to all ::::::::::: i just found this article on another web site;;; ~~~~~~~~~~ Homelessness soars among US Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans By Shannon Jones -- 31 December 2012 According to a new government report, the number of US Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who are homeless or at risk for becoming homeless is rising at an alarming rate, more than doubling over the past two years. The US Veterans Administration said that through the end of September 2012, 26,531 veterans were living on the street, at risk of losing their homes, staying in temporary housing or receiving federal vouchers to pay rent. That compares to 10,500 in 2010. The numbers cited are only those veterans the VA is aware of. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that 62,619 veterans are homeless on a given night over the course of a year, and more than twice that number are at risk of homelessness. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans estimates that some 1.5 million veterans are at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks and dismal, overcrowded, living conditions. Veterans are much more likely than the population at large to suffer from homelessness, comprising 23 percent of the homeless population even though only 8 percent of the population at large can claim veteran status. Afghanistan War veterans are particularly at risk because of their young age and their exposure to combat with its psychological effects. Some seventy percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans had exposure to combat. About 30,700 are expected to leave the military in each of the next four years as the military reduces its ranks. About 13 percent of homeless Afghan and Iraq war veterans are women, and almost 50 percent of all homeless veterans are African American. The increase in homelessness among younger veterans comes despite a campaign by the Veterans Administration to identify and assist veterans that has resulted in a reported overall decline in the number of homeless veterans over the past several years. About 22,000 veterans were assisted last year, still only a fraction of the total number homeless or at risk. The agency is nowhere near on target to achieve the stated goal of the Obama administration of eliminating homelessness among veterans by 2015, and the VA faces the possibility of funding cuts. The veteran population makes up a wide range of ex-military personnel, from those who served in WWII to Afghanistan and Iraq. Vietnam and post-Vietnam veterans comprise the largest proportion of the homeless population. However, recent veterans often have severe disabilities that are correlated with homelessness. There are many factors behind the high level of homelessness among veterans. In addition to the problems of lack of affordable housing, lack of decent paying jobs and inadequate access to health care, many veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse. Further, the training that veterans receive in the military is not always useful when it comes to seeking civilian employment. While most programs that assist the homeless are targeted to families with children, most veterans are single adults. A corollary of the high incidence of veteran homelessness has been a rise in rural homelessness. Experts at the 2012 National Rural Housing Conference held earlier this month in Washington, DC reported that homelessness is growing in many rural areas because youth from small towns are 21.5 percent more likely to join the military than youth from urban areas. The Center for American Progress reports that according to unpublished 2011 US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, 30.2 percent of veterans age 18 to 24 were unemployed, and nearly 1 in 10 with disabilities were unemployed. More than 968,000 veterans from the WWII era to the present lived had lived in poverty in the past year in 2010. A new Yale University study of recent veterans participating in the Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUDVASH) program found a lack of care for those suffering from PTSD. The study assessed nearly 100 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who went through the program between January 2008 and April 2011. The study found that the typical homeless veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan was younger and was less likely to have had a criminal record than veterans of other military conflicts. The Yale report also found that the majority of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans had been exposed to combat and had been diagnosed with PTSD, yet did not receive any Veterans Administration service connected disability payments. Of those who did receive service-related disability payments the male veterans reported receiving a paltry $641.94 a month and females just $553.86. Sixty-three percent of male homeless veterans and 77 percent of female homeless veterans suffered from PTSD and/or a mood disorder. Of these more than 90 percent of male veterans and 75 percent of female veterans suffered from combat-related PTSD. The number of recent veterans suffering from combat-related PTSD is much higher than previous groups of veterans studied, who suffered only an 8-12 percent rate of PTSD. Joe Leal, an Iraq war veteran and a founder of the Vet Hunters Project told NBC News, It used to be where a homeless vet was typically about 60 years old. Now theyre 22 years old. And a lot of them are female veterans who have witnessed combat. They are coming back messed up. They are coming back homeless. Leal said that it was not uncommon to find Army reservists, who are still part of the military, but are homeless. These guys show up for work looking sharp. Then they leave at the end of the day and go sleep in a Chevy.
