NY Times: "Surge Seen In Number Of Homeless Veterans."

[muntrv]

By ERIK ECKHOLM
Published: November 8, 2007
WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 — More than 400 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have turned up homeless, and the Veterans Affairs Department and aid groups say they are bracing for a new surge in homeless veterans in the years ahead.

Experts who work with veterans say it often takes several years after leaving military service for veterans’ accumulating problems to push them into the streets. But some aid workers say the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans appear to be turning up sooner than the Vietnam veterans did.

“We’re beginning to see, across the country, the first trickle of this generation of warriors in homeless shelters,” said Phil Landis, chairman of Veterans Village of San Diego, a residence and counseling center. “But we anticipate that it’s going to be a tsunami.”

With more women serving in combat zones, the current wars are already resulting in a higher share of homeless women as well. They have an added risk factor: roughly 40 percent of the hundreds of homeless female veterans of recent wars have said they were sexually assaulted by American soldiers while in the military, officials said.

“Sexual abuse is a risk factor for homelessness,” Pete Dougherty, the V.A.’s director of homeless programs, said.

SEE MORE AT LINK BELOW

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/us/08vets.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

[Spazito]

1. It is interesting the NYT used the politically-charged word...

"Surge" in the headline, it gets the point across very well, imo. It immediately brings the attention back to both those serving in Iraq during the "surge" and what happens to them when the government has thrown them away.

I have to commend the NYT for their very effective headline.

[Spazito]

3. Kick for an article that needs to be on the main page for at least

a little while, imo.

:kick:

[pinto]

2. God, what a heart breaking article.

And kudos to the headline editor for his choice of words. 'Surge...in homeless veterans' brings it home.

[Breeze54]

4. 'Study: 1 out of 4 homeless are veterans' !!!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/us/08vets.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin">Surge Seen in Number of Homeless Veterans

“We’re beginning to see, across the country, the first trickle of this generation of warriors in homeless shelters,” said Phil Landis, chairman of Veterans Village of San Diego, a residence and counseling center. “But we anticipate that it’s going to be a tsunami.”

:cry:

--------------

Study: 1 out of 4 homeless are veterans

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/11/08/study_1_out_of_4_homeless_are_veterans/


Vietnam veteran Lonnie Bowen Jr. smokes a cigarette outside The Philadelphia
Veterans Multi-Service & Education Center in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007.
A new report scheduled to be released Thursday shows nearly a half-million veterans
were homeless last year. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

By Kimberly Hefling
Associated Press Writer / November 8, 2007

WASHINGTON --

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.

The Veterans Affairs Department has identified 1,500 homeless veterans from the current wars
and says 400 of them have participated in its programs specifically targeting homelessness.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness, a public education nonprofit, based the findings
of its report on numbers from Veterans Affairs and the Census Bureau. 2005 data estimated
that 194,254 homeless people out of 744,313 on any given night were veterans.

In comparison, the VA says that 20 years ago, the estimated number of veterans who were
homeless on any given night was 250,000.

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.

More....

[Quantess]

5. So...what is the GOP doing to support the troops?

I know, let's send these homeless vets to Iraq. Put them to use.
:sarcasm:

[T.Ruth2power]

6. Unacceptable

Support the troops takes on new meaning doesn't it? Not much support going on once they've been used up.

K&R