Seeking a Secure Base: An Exploration of Relationship Security from Military Involvement through Homelessness Experienced By Veterans

Background and purpose: Despite the extensive federal and provincial resources available, veterans in Canada become homeless at disproportionate rates compared to their civilian counterparts. Adapting sustainable housing solutions for these veterans who have “fallen through the cracks” poses increased challenges to homelessness service providers: homeless veterans bring particular biopsychosocial challenges that often render conventional housing programming unfit for their needs. Among others, specific healthcare and mental health services needed by veterans are difficult to attain and sustain during a period of homelessness due to many issues including lack of proper documentation for treatment, inconsistent communication between the veterans and their service providers, and the experience of homelessness itself exacerbating challenges to wellbeing. In 2017, a large homeless service provider in Quebec launched a housing program for veterans. We sought to understand, from a relational and social support perspective, the veterans’ unique trajectories to better understand how to prevent veterans from becoming homeless and how the program should best adapt its services to support veterans in retaining their housing.

Methods: As part of a long-standing community-university research collaboration, we conducted a qualitative case study with seven men participating in a veterans housing program in Quebec, Canada. Nine men, aged 44-64, were interviewed from 2019 to 2020 in two segments of 45-60 minutes each. Interviews were transcribed verbatim (French or English) and coded thematically using NVivo software. We developed a semi-structured qualitative interview guide founded on the attachment theory principles of a secure base to explore their trajectories into and out of the military and into and out of homelessness from a relational perspective. In the context of these phases of their life experiences, the interview questions elicited exploration of key concepts of attachment security, trust in others, emotion regulation, sense of belonging through social connections, etc.

Results: The interviews garnered detailed descriptions of relationship security trajectories of the men into and throughout their military careers and homelessness experiences. Many participants reported either a lack of perceived need for help or an unwillingness to seek help when in need of support as central to loss of stable housing and eventual homelessness. Relationship breaches, often with romantic partners or family members, precipitated the loss of stable housing for many participants. Relational stability, before becoming homeless and after, when they entered the veterans housing program, was strongly linked to housing stability and wellbeing. Participants reported developing strong social bonds within programs staff as essential to maintaining housing.

Conclusions and implications: The study findings are relevant to inform interventions to enhance engagement in and provision of services to veterans at risk of, currently, or formerly experiencing homelessness. Given the strong identity veterans carry as helpers, its is essential to include a focus on building relational security as a key component to prevent homelessness and to helping veterans retain secure housing once they regain it. Lack of a sense of a secure base leads to instability at any point in the lifecycle and is an often overlooked component of housing programs for veterans and civilians alike.