They never come marching home
By Patrick Kelley
Originally published 09:46 a.m., November 10, 2007
Updated 09:46 a.m., November 10, 2007
Sunday is Veterans Day. Here is something to think — or pray —about:
This week, the National Alliance to End Homelessness released a report that said one in four of the homeless people in the United States are veterans. The report was based on figures from the Census Bureau and the Veterans Affairs Department.
Many of the homeless vets date their service back to the war in Vietnam, but a small but increasing number are veterans of the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Daniel Tooth, the director of veterans affairs for Lancaster County, Pa., told The Associated Press that the problems of the new veterans are just beginning.
“We’re going to be having a tsunami of them eventually because the mental health toll from this war is enormous,” he said.
The Veterans Affairs Department says it has already identified 1,500 veterans of current wars who are homeless. That bothers advocates for the homeless, who say that it took about 10 years after service in Vietnam for large numbers of veterans to start showing up in homeless shelters and programs.
The new wars are making terrible demands on soldiers and their families. Multiple deployments and extended deployments have given the men and women of the armed forces less and less time to recover after duty in combat zones. The civilian lives of some members of National Guard and Reserve units have been disrupted again and again. For many members of the military, the only constant in their lives is combat — preparing for it, engaging in it or recovering from it. There is little chance to sink back into the routine of a stateside base between deployments.
It is not surprising that some of these veterans are beginning to show up at homeless shelters.
Every Veterans Day, the nation commits itself to honor all of its veterans.
What should the nation do to honor those veterans who have lost or left their homes and whose daily lives are a struggle for simple survival?
Probably more than the nation is doing now.
equalrights (anonymous) says...
That is heartbreaking. It's only going to get worse when the new veterans come back from this foolish war. Why aren't we helping these AMERICAN vets find resources instead of Refugees from other countries.... Just saying....
November 11, 2007 at 5:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )