The Weird and The Wacky Meet

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Homeless Vets:

Symptom of a Much Larger Problem

                 Veterans.  Just the word brings the image of war to mind.  These are the women and men who have gone to battle for our country.  Whether or not we agree with the causes they are fighting for, they are still doing our dirty work for us.  But recently there has been an influx of Iraq war vets in homeless shelters, according to United Press International.

                 Why are people who are just now coming back to the US winding up with no home to go to?  There are several shocking facts, but no one reason really stands out.   According to Homeless.Org there are three million people who are forced to live on the streets.  At least a quarter of these are veterans, meaning there are 750,000 people who fought for this country who do not have a home.  Half of these vets fought in Vietnam, but more and more homeless vets come America’s most recent conflict.

                 A recent study published in the New England Journal of medicine showed a shocking 17% of veterans are coming back from Iraq with some sort of mental disorder, including depression, generalized anxiety disorder or post traumatic stress disorder.  Without proper treatment is it any wonder that there is an influx in Gulf War 2 Veterans winding up on the streets?

                 But what about the Veterans Administration (VA), a government funded organization dedicated to helping soldiers with the various problems that they face?  According to the NewsTribune.com, the new budget cuts proposed by President Bush will not only charge most vets $250 a year to access medical care, but it will also cut down funds going to VA hospitals and residencies forcing some to be shut down entirely.  Also under the knife are other benefits for veterans, including much needed education programs.

                 The United States have an obligation to the troops it sends into battle.  In a recent New York Times article it was reported that the US Military is making plans to up the defense budget to $502.3 billion by 2010.  This is the largest increase in the new budget, and pretty much the only program getting more funds instead of less.  Yet there are more than 750,000 former soldiers living on the street.  Not only does this not make sense, it’s a slap in the face to every American who expects the government to at least take care of the people it has taken the most from.

                 Shockingly, a good portion of this increase in funds will go to support automating armed forces.  This will require a 20% increase in DOD funding.  According to the New York Times, this does not even include the costs of the war with Iraq, which is funded separately.

                 Even though I did not agree with the war in Iraq, I support our troops.  And I am outraged by these figures, as every American should be.  After sending our men and women to the other side of the world to fight a battle that not even 50% of the American publican can support, our government is bring them home and taking away their very livelihood.  Then, if that wasn’t enough insult, we take money that could go for their care and build robots.  It’s like a bad science fiction movie.  But what do we expect with America’s track record in dealing with poverty.

                 NationalHomeless.Org estimates that there are 14.4 million families that are either homeless, or very close to being homeless.  They say that the primary cause of homelessness is “lack of affordable housing and the limited scale of housing assistance programs.”  The Welfare Reforms of 1996 put a cap on how long a person could receive public assistance, help for the poor, including vets, is reaching a critical mass.  Something has to be done.

                 I cannot put it any more simply than this:  The United States has the funds to give everyone a hand up.  We can afford to heal, educate and house vets.  We can afford to heal, educate and house everyone who needs our help.  We are the richest country in the world, and even decreasing the defense budget by half for one year, would make a huge difference to everyone.

                 Priorities in this country need to change.  The next time you see a homeless person on the street consider going home and spending thirty seven cents on a stamp to write your congress person to tell them what it is like to see the person who fought for your freedom begging for change.  Only then will our vets really get the change that they so desperately need.

Copyright 2005

Vets Make Up One Third Of The Homeless In America

By Amanda Evans

Date: 03/17/05