ABSTRACT

    As of November 2022, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released a report which showed that California has more than 11,000 homeless veterans(Painter, 2022). This number represents 31% of the national homeless veteran population(Painter, 2022). The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also released new data that showed a decrease of 11% in Veteran Homelessness since 2020, placing into perspective how serious of a problem this has been over the last couple of decades(U.S. Department of Housing, 2022). As a result, I will be analyzing and understanding certain characteristics of these homeless veterans in hopes of finding solutions that will continue to decrease this excluded population. I will be reaching out to this certain population through the use of sociological theories, specifically, Robert Merton's Strain Theory and Emile Durkheims Suicide Theory, in hopes of better understanding the causes of such a dramatic lifestyle change. What courses of action led these veterans to be in the position they are in? What is refraining them from adapting back to society's norms? And do they even feel alive in their current position?