Migration by Veterans Who Receive VA Homeless Services Stephen Metraux, PhD (w/ Thomas O Toole & Dan Treglia) National Center for Homelessness Among Veterans stephen.metraux@va.gov Annual Meeting of the Nat l Coalition for Homeless Veterans June 2, 2016
Veterans, Homelessness & Migration
Research Questions 1) How Many? To what extent do which homeless veterans migrate across the VA s 21 VISNs? 2) Where? Are there VISNs or VAMC catchment areas that have a greater (or lesser) extent of migration by homeless veterans?
Data HOMES records selected with initial entry date between 2010 and 2012 Merged with CPRS records by SSN (service dates, location, and homeless indicator) Examined mobility in use of VHA services 2 years after initial homeless record (2011-14) Mobility is based on change of VHA service locations N of 113,400 Veterans
Number of Homeless Vets % Migrated Homeless Veterans - Duration of Homelessness and Extent of Migration (across VISNs) 40,000 35,000 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 24% 21% 18% 15% 12% 9% 6% 3% 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Duration of Homelessness (months) 0% Number of Homeless Veterans % Migrated (across VISNs)
Survival Function Hazard Function Survival and Hazard Functions for Migration Across VISNs by Homeless Veterans 1.00 0.036 0.95 0.03 0.90 0.024 0.85 0.018 0.80 0.012 0.75 0.006 0.70 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 Months After Onset of Homeless Services Use 0 Survival Hazard
VISN Geography (approximate) Homeless Veterans and Migration Measures: Selected VISNs Homeless Veterans at Origin % Outmigration % Inmigration loss/ gain % loss/ gain 1 New England 4,931 12.2% 11.1% -58-1.2% 2 Upstate New York 3,220 16.2% 16.2% 0 0.0% 3 Metro New York City 3,453 19.6% 18.2% -48-1.4% 4 PA, DE, northern WV 4,892 16.9% 14.9% -100-2.0% 5 Metro Washington DC 2,480 20.0% 25.3% 130 5.2% 8 FL, south GA, PR, Caribbean 9,179 13.0% 14.9% 181 2.0% 9 Mid-South (KY & TN) 4,679 17.0% 18.7% 79 1.7% 10 Ohio 4,252 11.8% 15.5% 160 3.8% 11 MI, IN, IL 6,034 14.3% 12.0% -139-2.3% 12 Metro Chicago & east WI 5,172 13.3% 12.7% -30-0.6% 16 OK, AR, MS, LA, east TX 6,275 18.8% 19.4% 41 0.7% 17 Central TX 7,497 13.1% 13.6% 35 0.5% 19 MT, WY, UT, CO & ne NV 3,971 19.2% 16.6% -103-2.6% 20 WA, OR, ID, AK 6,241 12.9% 13.4% 34 0.5% 22 South CA & south NV 9,370 14.3% 13.2% -107-1.1% Total 113,400 15.3% 15.3% 0 0
% Gain/Loss from Migration Scatterplot: Net Change due to Migration & Size of Homeless Population (VAMCs) 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% -5.0% -10.0% -15.0% 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 Number of Originating Homeless Veterans
% Inmigration 50.0% Scatterplot of Net Change due to Migration & Homeless Population Size (VAMCs) 45.0% 40.0% 35.0% 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% 0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% % Outmigration
Key Points 15.3 percent (of 113,400 veterans) migrated across VISNs while homeless. Those who were homeless longer had higher migration rates (over 20%). Migration was most likely to occur in the earlier months of homelessness. No clear migration patterns emerged: For most VISNs the net impact of migration was small. For VAMCs, as the number of homeless veterans increased the net impact of migration attenuated towards zero. Future research should examine factors that influence migration. individual and area factors Limitations