Saturday, June 18, 2005
Veterans More Likely to Be Homeless Than Other Adults
By Carolyn Bolls - CNSNews.com Correspondent
Government figures show that former members of the U.S. military comprise less than 13 percent of the American adult population, yet veterans account for roughly 33 percent of the nation's homeless adult population.
The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans charges that the government is not providing enough help to ex-servicemen and women transitioning to civilian life. But the government denies that there is a "causal relationship" between military service and homeless veterans.
"On any given day, as many as 200,000 veterans (male and female) are living on the streets or in shelters, and perhaps twice as many experience homelessness at some point during the course of a year," according to the Department of Veterans Affairs website. The Interagency Council on Homelessness estimates that about 47 percent of the homeless veterans served in Vietnam.
But while the V.A. acknowledges that "many homeless veterans served in combat in Vietnam and suffer from [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder]," it claims that "epidemiologic studies do not suggest that there is a causal connection between military service, service in Vietnam, or exposure to combat and homelessness among veterans."
Linda Boone, executive director of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, told Cybercast News Service that the military needs to do more for the men and women departing the service. She criticized the Department of Defense's program of Preseparation Counseling.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is the most common mental illness in veterans, producing nightmares and other stress that can lead to suicide, Boone said. She also blamed the military's "macho environment" for discouraging veterans from seeking treatment for the problem.
"The military is providing support and counseling in very limited instances ... It depends on the leadership of that unit," Boone said.
Among the homeless veterans that Boone's group tracks, 76 percent of them "now have mental health and/or substance abuse issues," she said. "They're sick and they need more long term help." She added that approximately 11 percent of current homeless service members experiencing substance abuse problems cite their time in the military as a cause for the abuse.
But mental health and substance abuse are not popular topics in the military, according to Boone. "If somebody identifies that they have mental health or substance abuse issues while they are still on active duty, there are consequences for that in the military ... They don't want to talk about it," she said.
"In the next couple years, we will have a lot of veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan, and we are not prepared," Boone said.
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Government figures show that former members of the U.S. military comprise less than 13 percent of the American adult population, yet veterans account for roughly 33 percent of the nation's homeless adult population.
The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans charges that the government is not providing enough help to ex-servicemen and women transitioning to civilian life. But the government denies that there is a "causal relationship" between military service and homeless veterans.
"On any given day, as many as 200,000 veterans (male and female) are living on the streets or in shelters, and perhaps twice as many experience homelessness at some point during the course of a year," according to the Department of Veterans Affairs website. The Interagency Council on Homelessness estimates that about 47 percent of the homeless veterans served in Vietnam.
But while the V.A. acknowledges that "many homeless veterans served in combat in Vietnam and suffer from [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder]," it claims that "epidemiologic studies do not suggest that there is a causal connection between military service, service in Vietnam, or exposure to combat and homelessness among veterans."
Linda Boone, executive director of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, told Cybercast News Service that the military needs to do more for the men and women departing the service. She criticized the Department of Defense's program of Preseparation Counseling.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is the most common mental illness in veterans, producing nightmares and other stress that can lead to suicide, Boone said. She also blamed the military's "macho environment" for discouraging veterans from seeking treatment for the problem.
"The military is providing support and counseling in very limited instances ... It depends on the leadership of that unit," Boone said.
Among the homeless veterans that Boone's group tracks, 76 percent of them "now have mental health and/or substance abuse issues," she said. "They're sick and they need more long term help." She added that approximately 11 percent of current homeless service members experiencing substance abuse problems cite their time in the military as a cause for the abuse.
But mental health and substance abuse are not popular topics in the military, according to Boone. "If somebody identifies that they have mental health or substance abuse issues while they are still on active duty, there are consequences for that in the military ... They don't want to talk about it," she said.
"In the next couple years, we will have a lot of veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan, and we are not prepared," Boone said.
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