Stephen Metraux, PhD

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Pathways Into Homelessness Among Post-9/11-Era Veterans

I'm on a roll lately in getting stuff published. Got news today that a piece that was accepted last fall finally made it out. Nothing quite as slow as glaciers, Mummers parades and academic publishing.

I'm proud of this as it is the first piece that I (with colleagues) have published that is based on qualitative interviews. A few years back I got some pilot money to interview veterans who were under age 35 and who had been homeless. The point was to get their perspective on how their military service and their homelessness were connected. We got in depth interviews from fifteen veterans, some living in Philadelphia and others in suburban South Jersey. About half of them were deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan. I conducted about half of the interviews myself and it was a fascinating process. If this interests you enough to read further... click here.

This is the first time I've written on veterans homelessness. My research isn't just Skid Row, though that is the way this blog seems. I have a research gig at the VA's National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans, and the research I get to do there is often fascinating. I have a grant proposal due in at the end of this month, using predictive modeling as a basis for homelessness prevention among veterans, where the deadline is starting to stress me out; and I'm sure I'll write about the project soon. I'm also extending the interviews, but through University of the Sciences, where I've recruited and trained some students to do the interviewing. I'll write more about that someday as well.

Enough for now. Go read the article.