Veterans deserve everything their country offers IMO There is no greater person or professional than the soldier, our country's asset. If the army turned on the government that has turned their back as well, I'd support the military, gun-ho
to custer :::::::::::: ??? what do you think about the recent selection (and approval) of Mr. Hegal as the new secretary of defence department ??? vlad
Nope, not buying this article. I logged about 50 miles today running various errands and I didn't see one homeless person, and I even drove through a crappy part of town. Not only that but every time I turn around this nations brainwashed are coddling the military. Discounts for military at delis, barbers, oil change shops, bar & grills, etc etc. half the job ads I look at say they encourage military veterans to apply. Military veterans typically get top pick when they get out because A. American sheep just lve to "support the troops", and B. because they have extensive training and can do the job without talking back or asking questions. Besides, if they are homeless it's probably their karma for destroying innocent civilians homes and cities in the middle east so that weapons manufactures, banks and other crazy tyrants can make lots of money.
You are a sad person. Many homeless people have pride. Do you think the homeless and homeless veterans stand there with a sign for you to notice them? You also do realize the police chase them away, arrest them, force them to leave town, burn and dispose of even their few meager belongings or blankets etc. to make them stay away? Here in my town, they like to beat them to death. And if you don't see ANY, you are NOT looking. Your blindness is quite deliberate. Your "moral superiority" is an illusion. Your karma and the veteran's" karma" are identical in regard to their ordered actions.
I'm a sad person because I have very little compassion for people who storm into other peoples country and start a war, resulting in murdered innocent civilians and a destroyed city/town/country because of the actions of eight extremists? Ok I guess I am sad then. I'm sad because I question why I should "support the troops". I'm sad because I don't believe some government statistic article printed by a government that is known to be chaulk full of liars, thieves, and murderers. Troops do the bidding for powerful cowards. They are pawns who put themselves in that position willingly. There is no draft. These people trade their life away for training and a signing bonus and in the process destroy entire nations and kill innocent people, then they call them "colateral damage" so they can feel ok about it. No, it is you who is sad.
Go to most cities and you will find them quite easily. The homeless tend to go to cities because it's easier to find the scraps to live on there, there are more shelters, more soup kitchen's etc. I travel to the City of Wilmington, DE, and see them all over the place.
Well if this were true then why do people keep enlisting? One would think that if there are so many homeless veterans that the younger crowd would see that and ask, why? Or maybe avoid selling themselves to the federal gov entirely. It goes both ways. I watched a special on tv last night called epic rv and one owner of a particular company builds rv's that cost in excess of 2 million dollars. The owner is a military veteran and also has one of those rv's himself. Please take your veteran sob story and stick it where the sun don't shine. Vets have the same opportunities, if not more, than regular citizens once they are finished with service, and like I said, many are given financial discounts from various businesses.
Uh, yes, they DO this. In fact, MILLIONS of young people doing this is why there is not an active draft right now! You may wish to read a newspaper or learn some past and current history. There is an antiwar group in EVERY city. Since you haven't bothered to check any of this out is one of the reasons I submit your karma about immoral killing in our wars is no better than the veterans. I Taking what suits YOU and pretending the rest is not YOUR fault is still "selling yourself". At some point, you should hope you don't find out might come out so well in life for some, and others end up with nothing. You have no idea what help someone has gotten, and how much harm and damage and evil others have endured. Let's blow up some artillery shells nearby your head for six months and see how well your circuits work. Or dous you in depleted uranium gases and dust, or feed you some of Dick Cheney's fecal water, or just have you see or experience everything you have been told in life turn out to be a lie.
Indeed! Yeah, we sure would never hear from a Right Wing source about the shafting our veterans are getting! "Support the Troops! Buy a yellow ribbon for your car and give Halliburton ANOTHER 200 billion in no-bid contracts!"
I'm not dumb enough to sign up for blowing up artillery shells next to my head. I've said my piece. Change foreign policy if you expect to get any sympathy or repsect from me. Until then, the military are just minions for a bunch of greedy war mongering tyrants.
hey fiddlerdave ::: thanks for your input, what do you think about my "sandy in egypt" thread. here is another case of fiddling while athens burns. [[ ?was that it? ]]. i once actualy met and talked with an old veteran who was sleeping in front of a McDonald's on Massachusets Ave. in Washington DC. he was fired from two janitor jobs because he worked with the precision and detail which is taught in the army. he was too good at the job; so good that the other workers complained about his perfectionism. this problem is not a problem which the civilians have with the veterans; this is a big problem which the veterans have with the civilians. please write some more. and here is some fiddling which you may enjoy. -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhtaO2rCRr4 -- vlad
