PLIGHT OF HOMELESS VETERANS! 10/15/2007 7:31:17 AM
The following is a RE-POST of MR. ED'S wonderful story about OUR government's FAILURE to HELP OUR VETERANS! It is being done here with his PERMISSION. If you have never read his prior CHRONICLES, I suggest you do so!
ED spent 30 YEARS of his life trying to help them, and someone else PICKING UP AN OAR OR TWO WOULD BE A PATRIOTIC GESTURE!
I sent this to: ACT ... AFA ... and MPT ...
AMERICANS WAKE UP!
OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS ARE GETTING SCREWED OVER!
WHERE DO YOU STAND ON THIS VETERANS ISSUE?
IS IT NOT WORTHY OF A SPECIAL REPORT? THE PUBLIC IS DISGUSTED WITH THE GOVERNMENT BOONDOGGLES!
Blogs by Mr. Ed
Veteran Chronicles, Chapter 82
10/14/2007 6:50:31 AM
More and More Vets Face Homelessness
Adjusting to civilian life after serving in the military has always been a daunting challenge for soldiers, but as the Iraq war continues with no end in sight, an increasing number of returning American soldiers are finding it tough merely to put a roof over their heads.
According to advocates for the homeless, hundreds of Iraq War vets are already homeless, and they expect that number to increase dramatically if US troops stay in Iraq for several more years, as Bush administration officials say they will.
"Americans think the VA [the U.S. Veterans Administration] is wonderful, but that’s a lot of crap," said Linda Boone, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless Veterans (NCHV) in Washington, DC.
"The VA doesn’t have enough resources to take care of our veterans, and Congress doesn’t want to pay for them."
The NCHV has 350 member organizations in 46 states, providing shelter, food, and other services to homeless vets.
Maria Fostarinis, executive director of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty in Washington, DC, agreed that the VA lacks the resources to do its job well, and added: "Budgets are not acts of God. They are political choices. The VA needs to be out there making the case for veterans, as do our politicians."
As some Iraq war vets become homeless, they join the approximately 300,000 veterans the VA estimates are homeless in the U.S. at any given moment, and the half-million who experience homelessness in the course of a year. Nearly 47 percent of homeless vets served during the Viet Nam conflict.
No organization, including the VA itself, keeps thorough statistics on homeless veterans, but the agency has determined a profile of the homeless vet population. Nearly all are male and single. More than half suffer from mental illness or substance abuse problems; more than two-thirds were enlisted for three or more years; and about a third were stationed in a war zone.
Michael Stoops is Director of Community Organizing for the National Coalition for the Homeless, a separate organization based in Washington, DC. He stressed that homeless vets are not "losers," as some people might think. About 89 percent of homeless veterans received honorable discharges from their branch of service, Stoops noted, citing an NCHV statistic. "It’s outrageous that anyone who has put their life on the line for their country should have to live on the streets," Stoops commented.
Estimates of how many homeless vets are currently served by VA-affiliated programs and services vary greatly, but the VA itself admits the number taking advantage of its services of any kind is only a minority, with around 40,000 benefiting from housing-related programs each year, mostly through on-the-ground outreach organizations like NCHV.
According to most estimates, hundreds of thousands of veterans who experience homelessness at some point during the year do not receive any VA benefits at all.
A recent NCHV survey shows that combat veterans who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq are increasingly beginning to request help from homeless volunteer service providers. The survey was conducted in response to the growing number of inquiries from journalists and government officials involved in veteran and budgetary affairs, Boone said.
Meanwhile, say many veterans’ advocates, the Pentagon appears to be in a state of denial. While admitting to some problems in treating soldiers returning from Iraq, Pentagon officials have told the press that the situation has been addressed.
Homeless veteran advocates remain unimpressed. "The military has done a terrible job easing vets back into American life once their tour of duty ends," Stoops said.
