Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Homelessness of Veterans from the funtionalist and conflict perspectives.

Good Essays
653 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Homelessness of Veterans from the funtionalist and conflict perspectives.
The threat of homelessness amongst veterans has become an increasingly growing issue. Through my extensive research I have found multiple reasons as to why this threat has occurred. Some examples of these are things such as the transition from military to civilian life, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and poverty. I am going to apply the functionalist and conflict perspectives in explaining the problems of homelessness amongst veterans.

The first institution that fails veterans is the military. From the functionalist perspective the manifest function of the military is to train and structure a person into what is necessary to protect and serve their country. The latent functions of the military are to educate and to receive benefits such as health care and housing. Although these latent functions for the most part only apply to those currently enlisted. The dysfunctions of the military include abuse, corruption, lack of social support, and lack of training on how to function and survive when placed back into civilian life.

As a result of these functions conflicts are made such as competition, constraints, and power struggles. The manifest, latent, and dysfunctions relate to competition in that the military is always trying to excel to superiority at any cost. The fate of its soldiers is not a top priority. The constraints of these functions are ones set by the standards of the military. The good or the bad is not achieved unless the military allows for it. The manifest, latent, and dysfunctions relate to power struggles in that the militaries ultimate goal is to become as powerful as can be. This includes power over its soldiers. This power can limit the benefits that a soldier may receive and also the point to which a soldier is pushed.

The second institution that fails the veteran is family. From the functionalist perspective the manifest function of family is to provide a structure in which means of living are met. The latent function of family is love and a social support. The dysfunction of family is abuse and neglect which can lead to the lack of money through divorce or abandonment.

As a result of these functions conflicts are made such as constraints, coercion, and powers struggles. The constraints of the manifest, latent, and dysfunctions are created by the lack of money or the ability to find a job or even affordable housing. The coercion of these functions are fighting which can lead to divorce. The power struggles of these functions may be stress and pressure applied to the members of the family from other members.

The third institution that fails the veteran is the government. From the functionalist perspective the manifest function of the government is to provide stability and safety. The latent function of the government is a source of social support through programs for when there are dysfunctions in other institutions. The dysfunctions of the government are things such as popularity competition when electing government officials and profiting off of the poor.

As a result of these functions conflicts are made such as competition, constraints, and power struggles. The manifest, latent, and dysfunctions relate to competition based on that it is a constant competition between programs for which the government will fund. The programs that are unfortunate enough not to receive government funding may fail as a result. The constraints of these functions in government are the limitations that are placed on people due to many things such as social status. The coercion of these functions in government are theft and fighting which in some cases are done in order to survive.

Homelessness amongst veterans results from a complex set of circumstances due to the failure of these institutions which in turn force them to choose between even the basic needs that any human must have in order to survive. By using the functionalist and conflict perspectives I have demonstrated in what ways these institutions, military, family, and government, have failed veterans causing them to become homeless.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Homelessness and Veterans

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Veterans in America are much more likely to go on the streets rather than someone that has never participated in the military (Homelessness in America). About one in four homeless people are veterans but there are only 11% of the US nation former veterans. (Veterans make up 1 in 4 homeless). When veterans come home from war they get all kind of benefits, e.g. loans, free health care and further education. Homeless veterans are much better educated than non veteran homeless people and are much more likely to get a job before they become homeless.(Veterans Benefits) Many people than question why there are so many homeless veterans in the United States.…

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In my research thus far I have found there are many reasons why a veteran as well as anyone becomes homeless. Mostly they are economical, mental, physical (health wise) drug and alcohol abuses are the main reasons. Research studies indicate that in the veteran population younger veterans are becoming homeless, which was a great surprise to me. The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are causing many of these issues. Another group of homeless are the older veterans and their reasons are similar to the younger veterans, most of them have been out of the military for quite sometime but because of never getting any treatment when they were discharged they had a hard time adjusting to life after the military.…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Works Cited

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Williams, Carol J. "The Veterans Administration Does Not Provide Proper Services for PTSD." Do Veterans Receive Adequate Health Care? Ed. Susan C. Hunnicutt. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Court Orders Major Overhaul of VA 's Mental Health System." Los Angeles Times 11 May 2011.Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 29 April 2013.…

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    According to Holmström, veterans are likely to develop mental health problems that may diminish the quality of their lives. Holmström provides essential information that can be used to understand the needs of veterans in their bid to adapt to civilian life. For instance, PTSD has been recognized as a leading problem for veterans, predominantly men (8). Holmström validates his article by providing evidence from individuals working in the health care industry. He focuses on the importance of comprehending the culture of military people to ensure that they can be assisted to cope with changes in civilian lives.…

    • 1233 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    References: Department of Veteran Affairs. (2012, July 22). Retrieved from Department of Veteran Affairs: http://www.va.gov/HOMELESS…

    • 1134 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Homeless Veterans

    • 2364 Words
    • 10 Pages

    According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV), nearly 200,000 American Veterans are homeless on any given night (Rieckhoff). NCHV - the resource and technical assistance center - reported that the number of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) - (OEF) veterans are becoming homeless much more quickly than Vietnam veterans. As the war in Iraq and Afghanistan continues the number of homeless veterans increases. The next generation of American Veterans is on its way home, and tens of thousands more will return from combat over the years to come. Upon returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan thousands of veterans are facing a new nightmare, the risk of homelessness.…

    • 2364 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Fargo, each homeless group experiences a unique risk factor through the experience of homelessness. Fargo says “Several causal models of homelessness have integrated both individual- and community level factors"(340). He said that this model asserts that homelessness results in a convergence of factors at multiple levels. Homeless families are more strongly associated with housing, income and other factors. Many veterans served in the Iraq and Afghanistan Conflicts. Metraux, in the article. “Risk Factors for Becoming Homeless among a Cohort of Veterans Who Served in the Era of the Iraq and Afghanistan Conflicts “(79) looked at this subject. Of the people who were involved in the military between July 2005 and 2006, veterans deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, were at signification risk for homelessness .was found (E-1 to E-4) it was a high rating for the TBI and street disorder. Male population was increased by conflict…

    • 1628 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Homeless War Veterans

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages

    PROBLEM: Veterans being let go from service without appropriate long tern help. Leaves unthinkable large numbers of Veterans helpless without knowledge on how to fit back in to the world they left behind, so they become homeless. This problem is out of control.…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The extent of the readjustment issues can be partially tied to a system that failed to benefit them upon their return home. This issue laid partially with the issue of the war in society. The Vietnam War was extremely unpopular by the end of the fighting, and one soldier recounted the mixed reception veterans got from the general populace. In the article “Having Been to War”, Martin Napersteck…

    • 1743 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As businesses develop and technology advances, the need for the proletariat in the workforce reduces, for example, in the past ten years, automated shopping centre checkouts have flooded large retail outlets. This initial large cost of setup sees a worthwhile overall return as it means fewer employees that they need working in their store at the checkouts. This being motivated by a businesses biggest priority being to make money, not to keep employees working for them. This is not only isolated to retail; factories, farming and car parks have all progressed to automated systems. Because of this automation the proletariat are subsequently let go from their jobs by the bourgeoise.…

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For this population of women veterans, the frame of reference (FOR) most applicable will be the model of human occupation (MOHO). This holistic, client-centered FOR, views a person as having the ability to reorganize through interaction with their environment. This is to restore order to their life. With environment referring to the person’s work, activities of daily living (ADLs) and play, these engagements incorporate the cycle of output, feedback, input, and throughput which results in change and adaption in the person. Within this FOR, change involves the re-establishment of roles and performance through the restructuring of daily life routines. The motivation to facilitate these changes in this FOR is credited to the individual’s internal…

    • 166 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The United States military dates back to 1775 drafting men initially to fight for their country in which conditions wasn’t the best. As years pass new technology, new weapons, and vehicles to support comes with new rules, regulations, and a vigorous decision making process for senior leaders to ponder on. Below the senior leadership are the people that make it happen, we the soldiers fighting everyday serving our country dealing with all the changes on a daily bases adapting as we go. The least thought about wondering why the loss of motivation within the units, the rate of soldiers with mental and physical disorders raising all over, and family’s being affected by the change because of the choice of not to hear the voices of the people that…

    • 1257 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Along with the Conflict Perspective, other macro theories will be applied to this topic, for instance, Structural Functionalism – which according to Kendall (2013), is “a society composed of interrelated parts, each of which serves a function and ideally contributes to the overall stability of society” (pg. 21). From this theory, it is customary for homelessness to be part of society in order to maintain an equilibrium of poverty, class distinction, and job creations/innovations. Corresponding to this, Robbins, Chatterjee, & Canda (2012), state that:…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    These responses are rightfully called complex operations, and only through integrated and coherent responses across all elements of national power can we hope to overcome adversaries operating in this new battlespace. In the aftermath of the relative certainty of doctrine, training, tactics, adversary, and known terrain of the Cold War, our military today is in a sense operating without a concept of war and is searching desperately for the new “unified field theory” of conflict that will serve to organize and drive military doctrine and tactics, acquisition and research, training and organization, leader development and education, materiel and weaponry, and personnel and promotion policies in ways that could replace the legacy impact that Cold War structures still exert on all facets of the military. Today, no agreed-upon theory of conflict drives all of these critical vectors toward a commonly understood paradigm; the result is a profusion of disparate outlooks leading toward the risk of professional incoherence. The confidence of civilian leaders and the population they serve that our military will continue to prevail in conflicts regardless of their complex nature may be in jeopardy. Some characterize the nature of the nontraditional…

    • 2124 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Veterans Essay

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Many veterans still contribute to the nation’s work force, even after returning home from war. Over half of the veterans in the U.S. are still able to work after returning from war. Many veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and are not given the proper attention and care to get back on their feet and find a job. Studies show that 479,000 cases of PTSD were present after the Vietnam War, and 1 million lifetime cases as a result of the same war. A third of the veterans in the U.S. are out of a job due to the symptoms of PTSD. The VA needs to take it upon themselves to help veterans cope with life after the war, so that they can get their life back on track.…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics