With Independence Day in the rear-view mirror, our nation’s homeless veterans will sink back into the shadows, all but forgotten in the pace of our daily lives.
The challenges of returning home from war can be nearly impossible to overcome, and as thousands of soldiers return home from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a new generation of homeless vets will face the challenge of living on the streets.
According to a BBC report, 33,000 troops are expected to return to the United States by September of next year.
Some of those vets will end up homeless, under the weight of returning to civilian life while battling the memory and scars of war. Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are becoming homeless at a faster pace than veterans of any previous American conflict, even Vietnam.
The Growing Homeless Veteran Population
Vietnam veterans make up about 47 percent of the homeless vet population. The newest generation of homeless veterans saw combat in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and the Global War on Terror.
The needs of this population are great and include mental health programs, job training and housing, to name just a few.
The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates one in every five homeless adults is a veteran of a U.S. military branch. In Los Angeles alone, more than 8,000 veterans live on the streets. Nationally, at least 130,000 veterans have no home.
Not Enough Resources
Government aid organizations and the nonprofit community are having a tough time meeting the need.
Melissa Tyner with the Inner City Law Center tells the BBC post-traumatic stress disorder is a huge factor in the growing number of homeless veterans landing on the streets. Often, these veterans end up self-medicating with alcohol and drugs.
In every major city the trend is the same: not enough veterans have access to crucial services such as medical treatment, mental health service and housing assistance.
The problem is only going to get worse with serious draw-down in troop levels planned over the next year. As thousands of troops return home, too many simply won’t seek the resources available, making community outreach absolutely imperative, advocates say.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is working with the Housing and Urban Development office to provide permanent housing and case management for homeless veterans. So far, HUD has supplied 20,000 Section 8 housing vouchers, but that isn’t close to meeting the needs of a homeless veteran population of 130,000 and growing.
The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans is another organization working to keep ex-service members off the streets. That group also lists PTSD as a factor in the number of homeless veterans. Other factors include a shortage of affordable housing, livable income and inadequate access to health care.
The Need to Protect Returning Veterans
Protecting our veterans from homelessness will take a concentrated effort on the national and local level.
According to the NCHV, immediate needs include secure housing, meals, substance abuse treatment, physical and mental health services, personal development, civilian job training and empowerment.
Some of the most successful veterans programs are locally based, nonprofit ventures.
According to the NCHV, The most successful programs include transitional housing in a structured, substance-free environment with fellow veterans.
Government money is limited, making the role of nonprofits even more essential today. There are currently well over 2,000 community-based veteran assistance organizations in the United States. Many of these groups work in collaboration with government agencies to provide crucial services.
These groups will need plenty of support from donors and volunteers as the population of homeless vets continues to skyrocket.
Image Credit: Department of Veterans Affairs
Ben Norris is a freelance writer and independent journalist from Phoenix, Arizona. He is an Arizona Press Club scholar, human rights advocate. BenjaminJames has 84 post(s) at Top Secret Writers
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