Randall Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Hundreds of Iraq Vets Are Homeless Hundreds of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are ending up homeless. How could this happen? WEB EXCLUSIVE By Sarah Childress Newsweek Updated: 1:41 p.m. MT Feb 24, 2007 Feb. 24, 2007 - Kevin Felty came back from Iraq in 2003 with nowhere to stay, and not enough money to rent an apartment. He and his wife of four years moved in with his sister in Florida, but the couple quickly overstayed their welcome. Jobless and wrestling with what he later learned was posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)(or Shell Shock as it used toi be called), Felty suddenly found himself scrambling to find a place for himself and his wife, who was six-months pregnant. They found their way to a shelter for homeless veterans, which supported his wife during her pregnancy and helped Felty get counseling and find a job. A year later, he's finally thinking his future. "I don't want to say this is exactly where I want to be—it's really not," he says. "But it's what I can get at the moment." Young, alienated and often living on their own for the first time, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans increasingly are coming home to find that they don't have one. Already, nearly 200,000 veterans—many from the Vietnam War—sleep on the streets every night, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. But young warriors just back from the Mideast—estimated around 500 to 1,000—are beginning to struggle with homelessness too. Drinking or using drugs to cope with PTSD, they can lose their job and the support of family and friends, and start a downward spiral to the streets. Their tough military mentality can make them less likely to seek help. Advocates say it can take five to eight years for a veteran to exhaust their financial resources and housing options, so they expect the number to rise exponentially in a few years. "Rather than wait for the tsunami, we should be doing something now," says Cheryl Beversdorf, president of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. The problem is mainly a lack of resources, advocates say. There are only about 15,000 beds available in VA-funded shelters or hospitals nationwide, and nearly every one is taken. In some smaller cities there simply aren't many places for a homeless veteran to go. And as affordable housing units shrink nationwide, veterans living on a disability check of, say, $700 a month, (which means a 50-percent disability rating from the VA), are hard-pressed to find a place to live. Most shelters require veterans to participate in a rehabilitation program, but a "fair amount" of veterans just go back to the streets once they leave, says Ed Quill, director of external affairs at Volunteers of America, the nonprofit housing group for veterans that helped Felty. The VA says it's making a concerted effort to reach out to vets before they hit bottom, says Pete Dougherty, the VA's coordinator for homeless programs. Intake counselors are trained to ask questions, especially of newer veterans, to seek out mental health or other problems that could lead to homelessness. "We're much more sensitive than we were 40 years ago for signs of problems," he says. And they have expanded some services. Last week, the VA approved $24 million to boost aid for the homeless, which will allow them to add about 1,000 more beds and increase the number of grants to help the growing population of homeless women veterans and those with mental illnesses. Much of the work with new veterans is being done one soldier at a time. At New Directions in Los Angeles, a center that rehabilitates homeless veterans, Anthony Belcher, a formerly homeless Vietnam vet who now works at the center, looks out for one particular Iraq veteran who shows up at the center about once a month, filthy, drugged out and tortured by PTSD. "He's a baby," Belcher says. "You can see it in his eyes." So far, the young vet is too wary to accept more than a night's bed or a hot meal. But as Belcher says, at least he has a place to go. That's more than many of the thousands of vets on America’s streets can say tonight. URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17315490/site/newsweek/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 we have to cut their benefits to pay for the war on terror. If they wanted a place to live, they should have stayed in the military. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H8tank Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Good JOb democrat congress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Good JOb democrat congress! Oh H8, you can fish better than this. I find this effort disappointing at best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylive5 Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 we have to cut their benefits to pay for the war on terror. If they wanted a place to live, they should have stayed in the military. For someone in your profession.... you can be very insensitive with your remarks at times, unta. Or was this the type of fishing you were talking to H8 about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'canes2004 Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 For someone in your profession.... you can be very insensitive with your remarks at times, unta. Or was this the type of fishing you were talking to H8 about? I have a feeling he was being sarcastic Sky. What a shame and a disgrace on how these brave young men are rewarded for their service to our country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 (edited) For someone in your profession.... you can be very insensitive with your remarks at times, unta. Or was this the type of fishing you were talking to H8 about? Im thinking sarcasm Edited February 25, 2007 by whomper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skins Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Im thinking sarchasm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylive5 Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 I have a feeling he was being sarcastic Sky. Im thinking sarcasm I hope so. I like unta (everyone knows he is DMD's favorite) and would hate to think that he really meant that. The treatment of military vets has never been great in this country.... but dang... you would think it would get better eventually.... despite the mind set of most vets that is hard to overcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 we have to cut their benefits to pay for the war on terror. If they wanted a place to live, they should have stayed in the military. On occasion, I will offer a "modest proposal" to underscore the ludicrousness of a policy or belief. This would be one of those times. I find it morally objectionable that during a time when congress AND the white house is beating the drums to support our troops that there are actually cuts being made in veteran's benefits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skins Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 On occasion, I will offer a "modest proposal" to underscore the ludicrousness of a policy or belief. This would be one of those times. I find it morally objectionable that during a time when congress AND the white house is beating the drums to support our troops that there are actually cuts being made in veteran's benefits. Yer clear hatred of America and the wounded troops themselves infects us all here in the Huddle with yer virulent negativity. I have it on good information that you are no longer DMD's favorite and I call for the banishment of this thread to the netherworld. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Yer clear hatred of America and the wounded troops themselves infects us all here in the Huddle with yer virulent negativity. I have it on good information that you are no longer DMD's favorite and I call for the banishment of this thread to the netherworld. Your lies and envy will eventually destroy your soul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spain Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Your lies and envy will eventually destroy your soul. You are assuming that he in fact has a soul. That issue is up for debate more than global warming... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skins Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Your lies and envy will eventually destroy your soul. My purity of spirit and purpose have me in strong contention for DMD's favorite now that you have been demoted to Carl's third favorite. You are assuming that he in fact has a soul. That issue is up for debate more than global warming... I can vote, and in this country, that means I have a soul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spain Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 I can vote, and in this country, that means I have a soul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 My purity of spirit and purpose have me in strong contention for DMD's favorite now that you have been demoted to Carl's third favorite. You have neither boyish charm nor overwhelmingly deep blue eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spain Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 You have neither boyish charm nor overwhelmingly deep blue eyes. Why do you hate the follickly challenged? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skins Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 You have neither boyish charm nor overwhelmingly deep blue eyes. Are you suggesting that you will use yer feminine wiles to seduce DMD into reinstalling you as his favorite? I admit, as a man, it is tough for me to compete with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spain Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Speaking of homeless, here is a cool way to feed them: http://www.break.com/index/feeding_the_homeless.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Why didn't this happen tsumai-like after WWII? Was that generation just a lot...more together? Where do these numbers come from? Sorry if I seem unsympathetic. I'm really not. I just have my doubts that there are that many homeless veterans out there that for some reason or another want a home but can't get one. Through my limited experiences with some of these citizens I have found they are in the predicaments they are in because of their choices. I have a lot more concern for our leg-less veterans and armless-veterans and blind veterans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H8tank Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 Oh H8, you can fish better than this. I find this effort disappointing at best. It was 9:20am on a sunday, after a decade, what do you expect? Besides, this is out of thenation light, newsweek. Lies, lies and more lies on the side of lies with lies gravy on top. We understand the left hates the military, wants us to retreat and lose in the war on terror, end generaly hates america... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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