Female Veterans Struggle To Stay Off Streets

[unhappycamper]

Dr. Diane West (center), who runs a program for women at U.S. Vets, a nonprofit in Long Beach, Calif., with transitional housing residents Margaret Ortiz (right) and Andrea Guara.


Female Veterans Struggle To Stay Off Streets
by Gloria Hillard
July 11, 2010

More than 240,000 female service members have been deployed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but for many, reintegrating into civilian life and trying to find employment is not within their reach.

The Department of Veteran Affairs has acknowledged that women are nearly four times as likely as men to end up homeless.

In Los Angeles, outreach efforts are under way to get them off the streets and into the VA's transition assistance program.

People walked right by former Army Pvt. Margaret Ortiz when she was sleeping on the street, unaware that at one time drugs and alcohol weren't the most important things to her. Her comrades were. Ortiz drove a truck in Iraq — often volunteering for the missions no one else wanted.

"To help my soldiers and protect them," she says. "They were my family at the time."

[dipsydoodle]

1. That's terrible

x(

[IdaBriggs]

2. Not a shock. Sigh. Vets have extremely high levels of

homelessness/bankruptcies. When many/most of their age mates are getting marketable skills, they are learning to kill people instead, and then having to deal with the emotional trauma, which further inhibits their ability to earn funds - and god help them if they end up physically damaged/then have to learn to deal (make a living) with those added challenges. There are obvious exceptions to this rule (nuclear techs!), but frankly, the kind of person who can do those things will most likely succeed if they just go to college instead, while the kids who don't know what to do with themselves/join the service are going to end up ... challenged later with the same issues they simply put off dealing with for a few years, only *after* they've missed the opportunity to - oh, hell. This is just plain depressing!

[KharmaTrain]

3. So Much For "Career Building...

Not long ago my son got a pitch from a friend who was going into the military (not a recruiter)...he said he was going in cause he couldn't afford college and this would be the way for him to get on a career path...claiming that his military career will open doors that he couldn't get otherwise, even if he went to college. My son shook his head but then he's on his way to graduate school and is just as likely to go into the military as his dad was in the wake of Vietnam and Watergate 35 years ago.

Our Iraq and Afghan war veterans are going through their own living hells...not over there, but here. Just like Vietnam, these are unpopular wars and those returning are finding a country that prefers to ignore them as if by doing so the horrors and crimes of these wars will go away. And these are the veterans who have tried to help themselves, there are many, many others who suffer from war-inflicted injuries (physical and mental) that are being ignored by this country. A shame...but one of many when it comes to the disregard our veterans are getting...a "thank-you for your service" gets hollow after a while.

[lunatica]

4. It's unfortunate that the young believe the "patriotic" hype

But in all fairness the veterans aren't the only people who are homeless and losing their jobs. And to be honest it isn't this country, it's this government. There's a difference.

[KharmaTrain]

6. Sadly It's Both...

By no means are veterans the only who are homeless. but their odds of ending up that way are higher than virtually any other group in this country. I saw it following the Vietnam war...a truly lost generation who carried the burden of that war...some to their graves and many others to this day. Today's veterans are facing a similar situation.

There's blame across the board here. We've seen a government that neglected their care and forced many into second, third and more tours, increasing the trauma compared to past wars. Then once they return, there's a tough job market where corporates would rather outsource and pay the mimumum than anything else. Unlike when my father came home from WWII and there was an education or a public sector looking to hire veterans, today the tough times and the overall public's desire to ignore the wars and thus the veterans are no way to show our appreciation for the sacrafices they've made.

[lunatica]

8. This travesty happens in every single generation

It's a vicious cycle that never ends. This country has it's war every generation and the pattern is virtually identical. Start the drumbeat to war by demonizing the enemy and getting the young people whipped up into a frenzy of hate and willing to kill and be killed over lies they're fed. They're sent to war for the benefit of corporatins and never because any country is a real threat to this one. Promise the soldiers that this time they will be taken care of. Then pull the rug out from under them. After WWII it's happened every single generation, and we've not 'won' a single war since then either. Why not? Because there's never been an exit plan because the intent of corporations is to have a US military presence where they want it so they can take the natural resources at will.

We should be doing something before the fact, or at least try to do something to open our childrens' eyes to the facts. But as it is, we get to deal inadequately with the crippling after effects.

And the countries we invade suffer far worse.

[KharmaTrain]

9. In My Generation, Yes...In My Father's...No...

As a kid who grew up and just missed the Vietnam draft, I've long been suspect of the military/industrial complex and its accomplices in the government. I saw a war, in its early days, fed as a threat that over time, just like in Iraq and Afghanistan, it became a bottomless pit in lives and money that had little to no bearing over the survival of this country. I can't say the same about my father's generation that served in WWII. If there was a "just" war, this was one as the extremism of the totalitarian regimes in Germany and Japan did have designs on attacking the US and it was apparent then that people were being persecuted. Add to that the aggressive natures of both these countries which were truly threats (and more) to their neighbors compared to the "domino theory" and neo-con claptrap of the past two wars.

Wars aren't only about natural resources, it's about producing the tools of those wars...planes, bullets and so on that make many corporations very rich and is now complicated further with "contractors" (mercenaries) who profit more the longer these wars go on.

I don't blame nor look down on those who chose to go into the military for whatever reasons it may be. I am more concerned with how they're treated once they've done their service. This country needs a new GI Bill...and more...bringing down the cost of a college educations and help encourage job programs for not just veterans but all young people looking for a better start on life.

[Odin2005]

5. *CRY*

[CBGLuthier]

7. DISCARDS: The True American Story

When they are done with you they throw you away.

[w8liftinglady]

10. My next ltte.

no words can justify.
:cry:

[w8liftinglady]

11. remove-extra

[w8liftinglady]

remove-extra

[w8liftinglady]

12. remove extra

[Mimosa]

13. Government has FAILED to strategise the economy

Can't they look back and see how it was done after WWII?

Or has too much manufacturing been exported to China, India and other countries?