Homeless Veterans Are Not Being Served Well By Any Means

In the article entitled “The Shameful Way America Treats Its Veterans” written by Tessa Stuart, the author gives us insight as to what it is like for homeless veterans living in today's world and why that needs to be changed. Stuart also goes into detail about the plenty of veterans that are left just waiting long before they can actually receive the right amount of care.

Veterans are the men and women that have spent a part of their lives sacrificing and serving our country in the various branches of the military. These are people that should be honored because their sacrifice ensures the very freedoms that we get to enjoy here in the United States. Unfortunately, veterans are confronted with a serious problem when they leave the military that hurts their well being and pursuit of happiness. Veterans are 50% more likely to become homeless than American citizens and on any given night there are around 75,000 veterans sleeping on the streets (Garofalo, 2011). The social problem is that homeless veterans are at a higher risk for suicide than those who are not homeless. To understand this social problem, one must

In spite of having many advantages, veterans over-represent in the homeless population. The question “Why?” begs an answer. Forty years have passed since the Vietnam Conflict ended and homeless veterans became a representative image in American society. Surprisingly, it appears there are no studies on the factors contributing

In the book “Military Mental Health Care” it mainly talks about how the government is helping veterans who are struggling with multiple different problems such as from stress to homelessness. In the book, it talks about the number of homeless veterans in America and discussing on why a veteran might become homeless. For example, there are more than half million veterans that are spending a lot of money towards living expensive and cannot afford anything else. Therefore the V.A (Veteran Affairs) decided in 2011 that they are going to try to end this issue of veterans becoming homeless by spending millions of dollars on programs to help these veterans from job training to financial assistance. Therefore veterans don’t end up on the streets.

Karl Malantes explains in an emotional interview with CNN that, “When the peace treaty is signed, the war isn’t over for the veterans, or the family. It’s just starting” (“Veterans Quotes”) Homelessness for soldiers who are lucky enough to return home is a huge epidemic in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, they estimate about 50,000 veterans are currently homeless (“FAQ About Homelessness”). The official definition of homelessness states “an individual who lacks housing or that must reside in a private or public that provides accommodations” (“What is the Official Definition of Homelessness”). Veteran Homelessness is correlated with gender and race, it has a great amount of causes including

The growing number of homeless veterans in the city of Los Angeles is growing out control, this issue is a social phenomenon that affects every city across the country; small or large. It is important to understand that consequently, one way or another, this issue affects not only the homeless veteran, the city, state and government, but every citizen within each city. Bring forth more attention to the fact that additional resources are required; resources such as prevention programs, services, education and vocational training, affordable housing, and medical services. In the last few years, government officials have realized that the current services for veterans are inadequate or insufficient. The government realizes that with the end of both wars, Iraq and Afghanistan, the number of homeless veteran will surely increase. Additionally let’s not forget that these are the men and women who put their own lives in danger to protect our freedom and our way of life. After all that, the least we can do is to ensure that they are provide with adequate post-war services and training in order to adequately transition from military to the civilian sector.

According to the 2012 Annual Homeless Assessment Report released by the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an estimated 62,619 veterans were homeless on any given night in 2012. The good news is that the estimate represents a 7.2 percent decline from the 2011 estimate and a 17.2 percent decline compared to the 2009 estimate ("Veterans," 2013). Although progress is being made, there is much to be done. There are veterans with the same needs as the general homeless population, but also veterans with severe physical and mental health disabilities, related to their service, that necessitate permanent housing with supportive services.

Every year the United States of America send a total number of 22.7 million men and women over the age of 17 overseas to fight for the protection of the country (Veteran Affairs, www.va.gov). That is 22.7 million sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, and other extended family members. When their service is complete many of these war veterans return home to their families, but some have no families to return too. On any given night, there are over 107 thousand veterans sleeping homeless on the streets of America; hungry, thirsty and without shelter (Veteran Affairs, www.va.gov). That is not say that the men and women who have families are safe from homelessness. A majority of the homeless veteran population comes from people who

Imagine one making a huge decision to leave family, friends, and a familiar lifestyle to go serve and protect their country for months or years at a time. Imagine one risking their life and putting forth their time just to come back to no home, money, or health care while have developed a mental illness. The government promises all of these benefits one may never see and they end up on the streets without a home finding ways to cope which may lead to addiction. A study shows that “There are estimated to be about 50,000 homeless veterans on any given night with about 1.4 million others at risk of becoming homeless, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans said, citing government statistics” (Shaw). Many of America’s homeless veterans have served in World War II, the Korean War, Cold War, Vietnam War, and many other wars. Nearly half of homeless veterans served during the Vietnam era. Two-thirds served their country for at least three years, and one-third were stationed in a war zone. Homeless veterans all across America come from different backgrounds and homelessness does not discriminate against gender. These veterans, including males and females, suffer from homelessness due to: being unemployable; suffering economic hardships; battling substance abuse, and lacking proper legal aid. Yes, there are plenty of resources out there to assist the homeless veterans that may help some but there are still too many veterans living on the streets.

“It’s like the path of least resistance... After a while, your self esteem gets really low and you don’t feel competitive any longer… Like you are already defeated.” (Applewhite ¶ 17). A quote from a homeless veteran shows how even though he has tried to relieve himself of the homelessness, it does not always end with the outcome that he wants, which leaves him feeling defeated, as well as thousands of others. About ⅓ of the homeless population are veterans, and they are usually the ones that need the most help (VA Expands Partnerships ¶5). The struggle that homeless veterans face everyday in the United States is a growing problem that needs to be fixed because it will continue to get worse. The healthy and productive success of

About 1.5 million other veterans, meanwhile, are considered at-risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks, and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing.

The majority of homeless veterans have service connected disabilities that are a direct result of military service; this contributes to a high risk of homelessness among veterans. Unique military skills that are non-essential in the civilian sector, combat related health issues, fractured family relationships and the lack of affordable housing are other factors. Many of them lack a social support network and/or someone to assist them with getting assistance from the government. They may be unaware of the different services they require and are

A struggle for veterans was finding employment after completing the service so many veterans had problems with conforming to civilian from transitioning out the military. The unemployment rate for all U.S. veterans was 6.9 percent←;→ however, for those who had served since September 11 it rest at 10 percent. 13 percent of the veterans in the U.S. population were homeless, another 1.4 million veterans were at the endangered of homelessness. The source for vets that unfortunately discovery themselves in this position of being homeless lack of employment, poverty, housing shortages, low wages with adding drug abuse, alcohol, physical mental illness these problems can leave a veteran out in the streets (Hoffer, Elizabeth. F., Dekle, Judith. Ward., & Sheets, Carol., 2014).

Veterans everyday face problems like these that can be helped and even prevented. These issues are blinded by society and I believe that these courageous Americans should have sufficient living conditions to live healthy and happy lives. I hope we can realize as a nation that our veterans are immensely important to us and the deserve more than what they are receiving. This essay opened my eyes to the many challenges veterans face in their everyday lives, I hope it did the same for

Homelessness is the lack of acute housing or any form of accommodation, which have not only affected ordinary civilians, but has become a huge problem for the men and women who put their live on the line to protect the United States. Despite the endeavor made by the government, it has failed on it social, economic, and medical reform. There should take a more aggressive approach to spot resources to veterans experiencing homelessness; else the situation will continue to grow.