{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,2]],"date-time":"2025-08-02T17:05:20Z","timestamp":1754154320757,"version":"3.41.2"},"reference-count":15,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,24]],"date-time":"2025-07-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1753315200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Homelessness impacts entire families, with potential intergenerational consequences. Addressing family homelessness provides both immediate relief and long-term societal benefits. While various programs exist to mitigate homelessness, the United States (US) Department of Veterans Affairs\u2019 (VA) Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program offers a distinctive model for combating homelessness among veterans by supporting their families as well. We analyzed VA SSVF administrative data from 2014 to 2022, covering over 800,000 program entries from all SSVF beneficiaries in the US, to describe the sociodemographic profiles of SSVF veteran families\u2014including children and adult family members of veterans. Families receiving SSVF assistance faced substantial economic and health-related challenges, including high unemployment, single-income dependency, and service-related disabilities. Children in these families represent a particularly vulnerable population, underscoring the need for targeted interventions to prevent long-term adverse outcomes. Our findings point to the role of SSVF in providing essential support for homeless veterans by also offering important services to their families. This broader approach offers lessons that may extend beyond the veteran community to address homelessness in individuals nationwide. Expanding coordinated, multi-agency approaches that build upon and modify the SSVF model could strengthen national efforts to reduce homelessness.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1634259","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,24]],"date-time":"2025-07-24T05:34:27Z","timestamp":1753335267000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Families served during the first decade of the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program: a descriptive analysis"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Renae","family":"Wilkinson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Katelyn N. G.","family":"Long","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Richard G.","family":"Cowden","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Howard K.","family":"Koh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Thomas H.","family":"Byrne","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Adrienne N.","family":"Melendez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jack","family":"Tsai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,24]]},"reference":[{"year":"2024","article-title":"State of homelessness: 2024 edition","key":"ref1"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"164","DOI":"10.1377\/hlthaff.2023.01049","article-title":"Homelessness and health: factors, evidence, innovations that work, and policy recommendations","volume":"43","author":"Garcia","year":"2024","journal-title":"Health Aff"},{"year":"2024","article-title":"Under Biden-Harris administration, veteran homelessness drops to lowest on record","key":"ref3"},{"volume-title":"The 2024 annual homelessness assessment report (AHAR) to congress: Part 1: Point-in-time estimates of homelessness","year":"2024","author":"Sousa","key":"ref4"},{"volume-title":"All in: The federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness","year":"2022","key":"ref5"},{"volume-title":"Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF)","year":"","key":"ref6"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"610","DOI":"10.2105\/AJPH.2024.307625","article-title":"First decade of supportive Services for Veteran Families Program and Homelessness, 2012\u20132022","volume":"114","author":"Wilkinson","year":"2024","journal-title":"Am J Public Health"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"587","DOI":"10.1007\/s11606-023-08337-7","article-title":"Temporary financial assistance for housing expenditures and mortality and suicide outcomes among US veterans","volume":"39","author":"Nelson","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Gen Intern Med"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"820","DOI":"10.1377\/hlthaff.2020.01796","article-title":"Temporary financial assistance decreased health care costs for veterans experiencing housing instability: study examines temporary financial assistance and health care costs for veterans experiencing housing instability","volume":"40","author":"Nelson","year":"2021","journal-title":"Health Aff"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"360","DOI":"10.1111\/cfs.12968","article-title":"How does family homelessness impact on children's development? A critical review of the literature","volume":"28","author":"Murran","year":"2023","journal-title":"Child Fam Soc Work"},{"year":"2023","key":"ref11"},{"year":"2023","key":"ref12"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e836","DOI":"10.1016\/S2468-2667(21)00189-4","article-title":"Adverse childhood experiences and related outcomes among adults experiencing homelessness: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"6","author":"Liu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Lancet Public Health"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"811","DOI":"10.1007\/s10995-018-02698-w","article-title":"Homelessness in childhood and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)","volume":"23","author":"Radcliff","year":"2019","journal-title":"Matern Child Health J"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"899","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.316.7135.899","article-title":"Mental health problems of homeless children and families: longitudinal study","volume":"316","author":"Vostanis","year":"1998","journal-title":"BMJ"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Public Health"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1634259\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,24]],"date-time":"2025-07-24T05:34:28Z","timestamp":1753335268000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1634259\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,24]]},"references-count":15,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1634259"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1634259","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-2565"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2296-2565"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,24]]},"article-number":"1634259"}}