University of Mary

Influences on Military Homelessness:

Looking Into the Causes and Commonalities

Payton Eggering

Oral Communications 110 01

Professor Brodeur

8 October 2020
Title: How Mental Health is a Main Causation to Military Homelessness

Overall purpose: Educate my fellow peers on how something like homelessness can happen to

some of the most well-respected members of our community.

Specific purpose: Allow them to question why our government would allow those they recruit

to be stuck in the state of homelessness after serving for their country.

Main points: For our veterans, a combination between a sudden shift in culture, the

commonality of PTSD, and the subsequent substance abuse is what leads to homelessness.

Introduction

How many of you have a family member or know someone who has served or is currently

serving in the military? My great-grandpa who passed away fairly recently was veteran from the

Navy during the Vietnam war. He was great, very wonderful man. He, unfortunately, passed due

to Alzheimer’s, which I think was a great motivator for me to put this speech together. I wanted

to communicate to you all, especially those who know someone in the service, the importance of

their mental health. While what I cover is not the fullest extent of why veterans may end up

homeless, I will be taking you down the most common pathway to this occurring. If a veteran is

not socially supported before, during, and after their service, it is more common for them to turn

to substance abuse to “fix” their issues.

Transition: This first begins with the transitioning from military to civilian life.

Body

I. Main Point #1: Transition from military to civilian life is one that members of the

service do not feel as if they are prepared for.

A. Being in the military covers all of the bases as to what it takes to not be homeless.
 1. Definition of homelessness according to U.S. federal legislation is “people

who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence.”

2. Having a place to sleep at nighttime is the bare minimum of what the

military covers, obviously.

a) They have routine, food, jobs, etc.

b) It is an all-needs-covered job for the service that they are doing.

B. Those who have certain predispositions, coupled with the stark routine change,

are the ones who find re-entry to civilian life the most difficult.

1. Not having a spouse, or supportive social circle, is one of the

predispositions that would lead a veteran to being homeless.

2. Another huge factor is the development of PTSD during their service, as it

forces them to be completely vulnerable when they are sent home.

a) The development of PTSD has a strong correlation of the

individual being sent home for experiencing a traumatic event,

getting seriously injured, etc.

b) PTSD is a very complex disorder to understand, leaving the victim

of the disorder feeling very isolated.

Transition: Since there can be a development of this disorder, those who are vulnerable may be

looking for an escape from their own mind.

II. Main Point #2: Because there can be both a lack of social support and a development of

a truly horrible disorder, there are veterans that turn to substance abuse.

A. Substance abuse is an unhealthy coping mechanism people use to numb, distract,

or repress the feelings that come along with trauma.

 B. Because this becomes their coping mechanism, the addiction becomes not only a

mental one but a physical one.

1. When someone does heroin, for example, there is dopamine that is

released as a result.

a) This reinforces the use of it because dopamine is the “happiness”

chemical.

b) With that reinforcement comes addiction

2. From there, it becomes an uncontrollable urge to continue the habit, even

if it will lead them down an extremely hard path.

a) I.e. spending all their money on drugs

b) Taking advantage of those who help them because of the now

necessity to partake in substance abuse.

Transition: From there, we have a group of people who are stigmatized because of their

substance abuse and may not be able to receive the proper assistance needed to get back on their

feet.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, it is very easy to slip into a state of isolation, trauma, and disadvantage when

coming out of the military. Without proper social support, it leaves service members in a

disposition where their mental health is vulnerable. And, when mental health is ignored or

stigmatized, individuals can make decisions that are hard to reverse. Thank you for your time.
 Works Cited

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www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/media-spotlight/201705/why-are-so-many-veterans-

homeless.
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