That's the stark and depressing news the Veterans Affairs Department released on Tuesday, while VA said the goods news is that the number is down 15 percent from last year.
VA Secretary Eric Shinseki announced that the department made more than $17 million in grants to community groups in 19 states and the District of Columbia to provide 1,155 beds for homeless vets as winter approaches.
I don't have any magic formula to cure the homeless vet problem, but I do know it will require much more than temporary shelter beds, such as dealing with drug and alcohol problems, which eventually lead to no job and then no house.
Behind the substance abuse in many cases lies combat stress. I know many a vet who has tried and failed the "alcohol fix" for PTSD.
VA says it has a goal to eliminate the homeless vets problem in five years, which from my perspective is about four years too long for men and women who will spend this winter sleeping on steam grates or huddled around fire barrels.
COMMENTS
Regardless of who gets deployed to combat zones, all military personnel are subject to being deployed. And many who are not "deployed" are sent TDY/TAD, often on a moments notice, to combat zones, or anywhere in the world they are needed. Despite the publicity of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, our military are stationed all over the world, often far from family and friends. They make this sacrifice to provide freedom to the rest of the "civilian population" and so they (the civilians) don't have to. It's scary to think how many civilians, with no military experience at all, are claiming to know what's best for those in the combat arms. The homeless vets, as all homeless people, need more than a place to sleep -- although that would be a nice start! It's not always mental illness or combat trauma that gets them there. Treat the causes, not the symptoms!
Rob Hood 10/14/09 02:53 pm ET
Military leadership has failed the 131,000 homeless Vets. Commissioned officers and senior Non-commissioned officers are very good at taking care of themselves but not so good at taking care of others. That is the sad truth in today's military. We are sending our children to war to serve narcissistic sociopaths. God help us all.
John Q. Public 10/08/09 08:25 am ET
While it is sad that anyone should be homeless, however, the facts are that 1% of the US population is homeless, while that percentage for veterans is half of that at 0.5%.
Scott Fancett 10/08/09 01:21 am ET
As many perks as Congress has voted into law for the active military, it's hard to understand why there are any homeless vets. I understand it's hard to help someone with an alcohol or drug problem without a willingness of the vet to be helped. Still I think maybe we've heaped a few two many perks on the already "well-to-do" active military leaving little to care for those with true problems. When you compare the pay and benefits received by Officers in the military (i.e. perks for housing and education) to what an equivalent ranking/educated Civilian working for the DOD receives, active military personnel are paid handsomely and maybe overpaid. I have no objection to overpaying those who served months and years in an actual combat zone, but all military are afforded the same lavish perks even if they sit stateside most of their military careers.
Daniel O'Neill 10/07/09 01:34 pm ET