Psychosis, Lack of Job Skills, and Criminal History: Associations with Employment in Two Samples of Homeless Men

OBJECTIVE:

This study examined factors associated with employment among homeless men with mental illness, particularly history of criminal justice involvement.

METHODS:

Data from 569 homeless men in the 11-site Collaborative Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness (2004-2009) and 1,101 homeless male veterans in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program at 19 sites (1992-2003) were analyzed.

RESULTS:

In neither sample was criminal or incarceration history significantly associated with job attainment or earnings for either black or white participants. In contrast, psychotic disorders and public-support income were negatively associated with job attainment and earnings. The majority of homeless veterans reported lifetime occupations as skilled or unskilled manual workers.

CONCLUSIONS:

These findings highlight the high rate of nonemployment among homeless men and suggest that employment among homeless men is not significantly impeded by a criminal record but by psychiatric problems and reliance on public-support income.

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By:  Tsai J1, Rosenheck RA1.

• 1The authors are with the Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs New England Health Care System, West Haven, Connecticut (e-mail: Jack.Tsai@yale.edu ). 

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