Women Veterans Face Challenges of Homelessness

Abstract

Tina Conroy's voice cracks mid-sentence and mid-sob over the phone in the Veterans Affairs office (VA) of Columbia while a comforting voice reminds her she can stop if it becomes too painful. “We had nowhere else to go. We had no money, and it was me and my two children, and my daughter and her family.” Conroy and her family have experienced frequent periods of homelessness since her service in the Coast Guard ended in 1983. Though homelessness is nothing new to the veteran population, as the number of enlisted women has increased from six percent in 2000 to eight percent in 2010, women are experiencing the issue of homelessness.