Veterans Make Up One Quarter of US Homeless

[one...two...tree 2,762]

AP

Veterans make up one in four homeless people in the United States, though they are only 11 percent of the general adult population, according to a report to be released Thursday by the Alliance to End Homelessness, a public education nonprofit.

And homelessness is not just a problem among middle-age and elderly veterans. Younger veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are trickling into shelters and soup kitchens seeking services, treatment or help with finding a job.

The Veterans Affairs Department has identified 1,500 homeless veterans from the current wars and says 400 of them have participated in its programs specifically targeting homelessness.

The Alliance to End Homelessness, a public education nonprofit, based the findings of its report on numbers from Veterans Affairs and the Census Bureau. Data from 2005 estimated that 194,254 homeless people out of 744,313 on any given night were veterans.

When I Came Home is a documentary which follows the lives and struggles of several homeless veterans, including those who have recently returned home from the war in Iraq. The film examines the factors which led over 150,000 Vietnam veterans from the battlefield to the street and asks the question: Will what happened to Vietnam veterans happen to a new generation of soldiers? The film also focuses on the veteran-led movement which is fighting to end this national disgrace.

Edited November 12, 2007 by Mister Fancypants

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Hmmm... This could be a hot potato.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Hmmm... This could be a hot potato.

...or turn a blind eye because the situation (homeless and a veteran) would cause the rhetorically encumbered to choose between which rhetoric they want to stand behind.

Edited November 12, 2007 by Mister Fancypants

[Kevin and 10]

So called civilized soceity wants a warrior class, but thinks that these warriors can live among the general population without any help. They are supposed to just forget eveything and come back to "Normal" living after their experinces.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Hmmm... This could be a hot potato.

...or turn a blind eye because the situation (homeless and a veteran) would cause the rhetorically encumbered to choose between which rhetoric they want to stand behind.

I wonder...

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

So called civilized soceity wants a warrior class, but thinks that these warriors can live among the general population without any help. They are supposed to just forget eveything and come back to "Normal" living after their experinces.

A society with a warrior class (ours) must remain in a perpetual state of war.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Hmmm... This could be a hot potato.

...or turn a blind eye because the situation (homeless and a veteran) would cause the rhetorically encumbered to choose between which rhetoric they want to stand behind.

I wonder...

I used to...but too many threads like these drift off unnoticed by the outrage brigade... too much internal conflict.

[almaty 19]

brother arijit...we do

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

brother arijit...we do

Bingo.

[Jasman0717 9]

That is so sad!

[SteveLaura 0]

Hmmm... This could be a hot potato.

...or turn a blind eye because the situation (homeless and a veteran) would cause the rhetorically encumbered to choose between which rhetoric they want to stand behind.

I wonder...

I used to...but too many threads like these drift off unnoticed by the outrage brigade... too much internal conflict.

Indeed.

Many of my clients are vets. Many have alcohol problems. At least one has blamed the army specifically for his addiction, saying that a type of 'beer vending machine' was placed in their sleeping quarters. Many have PTSD. But maybe they just lack personal responsibility.

[Kevin and 10]

So called civilized soceity wants a warrior class, but thinks that these warriors can live among the general population without any help. They are supposed to just forget eveything and come back to "Normal" living after their experinces.

A society with a warrior class (ours) must remain in a perpetual state of war.

Every country has a warrior class. They have militarys, police, etc.

We just expect them to not let their experince hinder them. Obviously it doesn't work. We get homless verterns, alcoholic police men and women, ect.

[Ban Hammer 13,442]

Hmmm... This could be a hot potato.

...or turn a blind eye because the situation (homeless and a veteran) would cause the rhetorically encumbered to choose between which rhetoric they want to stand behind.

I wonder...

I used to...but too many threads like these drift off unnoticed by the outrage brigade... too much internal conflict.

Indeed.

Many of my clients are vets. Many have alcohol problems. At least one has blamed the army specifically for his addiction, saying that a type of 'beer vending machine' was placed in their sleeping quarters. Many have PTSD. But maybe they just lack personal responsibility.

must be an older crowd as i never saw a vending machine in any barracks from 1980 onward.

[almaty 19]

Hmmm... This could be a hot potato.

...or turn a blind eye because the situation (homeless and a veteran) would cause the rhetorically encumbered to choose between which rhetoric they want to stand behind.

I wonder...

I used to...but too many threads like these drift off unnoticed by the outrage brigade... too much internal conflict.

Indeed.

Many of my clients are vets. Many have alcohol problems. At least one has blamed the army specifically for his addiction, saying that a type of 'beer vending machine' was placed in their sleeping quarters. Many have PTSD. But maybe they just lack personal responsibility.

must be an older crowd as i never saw a vending machine in any barracks from 1980 onward.

the had them even in the dorms of basic training..off limits..unless it was the week-end..25 cents a beer..bud..miller etc....i was shitfaced many times...

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I think I remember Gary mentioning that he went through some problems after leaving the Navy - be curious to know his take on this.