WASHINGTON, D.C. – November 10, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — The National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans has released a research brief on Migration By Veterans Who Receive VA Homeless Services by Stephen Metraux, PhD. This brief contains initial findings from a study on migration among 113,400 veterans who initiated use of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) homeless services in 2011 or 2012, and follows them using VA administrative records for up to two years after this initial contact. The findings review the “how many” and the “where” of this phenomenon. Specifically, it shows the extent to which homeless veterans migrate across the VA’s 21 Veterans Intergrated Service Networks (VISNs). This permits an assessment of the effect of migration on the homeless populations served by specific VISNs, VA Medical Centers (VAMCs) and their catchment areas.
Major findings include, on the individual level:
- 15.3 percent migrated across large geographic areas while they were homeless.
- Migration occurred more often among those veterans with longer-term, chronic patterns of homelessness (over 20 percent).
- Migration also occurred more often earlier on in veterans’ homelessness episodes.
