohols or other drug abuse problems. African Americans and Hispanics are the most affected rating at 56% as described by the article "Moving beyond Housing: Service Implications for Veterans Entering Permanent Supportive Housing" (Harris et al., 2018). The views are supported by "Veterans and Homelessness" (Perl, 2015).

Psychological and Emotional Signs of Trauma

A person experiencing trauma will show the following symptoms:

• Shock, disbelief, or denial
• Confusion and difficulty concentrating
• Feeling numb or disconnected
• Fear and anxiety
• Sadness or hopelessness
• Mood swings
• Withdrawal from other people
• Shame, guilt, or self-blame
• Anger or irritability

Types of Trauma

Homeless veterans could face various kinds of trauma. These forms include exposure to different events or situations such as combat, natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes, interpersonal violence, and attacks by terrorists (Dinnen et al., 2014). Besides, the state of being homeless causes adverse effects on the veterans putting them at risk of traumatic experiences, for example, muggings and assault. Trauma in the veterans living in the streets is connected to military service, though not at all instances. Trauma can be experienced due to the events that a person went through while still serving the military or those witnessed while already homeless. However, the most common kind is where past combat events haunt veterans causing PTSD which makes them homeless (Harris et al., 2018).

According to research, most homeless veterans have undergone or witnessed at least a single traumatic event in their service period, and the majority has experienced many traumas. Additionally, most of them encounter these events before becoming homeless meaning that the condition is the cause of their homelessness (Bosscarino, 2015). Many individuals who face traumatic situations report symptoms of mental health after a short time. Nevertheless, only a few of them develop PTSD which is described by four large signs including:

1. At least a single symptom of avoidance: This refers to the condition where a veteran tries or wants to avoid objects, places, events. Or activities that would remind him or her of the traumatic experience and shunning feelings or thoughts related to the same (Bosscarino, 2015). For example, a veteran will keep away from stories suggesting war or avoid fellow service people because being around them reminds him or her of the events.
2. Re-experiencing symptoms: a veteran, in this case, is likely to experience symptoms in the form of flashbacks. It could be physically through increased heart rates and sweating, scary thoughts, and terrifying dreams (Bosscarino, 2015). A veteran suffering from PTSD may sense danger in situations where there is no actual menace.
3. Cognition and mood signs: a veteran with PTSD will have at least two cognitions, and mood symptoms meaning that they may have negative feelings about themselves as well as the entire world surrounding them, blame or guilt feelings, and does not remember the significant parts of the experience that brought about PTSD (Bosscarino, 2015).
4. Reactivity and arousal symptoms: an individual should show at least two signs of arousal and reactivity often constant including sleeping issues, startling easily, anger outburst issues, and feeling tense.

It is important to note that several mental sicknesses usually accompany PTSD. The commonly identified comorbid conditions are substance abuse, anxiety, and depression.

According to Tanielian (2015), research has proved that between eleven and twenty percent of veterans who were in action during the Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom suffer from PTSD. Additionally, approximately 12% of veterans of the Gulf war have PTSD, whereas an estimated 30% of Vietnam veterans have undergone PTSD in their lifetime (Hurt et al., 2018). Two-thirds of Afghanistan and Iraq veterans are suffering from PTSD, which is slightly above the retired army persons who served in past wars, as indicated by a study that was published in Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research (Bosscarino, 2015). A considerable number of the veterans experiencing PTSD did not get enough treatment to aid in dealing with the terrible situations they went through in the military. As a result, they find difficulty keeping jobs as well as reaching common views or way of thinking with their families and friends. When relieved off their duties from the forces, most veterans struggle to fit back in with the ordinary life of civilians. The most critical factors leading to veterans' homelessness is lack of support and social isolation. Besides, the homeless veterans are not from a specific war zone; they come from the different types of combats witnessed in different parts of the world. Therefore, each country has to must ensure effective strategies to prevent PTSD or veteran homelessness caused by trauma (Bosscarino, 2015). When people encounter horrific events, it haunts them even years after the occurrence which causes trauma. If not helped or listened to they become stressed and decide to isolate themselves from the community leading to homelessness.

Best Practices in Crisis Intervention

Crisis intervention is fast psychological care that is short-term and aimed at aiding people in a crisis to reinstate balance in their biopsychosocial functioning and reduce the probability of long-term or permanent mental trauma (Bosscarino, 2015). Crisis intervention requires three essential practices.

1. Identification: This practice refers to the process where a crisis is determined, and research is conducted regarding the cause of the problem. In veteran homelessness, it is essential to identify that the issue is critical and then find out why most service persons have PTSD and become homeless after they have been relieved off their duties (Kanel, 2014). This process is carried out by visiting the affected parties and their families and friends to obtain information regarding the situation.
2. Assessment: This step follows identification, and the weight of t...