Study: 25% of homeless are vets

[The Minx]

Link.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- More than 25 percent of the homeless population in the United States are military veterans, although they represent only 11 percent of the civilian adult population, according to a report to be released Thursday.

On any given night last year, nearly 196,000 veterans slept on the street, in a shelter or in transitional housing, the study by the Homelessness Research Institute found.

"Veterans make up a disproportionate share of homeless people," the report said.

"This is true despite the fact that veterans are better educated, more likely to be employed and have a lower poverty rate than the general population."

The National Alliance to End Homelessness, which includes the Homelessness Research Institute as its research and education arm, planned a press conference Thursday to discuss the study's findings.

"These findings highlight the need to provide veterans with the proper housing and supportive services to prevent homelessness from occurring in the first place," said Nan Roman, the organization's president. "If we can do that, then we can greatly reduce the number of homeless veterans in general."

The states with the highest number of homeless veterans include Louisiana, California and Missouri, according to the research. Washington, D.C., also had a high rate.

About 44,000 to 64,000 veterans are classified as "chronically homeless" -- homeless for long periods or repeatedly.

Other veterans -- nearly 468,000 -- are experiencing "severe housing cost burden," or paying more than half their income for housing, thereby putting them at a high risk for homelessness.

The rates of the burden of housing costs were highest in Rhode Island, California, Nevada and Hawaii, but Washington, D.C., had the highest rate, according to the organization.

To reduce chronic homelessness among veterans by half, the report concludes housing coupled with supportive services should be increased by 25,000 units, and the number of housing vouchers for veterans should be increased by 20,000.

Some veterans, like Jason Kelley find themselves in a catch-22, not able to find a job because of the lack of an apartment, and not being able to get an apartment because of not having a job, The Associated Press reported.

"The only training I have is infantry training and there's not really a need for that in the civilian world," AP quoted Kelley as saying in a phone interview. In addition, he has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, he said, according to AP. Kelley served in Iraq with the Wisconsin National Guard.

A new Gallup poll released by Fannie Mae showed that nearly a quarter of veterans, or 24 percent, report having been concerned they may not have a place to live. Eighty-six percent of poll respondents believe homelessness among veterans is either staying at the same level or increasing.

In addition, 61 percent of poll respondents believe veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are at least as likely to become homeless as veterans of previous wars.

The poll of 1,005 veterans was conducted September 4-October 17 and has a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

At the National Alliance to End Homelessness event, Fannie Mae will announce a $200,000 grant to the Common Ground organization that will enable the construction of more permanent housing units for veterans.

"Our veterans have served America, and America must serve them," said Daniel Mudd, president and CEO of Fannie Mae, in a statement.

Common Ground is a nonprofit developer of housing and other solutions to prevent and end homelessness, according to the Fannie Mae statement.

This is surprising -- and quite a bit shocking.

[B4UTRUST]

Actually, it's not all that surprising... We're not that better educated then average joe fryjock at McDicks. A good majority of military careers involve the proficent use of firearms and soldering skills. Sadly, there really isn't a lot of call for a guy who can score marksman on the M-4 in the civilian world.

Plus, with the state of VA affairs as they are, you're lucky if you get seen by the VA, much less taken care of. That nagging PTSD and the fact you're crippled? Personal problem. Sad that you can't get a job, but hey tough shit.

It's not that surprising at all that so many vets are homeless. A lot of us just aren't equipped to work in the civilian world once we leave the military.

[frigidmagi]

Actually, it's not all that surprising... We're not that better educated then average joe fryjock at McDicks.

Hmmm, Yes we are. All of us have G.E.Ds or graduated High school. There is a quiet a number of high school drop outs flipping burgers. 78% or so of Military persons graduated High school without needing a do over, that is about 5% higher then the general population. Also a higher percentage of us graduate college or get some college. For the most though when we crash, we crash hard.

The numbers pretty much disagree with you.

Plus, with the state of VA affairs as they are, you're lucky if you get seen by the VA, much less taken care of. That nagging PTSD and the fact you're crippled? Personal problem. Sad that you can't get a job, but hey tough shit.

Saddy I must agree. What the fuck happened?

A lot of us just aren't equipped to work in the civilian world once we leave the military.

Bullshit, from what I've seen most of us are better equipped then the ones who spent their entire lives there.

The problem is that vets are not getting proper treatment for injuries substained in service. PTSD is a injury.

[SirNitram]

Continual cuts to the VA, an uptempo of operations without increasing what the armed forces need, and of course, that thing I truly hate, the fact that somewhere along the way, someone decided PTSD was not a crippling combat injury, recignized since WWI and probably before, but some 'mental thing', or possibly, in the circles which unfortunately control the conventional wisdom of DC(And thus all the fucking power; who decided it'd be smart to let David Broder become a voice of power? Seriously.), some kind of sham made up to oppose the foreign policy orthodoxy.

[B4UTRUST]

Hmmm, Yes we are. All of us have G.E.Ds or graduated High school. There is a quiet a number of high school drop outs flipping burgers. 78% or so of Military persons graduated High school without needing a do over, that is about 5% higher then the general population. Also a higher percentage of us graduate college or get some college. For the most though when we crash, we crash hard.

The numbers pretty much disagree with you.

I'll concede the point based on numbers, but given my experiance in the military, a large percentage of the people I know are fairly dumb mother fuckers.

Saddy I must agree. What the fuck happened?

Fuck if I know, Congress, the politics, the people. Most of em stopped giving two fucks about us after we've ceased being useful to their cause of the moment.

Bullshit, from what I've seen most of us are better equipped then the ones who spent their entire lives there.

The problem is that vets are not getting proper treatment for injuries substained in service. PTSD is a injury.

