Improving Housing Outcomes for Homeless Veterans

Improving Housing Outcomes for Homeless Veterans (CDA 15-074)

Many homeless Veterans with serious mental illness (SMI) enroll in the VA's Supported Housing (VASH) program but struggle to obtain and sustain housing. Social skills are an important-but underappreciated-determinant of housing outcomes for homeless adults. The investigators hypothesize that homeless Veterans with SMI who participate in a social skills training program, tailored for housing-related social skills, will obtain housing quicker, retain housing longer, and show improved mental health outcomes compared to Veterans with similar needs not participating in such a program.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Identified by VA Greater Los Angeles homeless program staff as a participant in Housing Skills Training:

  • Must have a history of homelessness
  • Must be a Veteran over the age of 18 years
  • Must have a serious mental illness (mood disorder, anxiety disorder, psychotic disorder)

Exclusion Criteria:

None