A National Shame: Homeless Vets
(photos D Grieser)See also New York Times
HOMELESS VETS.
Not words that we should be associating together in our minds, yet many of us do, given what happened after the Vietnam war. As I reread this, I realize it will be published on Veteran's Day, which is even more ironic.
A study released this week quantified homelessness among military veterans. There were some of the numbers that stood out in stark relief, already referenced by a few of you:
There were 195,827 homeless veterans nationwide on the streets on any given night of the year.Of 39,000 vets who participated in Veterans' Affairs homeless programs last year:
4.9 percent served before the Vietnam War.42.5 percent served during the Vietnam War.41.9 percent served after Vietnam and before the Persian Gulf War.10.6 percent served after the Persian Gulf War began, including veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Source: Department of Veterans Affairs, National Alliance to End Homelessnesshttp://www.va.gov/
The National Alliance to End Homelessness (http://www.naeh.org/), found that one in four homeless people in America is a vet and that former service members are much more likely to become homeless than other persons in this country.
Vets make up about 11% of the population but 26% of the homeless, more than double!It is predicted that the problem will only worsen as many troops return from Irq and Afghanistan with PTSD and traumatic brain injuries, which put them at risk for homelessness.
The VA reports that 45% of vets suffer from some form of mental illness.
The only reason the total number of homeless vets has declined over the years at all is because of the aging of the older groups of vets. Now younger vets are trickling into shelters and soup kitchens and some predict a tsunami building. It took roughly a decade for Vietnam vets to show up in large numbers among the homeless. Repeat deployments and long stints in combat zones will take their toll.
If it turns out to be true that the number of wounded vets has been grossly underestimated by the government , this will inflate the numbers unable to return smoothly to civilian life even further.
Veterans are honored on Memorial Day and Veterans Day with parades and speeches. This year, I am reading that antiwar veterans are being forbidden from marching, in some locales. At the same time, once the wars are over or even when they're still going on, people passing by the homeless vet on the street tend to look the other way.
Not words that we should be associating together in our minds, yet many of us do, given what happened after the Vietnam war. As I reread this, I realize it will be published on Veteran's Day, which is even more ironic.
A study released this week quantified homelessness among military veterans. There were some of the numbers that stood out in stark relief, already referenced by a few of you:
There were 195,827 homeless veterans nationwide on the streets on any given night of the year.Of 39,000 vets who participated in Veterans' Affairs homeless programs last year:
4.9 percent served before the Vietnam War.42.5 percent served during the Vietnam War.41.9 percent served after Vietnam and before the Persian Gulf War.10.6 percent served after the Persian Gulf War began, including veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Source: Department of Veterans Affairs, National Alliance to End Homelessnesshttp://www.va.gov/
The National Alliance to End Homelessness (http://www.naeh.org/), found that one in four homeless people in America is a vet and that former service members are much more likely to become homeless than other persons in this country.
Vets make up about 11% of the population but 26% of the homeless, more than double!It is predicted that the problem will only worsen as many troops return from Irq and Afghanistan with PTSD and traumatic brain injuries, which put them at risk for homelessness.
The VA reports that 45% of vets suffer from some form of mental illness.
The only reason the total number of homeless vets has declined over the years at all is because of the aging of the older groups of vets. Now younger vets are trickling into shelters and soup kitchens and some predict a tsunami building. It took roughly a decade for Vietnam vets to show up in large numbers among the homeless. Repeat deployments and long stints in combat zones will take their toll.
If it turns out to be true that the number of wounded vets has been grossly underestimated by the government , this will inflate the numbers unable to return smoothly to civilian life even further.
Veterans are honored on Memorial Day and Veterans Day with parades and speeches. This year, I am reading that antiwar veterans are being forbidden from marching, in some locales. At the same time, once the wars are over or even when they're still going on, people passing by the homeless vet on the street tend to look the other way.
By DiAnne Grieser on November 12, 2007
REMEMBER "My Forgotten Man"
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 2:40 PM
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