A Piece of the Pie: Veteran Women, Homelessness, and Employment in the City of Angels

Los Angeles is a city with a homelessness problem. While not an uncommon problem for a metropolis, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the first increase in the United States homeless population since 2010 in a report early December 2017 with West Coast cities like Los Angeles driving the rise.

Female veterans are a small piece of this pie, making up 206 out of just over 2,500 veterans experiencing homelessness in the city of Los Angeles according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s 2017 Homeless Count.

Even though they are a minority in the military and in the homeless demographic in L.A., veteran women are still an at risk group, with veteran women being three times as likely to experience homelessness as non-veteran women, according to a 2016 research symposium by Veterans Affairs.

Col. Yvette Kelley, president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit housing and addiction resource center New Directions for Veterans, said she has seen this problem grow over the years as more women serve.

“In the past, female soldiers were hidden,” Kelley said, explaining that it can be hard for female veterans dealing with homelessness to find help — sometimes to the point of preventing them from seeking out resources to find employment and prevent homelessness.

Kelley said that two veteran women who came to her did not even know that they counted as veterans, and could therefore access veteran resources for housing and employment.

“The way society portrays soldiers is a male in uniform. She’d see pictures of male soldiers or male sailors and so in her mind a veteran is a male service member,” Kelley said. “It’s gotten better — we see posters that depict women in uniform.”

According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the problem Kelley sees growing is expected to rise “as increasing numbers of women in the military reintegrate into their communities as veterans,” with women estimated to make up 16 percent of the veteran population by 2035.

Even the way female veterans respond to homelessness is often different from their male counterparts, according to Kelley.

“Women are very resourceful. They may choose to sleep on someone’s sofa, or may know how to navigate the YWCA or another facility. Men may not have the same attitude — they may not tolerate sleeping on someone’s couch,” Kelley said.

Rebecca Busler is one of the “resourceful” women Kelley described. A former food service specialist, or cook, Busler has been homeless since May 2017 due to what she termed as a “bad breakup.”

Instead of going to a shelter, she has been couch-surfing.

“It’s been a struggle at times because you never know what the next day holds or how well it’s going to go or where you are going to be,” Busler said.

Busler said finding a job can be difficult for her because she has a severe seafood allergy that limits where she can put her culinary arts degree to use and her anxiety. This makes performing well in job interviews difficult for her, which in turn makes it hard to get a job, and in turn, makes it difficult to have steady, stable housing.

Busler has recently found employment as a security guard at Staples Center after going to the Goodwill of Southern California. The organization has a grant designed to “help veterans transition into civilian employment, through education, training, and job placement,” according to their website.

She said Goodwill took her anxiety into account, conducting mock interviews and teaching her breathing exercises to help her calm down.

Busler said she currently does not have steady housing. Now that she has a job, she is looking forward to getting back on her feet and getting an apartment.

Even though she is thankful for Goodwill, Busler said she wished she knew about the program years ago.

“Because one thing for us is that you have to actually find out about the support systems for veterans. You don’t get a booklet. You have to explore. You have to research. You have to talk to other veterans,” she said.

Rocio Villanueva, another veteran, said she felt the same way. Villanueva said that the only benefit she heard when she left the military almost 10 years ago was the G.I. Bill, which helps veterans pay for their education.

“I had no idea there was disability compensation for whatever happened to you into the military. I didn’t have a transitioning program,” Villanueva said.

It was information Villanueva said that she needed, as she sustained a traumatic brain injury and has post-traumatic stress disorder. She said that she left the military when she was eight months pregnant with her son.

“I had no insurance. I had no job. We were homeless. My husband found a part time job that paid the rent, but we were living in a garage,” Villanueva said.

Although she and her family now have housing, Villanueva said her TBI can make it hard to find employment.

“I didn’t know there was no cure for TBI. Yes, I’m getting better but sometimes what I say is not what my brain is telling me.” Villanueva said.

Besides her TBI, Villanueva said she wondered why she was not getting hired. “Am I saying something wrong?” and “Am I dressing the wrong way?” were just two of the question Villanueva said she had before reaching out to Makeovers that Matter, an organization that helps female veterans reenter the workforce.

She participated in their Mindset Program, a 12-course class that includes financial literacy advice, hair, makeup, and wardrobe tips, and mock interviews.

“I feel like that program really gives a lot to you as an individual. I got the opportunity to meet a lot of other female veterans going through the same or more stressful things than I am going through,” Villanueva said.

The 2018 Greater Los Angeles Area Homeless Count will take place on Jan. 23–25, 2018.