In some regards, yes, we're better equipped then your average joe. We have more discipline, integrity and work ethic then a large percentage of the people out there.

But the way the military is set up and how it works is nothing at all like the civilian sector. What we do in the military we could never get away with in the real world. It's a fucking culture shock to say the least. Some adapt better then others. My dad retired from the military almost a decade ago and is still piddling around trying to figure out what the fuck to do with himself. I could list over a dozen people off the top of my head right now who are begging to get back into the military because they're not capable of surviving in the real world.

Does it shock you that a large amount of former military people turn into military contractors? Hell I've got a shop full of contractors and every last one of them was prior service. So once they got out, they're still working for the military because it's the only place they fit in. *shrugs* I know that's not everybody or probably a majority, but I've seen enough of it with people I know and work with that it's starting to scare the shit out of me.

And I agree whole heartedly that we need better treatment for shit that happens to us while we're in. I've read too many case files recently about how the military and the VA fucks us over as soon as something bad happens to us. We fucking kill ourselves for this country then the ones who come home broken get hurt that much worse by our own people. It's a tragedy, really.

[frigidmagi]

a large percentage of the people I know are fairly dumb mother fuckers.

Try crossing out the "I know," a good mass of folk are dumb. Let's think of it this way. Something on the order of 20% of Germans believe Jr ordered 911. Way to many Americans and Iranians think the halocaust was faked. I can go on.

You know... No that's not really fair. They are not stupid or idiots. They're fucking lazy. Their brains have been wrapped in a nice thick wool blankie by a society that doesn't want them to think. When you try a new muscle you do stupid shit with it, we shouldn't be to shocked given that modern society seems built around keeping people from thinking to hard and discouraging them from wanting to.

What we do in the military we could never get away with in the real world.

I could never call work and say I wasn't going in just for the fuck of it in the military. Nor could I call the Lt a dumbass bullcocksucker. It works both ways.

My dad retired from the military almost a decade ago and is still piddling around trying to figure out what the fuck to do with himself.

This is no different from civilian retirees expect military persons are allowed to retire while they can still enjoy it.

Does it shock you that a large amount of former military people turn into military contractors

Let's do the math. Do the same job, for shitloads more money, at least half the hassle, 50-50 odds of legal immunity and so much more vacation time and benefits it's practically immoral?

Noooo I could never believe anyone would take that offer! I was only born yesterday after all.

[B4UTRUST]

Nor could I call the Lt a dumbass bullcocksucker.

Actually... I have done that one. He was flight crew. He was drunk, I was drunk. We were getting thrown out of the place anyway and I decided the best move was to clear their table for them by forcefully moving their beverages onto the floor, slamming my fists down into the table hard enough to rock it and then proceeding to identify their sexual orientation in such a loud and angry manner as to be sure that everyone else within shouting distance heard.

I believe it was something along the lines of "Ops is a bunch of cocksucking faggots!"

[Knife]

I'll concede the point based on numbers, but given my experiance in the military, a large percentage of the people I know are fairly dumb mother fuckers.

You're a retard. Think killer, most of the military is under the age of 22. This is the same age group that binge drinks beer from a funnel in colleges around the world and show up at spring break to dance like a moron on MTV.

Of course a lot of shit military people do is dumb. They're still young and figuring out a lot of things in their lives. However, unlike civilians, they're expected to act professional for a large proportion of their time in the service. With consequences.

Fuck if I know, Congress, the politics, the people. Most of em stopped giving two fucks about us after we've ceased being useful to their cause of the moment.

This is probably true. While many detest the 'culture of military worship' that many assume the US has, most of it is just pure political manuvering. Honestly, most vets would tear up over a handshake and a 'thank you' from most people rather than all the dog and pony shows put on for their 'honor'.

In some regards, yes, we're better equipped then your average joe. We have more discipline, integrity and work ethic then a large percentage of the people out there.

But the way the military is set up and how it works is nothing at all like the civilian sector. What we do in the military we could never get away with in the real world. It's a fucking culture shock to say the least. Some adapt better then others.

There is a certain amount of truth there. However, you can say that about lots of shit. For example, there's no other culture out there in exsistence like High School. Changing from that to anything else is a culture shock. A simular argument can be made for college too.

My dad retired from the military almost a decade ago and is still piddling around trying to figure out what the fuck to do with himself. I could list over a dozen people off the top of my head right now who are begging to get back into the military because they're not capable of surviving in the real world.

Meh, I think it's a false premace to think that people must 'know what they want to be' by age 22. I have kids old enough to post on most web boards (TOS being 13 most the time) and I've just recently started a new career path and decided to go to university. When most people are living into their 70's if not longer, why would you expect people to have set their lives in their 20's?

Personally, I'm more equiped at my state in life to go to school. I'm not there for fun or parties or girls. I pay my way, not my parents or even the state or loans. Why should I accept the strange 'culture' of kids as I do uni?

Does it shock you that a large amount of former military people turn into military contractors? Hell I've got a shop full of contractors and every last one of them was prior service. So once they got out, they're still working for the military because it's the only place they fit in. *shrugs* I know that's not everybody or probably a majority, but I've seen enough of it with people I know and work with that it's starting to scare the shit out of me.

A lot of that is double dipping. Why not get two retirement checks before your sixty?

And I agree whole heartedly that we need better treatment for shit that happens to us while we're in. I've read too many case files recently about how the military and the VA fucks us over as soon as something bad happens to us. We fucking kill ourselves for this country then the ones who come home broken get hurt that much worse by our own people. It's a tragedy, really.

Most of that, I believe, is apathy. Everyone is good to go with miracles and one time tragedies. Drag bullshit out long enough though, and people get bored. Not saying it's right, but the mechinism behind it is easy enough to understand.