More homeless female veterans seek shelter

Women-only programs
The VA estimates that 154,000 veterans were homeless on any given night last year, about a 20 percent decrease from the 195,827 in the agency's 2006 estimate. Dougherty said the number is down partly because the department has beefed up its housing programs.

The VA gives funding priority to groups that specifically serve women and the number of sites for women-only programs has increased as a result.

More women are showing up at the doors of Swords to Plowshares, a San Francisco group that provides housing and other services to homeless veterans.

Tia Christopher, the group's coordinator for women, said a 25-year-old Army veteran who served in Iraq recently came to her for help. The woman was sleeping on a couch in the home of her mother and stepfather.

"There is high risk she's going to be homeless with a substance-abuse issue, and I can't get her in anywhere," Christopher said.

Christopher herself had only a car and $500 when she left the Navy. She lived with her grandmother until she could find a job. "I was in the military and now I had to beg my grandmother for help?" she said. "I had to swallow my pride."

PSTD services 'behind the curve'
The reasons are varied why military veterans become homeless.

Repeated deployments make it difficult for them to keep their finances in order and for reservists to hold on to their civilian jobs. Fallout from military service — which can include post-traumatic stress disorder — can seriously damage family and other relationships. Those stresses can lead to withdrawal and depression, which can make it difficult to land a job. The lack of income makes it hard to pay rent or a mortgage.

Few Veterans Affairs centers offer residential mental health treatment specifically for women with post-traumatic stress disorder, said Amy Fairweather, director of the Iraq veterans program for Swords to Plowshares.

"The services are really behind the curve," she said.

The VA has 15 such facilities that can accept women.

Female veterans without housing often resort to shelters. Out of 500 VA-run homeless shelters, 300 can accept women. Only 22 have programs that address female veterans specifically or have living arrangements separate from men.

In programs that serve both sexes, women are usually in the minority and are often uncomfortable discussing physical issues, such as sexual trauma, Dougherty said. As a result, some don't make progress with their problems.

As for Dogen, she hopes to take full advantage of the services at the Dayton apartments. She said she has been drug-free for the past several months.

"I have problems with everything," she said. "I'm going to need all the help I can get."

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