I try to keep this blog free from my political views (go Ron Paul!) but this is one topic that never gets enough coverage in the news. You may have noticed that at the bottom of a post’s permalink page I have an appeal to donate to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, today there’s a story that veterans of the current wars are becoming homeless faster than ever. Whether you think a war is just or not it always has one by-product; scores of mentally ill veterans many of whom become homeless.
These are not your father’s Vietnam era veterans, they are the same age as you and me.
Study: 1 out of 4 homeless are veterans
Veterans make up one in four homeless people in the United States, though they are only 11 percent of the general adult population, according to a report to be released Thursday.
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.
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, Pa.
The end of the year is coming up, if you’ve been a productive web developer you’ll need some tax deductions to reduce the amount the government takes from you. Why not make a donation to the NCHV throught Network for Good.