Relationship Among Adverse Childhood Experiences, History of Active Military Service, and Adult Outcomes: Homelessness, Mental Health, and Physical Health

Adult homelessness is a significant public health problem, with nearly 634 000 individ-uals (both children and adults) experiencing homelessness in the United States on a single night in January 2012.1 Individuals reporting veteran status are overrepresented among the adult homeless population: approximately13% (62 619) of adults experiencing homelessness identified as veterans during the January 2012 homeless point-in-time count, despite repre-senting only an estimated 7.1 % of the US population.2 Other work has estimated that veterans ’ risk of homelessness is twice that of nonveterans, underscoring possible differences in the experience of homelessness betwee