Social Work Practice with Homeless Veterans and Resource Dependence Theory

The plight of homeless military veterans is a salient, pervasive, and a public health problem. Since the 1980s the visibility and percentages of homeless veterans have reduced but endure as a societal problem and challenge. Much of the reduction in the percentages of homeless veterans is attributed to multi-level collaborative relationships and sharing of resources. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and nonprofit organizations (NPO) provide a valuable service to our military men and women through social work leadership, governance, managerial, programmatic, clinical accountability, and utilization of finite resources to remediate homelessness amongst veterans. This paper explores the critical role that social work plays in practice areas at the VA and NPO. Veteran homelessness is addressed through the lens of resource dependence theory (RDT), partnerships, historical, root causes, programs, services, and case vignettes that underscore the problem, the role of social work, and responsiveness for optimal overall health and housing outcomes.