Warbird Information Exchange

I found this on a news page -

"Military veterans account for one in four homeless people in the United States, though they are only 11 per cent of the general adult population, according to a report to be released tomorrow.

And homelessness is not just a problem among middle-age and elderly veterans.

Younger veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are trickling into shelters and soup kitchens seeking services, treatment or help with finding a job.

The Veterans Affairs Department has identified 1500 homeless veterans from the current wars, and says 400 of them have participated in its programs specifically targeting homelessness.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness, a public education non-profit organisation, based the findings of its report on numbers from Veterans Affairs and the Census Bureau. 2005 data estimated that 194,254 homeless people out of 744,313 on any given night were veterans.

In comparison, the VA says that 20 years ago, the estimated number of veterans who were homeless on any given night was 250,000.

Some advocates say the early presence of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan at shelters does not bode well for the future.

It took roughly a decade for the lives of Vietnam veterans to unravel to the point that they started showing up among the homeless. Advocates worry that intense and repeated deployments leave newer veterans particularly vulnerable.

"We're going to be having a tsunami of them eventually because the mental health toll from this war is enormous," said Daniel Tooth, director of veterans affairs for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

"When the Vietnam War ended, that was part of the problem. The war was over, it was off TV, nobody wanted to hear about it," said John Keaveney, a Vietnam veteran and a founder of New Directions in Los Angeles, which provides substance abuse help, job training and shelter to veterans.

"I think they'll be forgotten," Keaveney said of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

"People get tired of it. It's not glitzy that these are young, honourable, patriotic Americans. They'll just be veterans, and that happens after every war."

The Iraq vets seeking help with homelessness are more likely to be women, less likely to have substance abuse problems, but more likely to have mental illness - mostly related to post-traumatic stress, said Pete Dougherty, director of homeless veterans programs at the VA.

Overall, 45 per cent of participants in the VA's homeless programs have a diagnosable mental illness and more than three out of four have a substance abuse problem, while 35 per cent have both, Dougherty said."

[quote="HGUCSU"]I found this on a news page -

quote]

Which is where it should have stayed................WARBIRDS Information Xchange!!!

Dave

Really and why?, alot of people here in the USA are Veterans if YOU havent noticed.

In the USA it becomes a important issue for us to treat our veterans right. People have learnt, well some how from the Vietnam backstabs....

Maybe you coming from downunder, dont have many veterans that are homeless..is that correct?

I'm sure there are some, but I wouldn't cut and paste a news item from the local media on a dedicated warbird forum like this is supposed to be. It would be talked about on a general military forum of which there are many.....
Having said that I agree it is a sad state of affairs

Dave

...or post it in the new Military Matters or Off Topics forums here on WIX..however, folks for
the longest time have posted some of these subjects in The Hangar..because, let's face
it, this is where the most traffic "happens"....

_________________
He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
"In Peace Japan Breeds War", Eckstein, Harper and Bros., 3rd ed. 1943(1927, 1928,1942)
"Leave it to ol' Slim. I got ideas...and they're all vile, baby." South Dakota Slim
"Ahh..."The Deuce", 28,000 pounds of motherly love." quote from some Mojave Grunt
DBF

Airnutz

Thanks, didn't know that was up, I used to suggest the 'Off Topic' forum, but that was canned earlier on. I know where to send those who 'stray' from now on

Dave

I think it is important to remember that many people going IN to the service are often from impoverished backgrounds to begin with. Some of them make good on the opportunities the military provides to improve themselves (by getting student loans, learning a trade, becoming lifers, or whatever) and some don't. Many simply wind up back on the street when their tours are up.

During wartime, the military will also churn out a fair percentage of permanently handicapped people. The current death toll in Iraq is trivial compared to the number of limbless veterans the conflict is producing. So much so that the military is lately on the cutting edge of prosthetic research and development. It's no secret that disabilities are often a one way ticket to welfare. If all you are qualified for is a labor job, and you only have one leg, you aren't going to find much work.

Wars like Iraq, which are little more than prolonged peacekeeping efforts, also take a high psychological toll on their participants. There is nothing more morale-sucking that trying to keep poorly educated, impoverished people from killing eachother. Ask any beat cop. And soldiers are poorly trained to do it in comparison to real cops. So a lot of vets will inevitably end up suffering from alcoholism, depression, and other maladies of the mind.

Small suprise that veterans comprise more than their fair share of the homeless. This isn't really news. It's simply becoming more fashionable lately to point out how much war costs. Veterans have always known this. You rarely see veterans of prior wars cheering enthusiastically when some politician starts saber-rattling.

They know what can happen. Not all casualties are from enemy fire.

_________________
What is red, furry and on your six?

Well, as typical of news story's it is moderately interesting IF IT IS TRUE. I tend not to just believe any ol statistic because this or that organization says they "estimate" it. Show me some real evidence and then we will talk.

What in the heck is this doing on the WIX?!

We need to stay away from this stuff... Unless we want the board to degenerate into more "Should Joe Blow be banned?" threads.

There are other places on the internet to discuss this. Enough!

_________________
"They can teach MONKEYS to fly better than that"

http://www.heritageflight.org
http://www.bravo369.org

LOTS of homeless are by PERSONAL CHOICE homeless.....

* Looks funny at n5151ts *

Now, I know there are a number of perfectly sane people who chose not to have a job, wander the streets, and eat out of garbage cans. But the majority are mentally ill, have bad drug problems they can't beat, and or are vets. Plenty of statistics to beat that particular claim. You must be thinking of beastiality. Lots of people who are into beastiality do it cause they like it. Not so sure how the animals feel...

_________________
"I knew the jig was up when I saw the P-51D-20-NA Mustang blue-nosed bastards from Bodney, and by the way the blue was more of a royal blue than an indigo and the inner landing gear interiors were NOT green, over Berlin."

I read there are about 130 million vets, I think even though that sounds high. On the news tonight was another story that seems almost too bad to be true. Vet suicides are at an all time high, 6200 in 2005. Hard to believe.. No cause was suggested, nothing like Agent Orange was mentioned, but the young guys, age 20-24 were the main group.

_________________
Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK