DISCOVERY
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK Life after service
A recent study helps to identify solutions for complex challenges facing Chicagoland veterans • BY DREW SOTTARDI
As a mother with three children in the military, Loyola professor Janice Matthews Rasheed, PhD, is keenly aware of the dangers that service members face while on active duty. And as a researcher in the School of Social Work, she also knows the challenges that military men and women deal with when they return to civilian life. Those difficulties—which include high rates of unemployment, homelessness, and suicide—are outlined in “The State of the American Veteran: The Chicagoland Veterans Study,” a joint survey
by Loyola University Chicago and the University of Southern California. Conducted in 2015 and released earlier this
year, the study is the first comprehensive look at the Chicago area’s military population. “This is a starting point that will help us develop relevant social policy and begin to address service barri- ers and gaps for veterans and military families,” Rasheed says. The study paints a jarring picture of post-mili- tary life for many Chicago area veterans. Among
the findings of the study are:
• About 61 percent of pre-9/11 and 65 percent of post-9/11 veterans left the military without a job waiting for them in the civilian world.
• About half of pre-9/11 and 42 percent of post-9/11 veterans left the military unsure of where they would be living.
• Many left active duty with untreated physical and mental health issues, which were higher among post-9/11 veterans.
Although there are local agencies and orga-
nizations that help veterans, Rasheed says they often focus on just a single issue, such as job training or counseling. That approach can force veterans to visit several places before receiving all the help they need. Loyola is hoping to change
32 LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
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