Homeless Veterans

[superfluidity]

Originally Posted by lfoo6952

. What you you ask them?

Luke

If you are ever really interested in knowing if we are real just ask us to show you our VA card, and if you really need to make sure ask us to show you our DD-214. Fakes will make excuses, i would gladly show you mine. Most marines are very proud to show anyone.

[RP]

Originally Posted by superfluidity

If you are ever really interested in knowing if we are real just ask us to show you our VA card, and if you really need to make sure ask us to show you our DD-214. Fakes will make excuses, i would gladly show you mine. Most marines are very proud to show anyone.

I understand what you're saying but this may not be realistic at a traffic light or for a Viet Nam or Desert Storm era veteran. Not to undermine the service that veterans have given and continue to give, but I think that the issue is less about "Are you or aren't you really a veteran?" but instead "Are you standing at an intersection trying to con a captive audience???"

[superfluidity]

Originally Posted by RP

I understand what you're saying but this may not be realistic at a traffic light or for a Viet Nam or Desert Storm era veteran. Not to undermine the service that veterans have given and continue to give, but I think that the issue is less about "Are you or aren't you really a veteran?" but instead "Are you standing at an intersection trying to con a captive audience???"

Good point, there is one sure way to know instantly, but only someone who has been in the service would know. Just ask them to show you a salute, if they don't 'snap' to it with their 'hand straight and rigid' and 'posture perfect' they haven't been in the service. I volunteered to go to Vietnam in 1968 in the Marines and would gladly do it again for our freedom.

[tbeltrans]

Not all veterans have a VA card. I just got mine last year, and the only reason I did was because I heard a Marine Vietnam vet (I was Army, but am really grateful to that Marine and my younger brother, a retired Marine, who was injured in Iraq and deals a lot with the VA as a result...) on Public Radio telling us (other Vietnam vets) to go to the VA and get checked for Hepatitis C and problems stemming from exposure to chemicals.

So, I went and found out that I had all of the above plus more. The only thing I knew I had going in was tinnitus and some hearing problems, which I figured we just live with as a part of having been in country.

I was told at the VA that they have a difficult time reaching Vietnam combat vets because we (as a group) seem to have a general distrust of the government. They want us to come in, and really welcomed me. I hope other Vietnam combat vets read some of this discussion and decide to go in. The trouble is that a lot of the problems I mentioned don't show up for many years, and when they do, it is usually too late to treat them effectively. I was fortunate, but had I waited a few more years, it may have turned out differently.

As for the turn of discussion in this thread away from specifically veterans and instead to the homeless population, I have been thinking about what has been discussed. To me, this has been a good and thought provoking thread. It can be difficult to get an accurate context for some of what has been posted because we don't have benefit of tone of voice, body language, immediate feedback to clarify points, etc. Despite that, it has been quite civil.

In thinking about what has been said, I think that, at least for some of us (me included), my attitude about the homeless might be quite different if I were, say, volunteering in a shelter or soup kitchen. Whatever I say in this thread (except specifically about being a veteran) is being said from a great distance on many levels, from the homeless. I live a comfortable life. Yes, I have worked hard for many years, both getting educated to qualify for the career I have, and working in that career. But the fact is that I got results and have a comfortable life that is very different from, and not even in the same universe as, life on the street. I really can't know what that is like to be homeless on the streets from where I currently sit.

It was publicized in the media that there were people who lost their homes during the debacle of 2008, who were at or near the poverty line, and are still homeless. There long have been (and are) people who have jobs, but don't make enough to get adequate housing, that live on the streets. There are many reasons to become homeless, and with the "perfect storm", it could happen to many of us here in this thread. What would make that even worse for us, would be knowing how we judged the homeless and therefore knowing that we are now being judged similarly. We would know what it feels like on both sides of that cultural wall.

Having recently read of a recent poll that shows 7 out of 8 Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, that could mean they are only a step away from being homeless if hit with some financial upheaval in their lives. Similar polls back that up, saying that a large percentage of Americans, if face with a bill of more than $500, would have to borrow to cover it. That is really living on the edge, and an economic downturn or personal turn of fortune could easily put that family on the street. We are continually hearing of the widening gap between the "haves" and the "have nots", and these polls seem to back that claim up. Where we worry about whether to buy a Collings, Martin, or Taylor for our next guitar, many folks worry about whether they will be able to get another meal.

I have been thinking about doing some volunteer work in retirement in between engineering contracts. I applied at the local library to help with ESL and teaching computer skills. The person who handles that area retired and it will be a while before they hire a replacement and get that person up to speed. With all the bad media about immigrants, I felt that maybe helping them get a foothold would be a good thing. My current contract ends at the end of September, so I may just go ahead and see about volunteering at some service that helps the kinds of people we are discussing in this thread. It is this thread that has me thinking about that. I do know that there are plenty of volunteer opportunities in my area, sometimes there can be too many to choose from.

For me, volunteering would be a good way to not have to judge whether a person on the street corner is really a homeless vet or not, or whether the person is really homeless or not. Doing something about the problem can often be a better approach than arguing intellectually about the problem.

Tony

[superfluidity]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

I have been thinking about doing some volunteer work in retirement in between engineering contracts.
For me, volunteering would be a good way to not have to judge whether a person on the street corner is really a homeless vet or not, or whether the person is really homeless or not. Doing something about the problem can often be a better approach than arguing intellectually about the problem.

Tony

I recently volunteered twice to help hand out food at a local food bank, I kept mostly to myself. I wore my Vietnam veteran hat. But, twice, I was helping someone and I noticed that the family I had just helped was in their old beat up car or truck, stuffing that food down. They were starving. Those two incidents had a major impact on me. God has blessed me and you, as I get my Corvette ready for the Veterans car show and feed at the American Legion tonight, I will be wearing my hat again tonight for sure. All proceeds for the car show and feed go to the homeless vets.

[RP]

I agree with Tony and superfluidity that volunteering your time to assist with the cause of your concern is the best way to take suspicion and distrust off the table....

[Nailpicker]

Originally Posted by RP

I agree with Tony and superfluidity that volunteering your time to assist with the cause of your concern is the best way to take suspicion and distrust off the table....

+1 I think this is the best approach.

[viccortes285]

Who are homeless veterans?

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) states that the nation’s homeless veterans are predominantly male, with roughly 9% being female. The majority are single; live in urban areas; and suffer from mental illness, alcohol and/or substance abuse, or co-occurring disorders. About 11% of the adult homeless population are veterans.

Roughly 45% of all homeless veterans are African American or Hispanic, despite only accounting for 10.4% and 3.4% of the U.S. veteran population, respectively.

Homeless veterans are younger on average than the total veteran population. Approximately 9% are between the ages of 18 and 30, and 41% are between the ages of 31 and 50. Conversely, only 5% of all veterans are between the ages of 18 and 30, and less than 23% are between 31 and 50.

America’s homeless veterans have served in World War II, the Korean War, Cold War, Vietnam War, Grenada, Panama, Lebanon, Persian Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq (OEF/OIF), and the military’s anti-drug cultivation efforts in South America. Nearly half of homeless veterans served during the Vietnam era. Two-thirds served our country for at least three years, and one-third were stationed in a war zone.

About 1.4 million other veterans, meanwhile, are considered at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks, and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing.

How many homeless veterans are there?

Although flawless counts are impossible to come by – the transient nature of homeless populations presents a major difficulty – the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that 39,471 veterans are homeless on any given night.

Approximately 12,700 veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation New Dawn (OND) were homeless in 2010. The number of young homeless veterans is increasing, but only constitutes 8.8% of the overall homeless veteran population.

Why are veterans homeless?

In addition to the complex set of factors influencing all homelessness – extreme shortage of affordable housing, livable income and access to health care – a large number of displaced and at-risk veterans live with lingering effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse, which are compounded by a lack of family and social support networks. Additionally, military occupations and training are not always transferable to the civilian workforce, placing some veterans at a disadvantage when competing for employment.

A top priority for homeless veterans is secure, safe, clean housing that offers a supportive environment free of drugs and alcohol.

Doesn’t VA take care of homeless veterans?

To a certain extent, yes. Each year, VA’s specialized homelessness programs provide health care to almost 150,000 homeless veterans and other services to more than 112,000 veterans. Additionally, more than 40,000 homeless veterans receive compensation or pension benefits each month.

Since 1987, VA’s programs for homeless veterans have emphasized collaboration with such community service providers to help expand services to more veterans in crisis. VA, using its own resources or in partnerships with others, has secured nearly 15,000 residential rehabilitative and transitional beds and more than 30,000 permanent beds for homeless veterans throughout the nation. These partnerships are credited with reducing the number of homeless veterans by 70% since 2005. More information about VA homeless programs and initiatives can be found here.