“You Don’t See Them on the Streets of Your Town”: Challenges and Strategies for Serving Unstably Housed Veterans in Rural Areas

《“You Don’t See Them on the Streets of Your Town”: Challenges and Strategies for Serving Unstably Housed Veterans in Rural Areas》

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作者: Thomas Byrne;Meagan Cusack;Gala True;Ann Elizabeth Montgomery;Megan Smith

作者单位: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Center for Healthcare Outcomes and Implementation Research, Bedford, MA, USA; National Center on Homelessness among Veterans, Philadelphia, PA, USA; School of Social Work, Boston University, MA, USA;U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Philadelphia, PA, USA;U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, South Central Mental Illness, Research, Education and Clinical Center, New Orleans, LA, USA; School of Medicine, Louisiana State University, New Orleans, USA;National Center on Homelessness among Veterans, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Health Services Research & Development, Birmingham, AL Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Birmingham, USA; School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA;School of Social Work, Boston University, MA, USA

摘要: Research on policy and programmatic responses to homelessness has focused largely on urban areas, with comparatively little attention paid to the rural context. We conducted qualitative interviews with a nationwide sample of rural-serving agencies receiving grants through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Supportive Services for Veteran Families program to better understand the housing needs, available services, needed resources, and challenges in serving homeless and unstably housed veterans in rural areas. Respondents discussed key challenges—identifying unstably housed veterans, providing services within the rural resource context, and leveraging effective collaboration—and strategies to address these challenges. Unmet needs identified included emergency and subsidized long-term housing options, transportation resources, flexible financial resources, and additional funding to support the intensive work required in rural areas. Our findings identify promising programmatic innovations and highlight the need for policy remedies that are responsive to the unique challenges of addressing homelessness and housing instability in rural areas.