Persuasive Essay On Homeless Veterans

In today's society where opinion matters, people have been extremely vocal about the lack of support the government has provided to our veterans. Many feel as if the government should do more, while others feel as if they are doing enough. Everyone will have a difference of opinion no matter if they have severed in the military or not. No matter how one may feel, is extremely important to take care of our veterans. As they have sacrificed their lives, time, and family to protect our country. Contrary to one's belief, the government provides a substantial amount of programs, which support the veterans. Honestly more could be done. On any given day you could see women and men standing on the corner holding signs implying they are homeless veterans and will work for food. A few programs the government offers our veterans are funding for mental health services, The Wounded Warrior Project and Vocational Rehabilitation and Education, which will be discussed throughout this essay. When you research the programs, they make it sound as if all proceeds are going towards the best treatment and care money could buy.

Veterans are homeless due to the many of the same reasons as the non-veteran are which include, shortage of housing, unemployment and personal hardship. However, veterans have high rates of post-traumatic stress disorders as well as sexual trauma which can create extra barriers for veterans. In fact, someone is sexually assaulted every thirty minutes in the military (Interpreting Data on Military Sexual Assault”, 2015). Since many veterans are deployed for long periods of time they have harder time trusting and controlling their impulses which can isolate them. Homelessness in veterans is an important issue right now because as troops are coming home from the Afghanistan and Iraq war, they are finding themselves “lost” due to the lack of governmental support. In the beginning of January of 2015, over 47,000 veterans were experiences homelessness on a single night (Henry, Megan, Shivy, Souase, Cohen, 2015). This is an improvement from 2010 when according to this report, there were 26,000 more veterans on the street (2015). Homeless veterans also account for 33% of homeless males in the U.S (“Homeless Veterans”,

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

“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

“Nationwide, spending on homeless vets is up 300 percent since President Obama took office, hitting near $1.5 billion last year. That tracks with a reduction in homeless vets by about a third (Lawrence, 2015, August 4). Progress is being made in the homeless state of veterans. However, it is not enough. If there are 50,000 homeless veterans on any given night, enough is not being done. Perhaps more of a ground effort should be made by the organizations that help veterans. Instead of waiting for the veterans to come to the facilities, go to them, under the freeways, in the alleys or the makeshift homeless camps. Moreover, we as citizens of the United States whom have depended upon these great men and women of the military, need to step up and become more involved in helping the veterans. Instead of passing by or walking over the next person you see lying on the sidewalk, stop and extend your hand to that person, whom can very well be a veteran. If that is not feasible then volunteer or donate to a local organization that is trying to help the homeless veteran. The homeless state of the veterans is all of our problem – Get Involved!!!

Homelessness in veterans has become a major problem in Alabama due to a lack of affordable housing and little help treating PTSD, so in order to help decrease the levels veteran homelessness, I plan making twenty donation bags with my youth group every year; moreover, these bags will contain basic necessity items, with the advantage of no longer spending money on these items, homeless veterans will be able to spend money on more important things like finding work. The part of my solution of donation to a local non-profit started from the idea of “[focusing] your efforts on supporting the homeless veteran service providers in your community, or [becoming] an active advocate to ensure that veterans receive an appropriate share of the resources

Throughout history, many veterans suffer after fighting in wars, and millions of veterans have been killed or injured. Veterans do not necessarily get the treatments they deserve without paying a price. Taking care of veterans costs a lot and health care is needed for them. They need health care after serving, in order to treat their problems and injuries. Jobs are also important to veterans because they are jobless after fighting in wars, which leads them to be homeless. It is important for people who need help to get help. As of right now, the government has attempted to help veterans, but it may not be enough.

This article is more about the relationship between gender and health services among homeless people. Montgomery, and Byrne say a cohort which presents both Veteran Affairs and mainstream homeless programs identifies how homeless veterans become inpatients and outpatients through the VA .Montgomery, and Byrne state “This study uncovered few differences between genders in inpatient use following onset of a Veteran's homeless episode"(237). They thought that many more men use substance abuse outpatient treatment and women use out patent medical treatment. Demographics show that veterans become more at risk among other veterans. Research found that males and female are at higher levels of risk for those who use outpatient treatment only. Illness

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

Military veterans have experienced extensive problems with homelessness after completing their military obligation in the Armed Forces (Schaffer, 2014). Women veterans in particular tend to struggle with homelessness because of unique circumstances of childcare, military sexual trauma and lack of community resources (Tsai, Rosenheck, & Kane, 2014). Jack Tsai et al (2014) analyzed a number of studies showing that female veterans are two times more likely to be homeless than female nonveterans causing a national concern for addressing the needs of this population (p.309). The obstacles that prevent them from receiving adequate VA treatment in a male dominated sector are lack of support services, lack of coping skills and lack of safety. These are just a few of the issues that must be resolved so this subpopulation can feel safe, secure, empowered and have a sense of belonging.

Therefore, for this country to be unable or unwilling to adequately care for homeless veterans, who fought these wars, is not only a shame and a travesty of justice, it is also the ultimate betrayal of the veterans by our government.” (“Homelessness Among

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) states that the nation’s homeless veterans are predominantly male, with roughly 9% being female. The majority are single; live in urban areas; and suffer from mental illness, alcohol and/or substance abuse, or co-occurring disorders. About 11% of the adult homeless population are veterans. But the question that everyone wants answered is, doesn’t the VA take care of homeless veterans? To a certain extent, yes. Each year, VA’s specialized homelessness programs provide health care to almost 150,000 homeless veterans and other services to more than 112,000 veterans. Additionally, more than 40,000 homeless veterans receive compensation or pension benefits each month. Since 1987, VA’s programs for homeless veterans have emphasized collaboration with such community service providers to help expand services to more veterans in crisis. VA, using its own resources or in partnerships with others, has secured nearly 15,000 residential rehabilitative and transitional beds and more than 30,000 permanent beds for homeless veterans throughout the nation. These partnerships are credited with reducing the number of homeless veterans by 70% since 2005. But is that really enough? Yes, the numbers have reduced a lot but what about the other

Many of the homeless population are living with disabling conditions that are referred to indirectly as “the unsheltered” or “the forgotten”. Most of these men and women were faced with substantial economic and moral dimensions of homelessness and many of these men and women that are homeless once defended our country. Many of these veterans are more at risk of facing homelessness than any other adults. A study in this article showed that not all of this is connected to military service, but war and combat trauma or PTSD has contributed to depression, unhealthy relationships, substance use, and unemployment which could all stem to homelessness. This article is relevant to The Union Mission because there are so many homeless veterans who obtain shelter and other services through them. The article provides information on models that could be effect with working with veterans whom are