Veteran Homelessness On any given night, approximately 49,000 American veterans are homeless, men and women that served our country and fought for our freedom (Unique Issues). Most are suffering from traumatic brain injuries, physical disabilities, and some are over the age of 50 (Unique Issues). Veteran homelessness continues to be a persistent problem. A system in which increased funding goes to housing and providing care to veterans would drastically help these peoples if not homelessness will continue to grow because of the United States’ involvement in the Middle East. The problem veteran homelessness is a nationwide doesn 't just include the homeless veteran population but also the mental and physical disabilities these people …show more content…
In 2014, at the end date of the goals point-in-time count showed that there were still 49,933 homeless veterans, which is a 33% drop in the population since the start of the action plan. Yet today there is still a huge population left on the streets. However, since 2009, the program as sheltered close to 200,000 veterans (O’Toole), but many still lack permanent housing. Federal funding to house homeless people must at least have some level of priority to veterans and those who fight for our country, rather than a pooling and housing people who were homeless because they spent too much on drugs or those who never contributed to society. Next, the mental health, as well as physical, must be taken into account to make sure everyone is being treated and cared for adequately. There shouldn 't be homeless veterans to begin with, mortgages and loans should at the very least be somewhat subsidized by the government so when the return from tour of duty they are not buried with debts. These people served our government and they need to be repaid for their service, they deserve medical care, housing. As a society we have to show our respect for veterans not just while they serve, but during recovery after they
According to National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV), the likely persistence of this problem is evident on considering that the homeless veterans are identified to be younger on average in comparison to the entire veteran population. Among these, 9 percent is made up of those aged between 18 and 30, while 41 percent are in the 31-50 years bracket. Nevertheless, veterans in the 18-30 age bracket make up only 5 percent while those aged 31 to 50 make less than 23 percent. Notably, the exact figure of the homeless veterans may be impossible to establish considering the difficulty posed by the transient nature of such populations. However, estimates by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development indicate that there are 49,933 homeless veterans at any given night.
Many people around the world are homeless and majority of them are homeless veterans that served in wars like the vietnam war. The age range for veterans are usually in their 50 and 60’s and the numbers are increasing rapidly. In 2016 january ,communities in america identified 39,471 homeless veterans during the point in time. Veterans homelessness should be because and should be honored because of what they do for our country and they are heroes.
Veterans and our soldiers are coming home from war or getting out of the military and when they get home they can’t afford rent or they have a mental disease from war. Homeless veterans tend to experience homelessness longer than non-veteran homeless. This should not be happening to our soldiers. This is very undesirable for our troops to come home and becoming homeless. They fight for our freedom and our rights and we repay them by becoming homeless.
Background Approximately, 1.4 million veterans are considered at risk of homelessness due to lack of support, mental/physical illness, shortage of affordable housing, livable income, etc. An organization known as Vetshouse Incorporated has worked diligently since 1992 to house over 800 homeless veterans in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Vetshouse Incorporated consists of two duplexes that commune homeless veterans for a twelve month span in order to increase job placement and encourage professional development. Majority of the money used to fund Vetshouse comes from donations and fundraising events. The purpose of Helping Our Patriots (H.O.P.) was to collect monetary donations and/or personal items and toiletries from Norfolk State University students as well as the surrounding community in order to support homeless veterans in the Hampton Roads area through Vetshouse Incorporated in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
That’s why it makes perfect sense to expand and reconstruct the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) to undertake such a massive service. Veterans don’t deserve to be treated like this, the forgotten hero’s, now the homeless, and the starving.
Homeless veterans and how they live on the streets and how they got homeless. Also how our government is trying to get rid of so many homeless Veterans. Society needs to invest in homeless veterans problem. Homelessness “Is not having a place to live.”
The VA needs to change the way it deals with Veterans and their bout with homelessness, consistent and worthwhile employment, and mental
“Veteran poverty should be unimaginable, but sadly, it is an unpleasant fact today for some veterans” (“The Ugly Face of Veteran Poverty in the United States”). Many homeless veterans are not getting the support they need. People need to be witness to this injustice and stand up for it. “The kind of hope we need is an orientation of the spirit a willingness to position ourselves sometime, someway, someplace in hopeless spaces and be a witness and say something” (Stevenson). Veterans are living in horrible conditions after serving in the military because the government is not providing enough support for veterans.
Veterans are some of the bravest men and women that you will ever know. They fought for our country in our most desperate hours and risked their lives so we could have the chance to live ours. It is such a shame that they are ignored and even homeless in today 's society. I had wondered how we could get veterans of the street and back into the job world. After research I found that there are programs and methods put in place specifically to help these struggling veterans.
The article “The State of Homelessness in America” provides
It is stated that thirty-eight percent of homeless people abuse alcohol and twenty-six percent abuse drug. Some drug addicts and alcoholics become addicts when they are homeless already. However, some become homeless because of being dependent on drugs and alcohol most of their lives. Since they are dependent on drugs and alcohol their family will give up trying to help them, leaving them homeless and without any way of getting help. There are over forty-seven thousand American veterans who are homeless and seventy percent of those veterans are suffering from some form of mental illness.
Homeless veterans need more help After all the things that homeless veterans have done for this country, they need more help. Many times, veterans will be seriously injured while in service. Whether it’s a physical or mental injury, they are serious.
They argue that the government should not be spending significant amounts of money to veterans or people that just came out of war. While they acknowledge that some veterans are so psychologically damaged by their experiences in battle that they cannot function properly in society and require disability payments, other veterans, they say, may become unnecessarily dependent on veterans' services. Although, all these are valid arguments that they can make, in the long run by helping veterans out it will greatly impact not only veterans individually but the society in a positive
Area of Conflict Homelessness can be understood in the perspective of conflict theory, which holds that capitalism is one the main reason for homelessness. “Capitalism is a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned” (Ayn Rand). There are many reasons why a person becomes homeless, an increasing number become homeless each year, with up to 5,000 people becoming homeless every year. Generally the experiences that lead to homelessness are determined by poverty and structural inequality.
The issue of homelessness in America has been evident since the early 1600’s. Across the country men, women and children spend their nights on the streets not knowing when or if they will ever find a permanent home. States and federal officials or city councils have tried to alleviate or at least reduce the number of homeless over the last several decades at a city, state or national level but it continues to be an ongoing problem. There is a multitude of factors that account for the growing homeless population that affects each state in the country differently. Though there are many contributing factors that contribute to the amount of people living on the street at any given night in the U.S.