Veterans

Returning veterans face numerous challenges—finding employment and housing, and dealing with re-entry, trauma, and behavioral health issues. AIR’s work with veterans focuses on finding solutions to homelessness and healing the trauma that often prevents veterans from reclaiming their lives. Our research and technical assistance aim to assist front-line organizations with research and data to deeply understand problems such as homelessness among female veterans and training to apply evidence-based solutions. Emerging work focuses on partnering with veterans organizations to increase capacity to offer trauma-informed care. 

Latest Work

Image of girl with flag holding soldier's hand
8 Nov 2019
Spotlight

Caring for America's Veterans

Hundreds of thousands of veterans return from conflict having experienced trauma; many struggle with PTSD and some are at risk for homelessness. We can serve veterans better by developing the best trauma-informed care practices, engaging families, and making the physical and mental well-being of service men and women a priority.
Image of girl with flag holding soldier's hand
9 May 2019
Brief

How Public Datasets Can Address Data Obstacles in Pay for Success: A Demonstration for Veterans with Service-Connected Disabilities

As part of its Pay for Success work, AIR developed a workaround to common data obstacles these projects face. AIR was contracted to develop the evaluation design for the San Diego-based Project (re)Launch, which sought to improve employment and health outcomes for veterans with service-connected disabilities by providing intensive case management and wraparound supports.
Project

Project (re)LAUNCH: San Diego Veterans Employment Pay for Success Initiative

The transition back to civilian life is difficult for many veterans. Often times, military training does not directly translate to civilian skills and available jobs back home. Addressing these challenges is the central aim of the San Diego Veterans Employment Pay for Success Initiative, Project (re)LAUNCH, a partnership of the San Diego Workforce Partnership; Third Sector Capital Partners, Inc.; 2-1-1 San Diego; and AIR.
14 Mar 2016
Toolkit

Trauma-Informed Care Curriculum

Organizational trauma-informed care is an agency-wide approach to service delivery that is grounded in an understanding of trauma and its consequences and promotes healing and resilience. AIR's Trauma-Informed Care Curriculum supports organizations in embedding trauma-informed practices into all aspects of organizational operation and culture.
10 Dec 2014 | 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Event

Webinar: Meeting the Unique Needs of Women Veterans

Understanding the unique experiences and needs of women veterans is critical to providing quality care.

10 Dec 2014
Webinar

Webinar Series: Trauma-informed Care and Veterans

In the fall of 2014, the National Center on Family Homelessness at AIR presented a free online program that addressed the impact of trauma on veterans and highlighted trauma-informed care as an organization-wide approach to understanding and responding to trauma. Special focus was given to the experiences of women veterans and how to provide trauma-informed care to this population.
3 Dec 2014 | 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Event

Webinar: Lessons from the Field - Adopting Trauma-Informed Care

This session provides participants with the opportunity to learn how agencies serving veterans have integrated a trauma-informed framework.

19 Nov 2014 | 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Event

Webinar: Building a Trauma-Informed Organization

The process of becoming trauma-informed requires a long-term commitment to shifting organizational culture and practice. This session outlines a multi-phased model of organizational change.

Number of homeless women veterans
19 Nov 2014
Infographic

Number of Homeless Women Veterans Is Rising

The years 2006 to 2010 saw a 141% increase in the number of homeless women veterans, as this infographic shows.
11 Nov 2014
Brief

Trauma-Informed Care for Veterans Experiencing Homelessness: An Organization-Wide Framework

Trauma-informed care is a universal framework for addressing trauma that requires changes to the practices, policies, and culture of an entire organization, so all staff have the awareness, knowledge, and skills needed to support veterans. This brief provides an introduction to trauma-informed care and identifies reasons why trauma-informed care is a best practice for serving veterans experiencing homelessness.
11 Nov 2014
Brief

Brief Series: Trauma-Informed Care for Veterans Experiencing Homelessness

The National Center on Family Homelessness has developed a series of briefs based on findings from Trauma-Informed Care for Women Veterans Experiencing Homelessness, a first-of-its-kind, multi-site demonstration project focused on building the capacity of veteran-serving agencies, particularly those serving women veterans, to adopt a universal, organization-wide approach to understanding and responding to trauma.
Project

Addressing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Veterans: Learning What Works

An estimated 500,000 veterans serving in Iraq and Afghanistan will return home with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD—a debilitating illness that is often marked with anger, depression, physical pain, disturbed sleep, social isolation, and thoughts of suicide. In response, AMVETS has created the Warrior Transition Workshop, conducted over a two- to five-day period. It is confidential, and is structured in a training style familiar to military personnel with a hands-on, peer-to-peer approach that includes a well-crafted blend of military history, legend, and ritual.
10 Nov 2013
Fact Sheet

Fact Sheet: Women Veterans, Homelessness, and Trauma

Women veterans are two to four times more likely to be homeless than non-veteran women. This fact sheet contains information on the prevalence and impact of trauma in the lives of women veterans, particularly those experiencing homelessness.

Project

Homelessness and Trauma in the Lives of Women Veterans

Women veterans are two to four times more likely to be homeless than non-veteran women. This fact sheet contains information on the prevalence and impact of trauma in the lives of women veterans, particularly those experiencing homelessness.

Project

Trauma-Informed Care for Organizations Serving Homeless Female Veterans

Research shows that traumatic experiences prior to and during military service can have a significant impact on the health and well-being of women Veterans, increasing their risk for homelessness. Traumatic experiences can also affect ability to maintain health and sustain employment. With advances in awareness of the prevalence and impact of trauma in the lives of women Veterans, trauma-informed care is now seen as a best practice to support recovery.
Project

Chicagoland Women Veterans Employment Study

Recently, the social and cultural needs of women veterans, such as the reintegration of women veterans into civilian culture, gender-specific family concerns, and post-separation support, have begun to receive greater attention. The goals of the Chicagoland Female Veteran project were to compare male and female veteran unemployment and underemployment, understand the dynamics of homelessness among unemployed female veterans, and explore effective service interventions for women veterans.
Project

Community Circles Strength at Home: Central Valley, CA

Veteran status has been associated with increased rates of interpersonal violence, with veterans perpetrating violence up to three times as much as civilians, which can be largely attributed to combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder or to a prior history of trauma. Strength at Home is a relationship-strengthening intervention for veterans/service members and their families and friends designed to address conflict, anger, and readjustment to civilian life after deployment.
14 Aug 2011
Toolkit

Trauma-Informed Care for Women Veterans Experiencing Homelessness: A Guide for Service Providers

The National Center on Family Homelessness, in conjunction with the Women's Bureau in the U.S. Department of Labor, developed this guide to help service providers handle the specific needs of homeless women veterans.

Project

Community Circles of Support for Veterans' Families

The return of American men and women in uniform serving in Iraq and Afghanistan rivals the scale of World War II demobilizations in some communities. In partnership with the National Center on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the National Center on Family Homelessness created Community Circles of Support for Veterans Families, a multi-site demonstration project designed for use by community-based organizations.
20 Sep 2010
Toolkit

Engaging Veterans and Families to Enhance Service Delivery

The National Center on Family Homelessness, with funding from the Walmart Foundation, created Engaging Veterans and Families To Enhance Service Delivery: A Tool Kit for Community-Based Organizations, offering tools and resources to improve the effectiveness of community-based organizations’ staffing, program design, delivery, and outreach and engagement of veterans and their families and friends.

Project

Veterans’ Health Administration Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients

AIR assisted the Veterans Health Administration's Office of Quality Performance when they changed the content of their Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients to surveys modeled on the CAHPS Inpatient and Clinician-Group surveys.