Conversely, the OEF/OIF vets coming home today are spiraling into homelessness within 18 months to two years, on average. Of course there are some who hit the bricks faster, but again, generally speaking, we're talking about a relatively rapid descent from active duty discharge into homelessness.
Now, what should give everyone pause and start the guts to churning is this: some 2 million plus veterans have now served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Again generally speaking, veterans have made up anywhwere from between 20-30 percent of the population of peersons experiencing homelesnsess.
If we apply this ratio to the number of vets who will be coming home soon, we should be shitting bricks right about now, because conservatively speaking, we're looking at a potential influx of about a half million newly homeless veterans into our towns and cities.
These vets will return home to a "support" system already heavily overburdened and underfunded. Additionally, most of the agencies that will make initial contact will most likely NOT be affiliated with the VA and for the vast majority of community-based service deliverers, they will know little about military culture and how to serve the vet, and even less about how to effectively access the VA and hand off clients in a way that will end with successful transfers into the VA.
One more thing here that needs to be pointed out here is the fact that at least one of the Republican debt ceiling plans to cut spending (funny how they never thought about this when they raised it 18 times under Reagan and another 9 times under Bush) suspends VASH funding for one year. I've written previously about this and it's a stupendous outrage perpetrated on the backs of those who've served with honor and dignity, not to mention yet another affront to sensible Americans seeking balanced solutions to a problem that was primarily created with the Bush tax cuts initiated during a period of war, something that has never happened before in the history of our nation.
It occurs to me that Vets are often provided some of the best equipment in the world to face the challenges of the battlefield. Yet, upon coming home those who sent them off to war in the first place will have provided them with just about nothing to survive the biggest battle they'll ever face, surviving in the good ol US of A.
Pathetic indeed....
Our take on: Homeless veterans & Debt ceiling gridlock
Homeless heroes
First the good news: America's homeless veteran population, which crested at about 400,000 in 2004, has plunged to 135,000 today.
The tragic news is that the number of Iraq and Afghanistan vets on the streets has soared more than five-fold since 2006.
VA officials point the finger at the ailing economy and multiple deployments. As many as 33 percent of homeless vets saw combat. Many return with mental shrapnel that sabotages their lives.
To help, the VA's spending millions to house at-risk veterans. Good.
Still, like a bugle call, the ominous spike in homelessness among recently returning veterans should remind the VA that it must stay vigilant in meeting an almost-certain burgeoning need.
More gridlock
Can't Congress get anything done anymore? It's not just its appalling inability to resolve the debt ceiling crisis (which it helped foist on the nation in the first place).
Now Congress has managed to bring much of the Federal Aviation Administration to a standstill. Air traffic controllers and security personnel are still working, thank goodness. But nearly 4,000 FAA employees have been furloughed, and many airport construction projects delayed, because Congress last week couldn't agree on legislation to keep the entire FAA operating.
Locally, needed expansion and resurfacing projects at Orlando's two commercial airports could atrophy, mirroring the inertia of Republican and Democratic congressional leaders who can't — or won't — move their way around the labor issues and subsidies for rural airports that separate them.
Pathetic.
First the good news: America's homeless veteran population, which crested at about 400,000 in 2004, has plunged to 135,000 today.
The tragic news is that the number of Iraq and Afghanistan vets on the streets has soared more than five-fold since 2006.
Five years ago, 1,297 recent veterans were homeless or enrolled in homeless-prevention programs. Today, that number through May has jumped to 10,476, USA Today reported.
To help, the VA's spending millions to house at-risk veterans. Good.
Still, like a bugle call, the ominous spike in homelessness among recently returning veterans should remind the VA that it must stay vigilant in meeting an almost-certain burgeoning need.
More gridlock
Can't Congress get anything done anymore? It's not just its appalling inability to resolve the debt ceiling crisis (which it helped foist on the nation in the first place).
Now Congress has managed to bring much of the Federal Aviation Administration to a standstill. Air traffic controllers and security personnel are still working, thank goodness. But nearly 4,000 FAA employees have been furloughed, and many airport construction projects delayed, because Congress last week couldn't agree on legislation to keep the entire FAA operating.
Locally, needed expansion and resurfacing projects at Orlando's two commercial airports could atrophy, mirroring the inertia of Republican and Democratic congressional leaders who can't — or won't — move their way around the labor issues and subsidies for rural airports that separate them.
Pathetic.
