.America’s New Homeless Veterans
For America's men and women returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan, transitioning back to civilian life is often a struggle.
The stress of multiple deployments, a down economy and a brutal job market create a perfect storm for re-adjustment...as 4-year Navy vet, Steve Moody, knows all too well.
Moody told us the worst moment was waking up and realizing he’s 28, and homeless. After leaving the service, Steve struggled with anxiety and depression. He turned to alcohol, wound up in jail, and then, on the street. He's found temporary housing at a Veterans Administration facility near San Jose, one of many shelters helping those returning from the front lines.
With the Pentagon preparing 30-thousand more troops for Afghanistan, support organizations are concerned about the future.
Michael Blecker runs Swords to Plowshares, a non-profit in San Francisco that helps veterans find work and a place to live. The Salvation Army also offers units that come with double-paned windows that block out sirens and other loud street noises that could trigger traumatic memories. But for every veteran from Iraq and Afghanistan who seeks help, the V-A says there are four more at risk. Now, the agency is implementing a $3.2 billion plan to help those thousands of returning service members get the help they need.
Experts say more veterans are suffering from post traumatic stress and serious brain injuries than in previous conflicts. That has veterans aid agencies working overtime to see to it the men and women who have served their country so ably, can return to civilian life with the same dignity and respect they earned in uniform.
FoxNews
The stress of multiple deployments, a down economy and a brutal job market create a perfect storm for re-adjustment...as 4-year Navy vet, Steve Moody, knows all too well.
Moody told us the worst moment was waking up and realizing he’s 28, and homeless. After leaving the service, Steve struggled with anxiety and depression. He turned to alcohol, wound up in jail, and then, on the street. He's found temporary housing at a Veterans Administration facility near San Jose, one of many shelters helping those returning from the front lines.
With the Pentagon preparing 30-thousand more troops for Afghanistan, support organizations are concerned about the future.
Michael Blecker runs Swords to Plowshares, a non-profit in San Francisco that helps veterans find work and a place to live. The Salvation Army also offers units that come with double-paned windows that block out sirens and other loud street noises that could trigger traumatic memories. But for every veteran from Iraq and Afghanistan who seeks help, the V-A says there are four more at risk. Now, the agency is implementing a $3.2 billion plan to help those thousands of returning service members get the help they need.
Experts say more veterans are suffering from post traumatic stress and serious brain injuries than in previous conflicts. That has veterans aid agencies working overtime to see to it the men and women who have served their country so ably, can return to civilian life with the same dignity and respect they earned in uniform.
FoxNews
posted by madtom at 8:43 PM
2 Comments:
File this under 'not this shit again'. Homeless vets was a fallacy in the VN war, and I will bet it is in this one as well. I thought that all those homeless 'vet' with signs at the underpass were a sign of failed government and used to go out of my way to help them find jobs. Then, I came to find out most of them never served a day in the armed forces, much less in war. I read a study of VN vets in the late '80s that found that VN vets had a higher rate of home ownership, higher education levels, higher income levels, the same marriage and divorce levels than that of their peers. In fact, they did far better than the draft card burning hippies in almost all aspects of successful living. I'm not saying help isn't needed for some or that it should be denied, but we need to stop making vets out to be damaged goods. Right now, that guy featured in this story is living in VA provided housing, and I assume he is eligible for the GI bill which will pay his way through college, and most people would hire a vet over a non vet any day of the week. He has a better chance than most, and he deserves it for having served, but stop making excuses.
"we need to stop making vets out to be damaged goods"
I agree with everything you just said, but some guy living in a box to stay warn is not a statistic with "higher rate of home ownership,", he's just some poor dude living in a box.
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