In September 2019, PEW Research Center released “The American Veteran Experience and the Post-9/11 Generation”. The report details how post-9/11 Veterans – defined as Veterans who enlisted and served after September 11, 2001 – were affected by their experience in the military, compared to their pre-9/11 predecessors. Overall, PEW reported they were more likely to experience financial, mental, and physical hardships upon re-entering civilian life. Compared to their peers from earlier service eras, a higher proportion of post-9/11 Veterans experienced deployment – including multiple deployments – and combat experience.

Purpose Built Families Foundation (“PBFF”) is a nationally accredited nonprofit based in Pembroke Pines, Florida. The foundation provides a range of direct services to very low income Veterans in South Florida through its Operation Sacred Trust (“OST”) Supportive Services for Veteran Families (“SSVF”) program. PBFF also oversees Practical Application of Intimate Relationship Skills (“PAIRS”) programs globally. PAIRS is a curriculum-based, educational approach for promoting better relationships and works with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to disseminate this curriculum to Veterans nationwide as the Warrior to Soul Mate Program (“W2SM”).

Following PEW’s report, PBFF looked to more fully identify and understand differences between pre- and post-9/11 homeless Veterans served by the agency’s SSVF program between FY 2012 and FY 2019. The aim was to examine key characteristics that could improve understanding of how and why Veterans of any era experience homelessness and how this could inform the efforts of those who work with Veterans of any background. This summary reviews the methods and findings of the ensuing study.