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Who are the Homeless Veterans |
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Understanding More About the Problem:
Department of Veterans' Affairs on Homelessness
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Posted: 3/26/2009 on  the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans Website
March 23, 2009
"With this budget, we ... dramatically improve services related to mental health and injuries like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury ... And we provide new help for homeless veterans, because those heroes have a home – it's the country they served, the United States of America. And until we reach a day when not a single veteran sleeps on our nation's streets, our work remains unfinished."
Why is there a Need for Volunteer Organizations such as Friends of Veterans Although there are VA programs that are effective in what they provide, these programs do not meet the existing need of the homeless: The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans estimates “that the VA serves about 25% of veterans in need of services; this estimated figure leaves approximately 300,000 veterans each year to seek assistance from local government agencies and voluntary organizations.” As a result, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans suggests “the most effective programs are community-based, non-profit Veterans helping Veterans groups.”
The Friends of Veterans have been in this fight against homelessness for the past 24 years and although we have had our share of successes there is still a lot to do... Join us. |
The following is a cross section of the demographics for the Homeless veteran population... 23% of the homeless population
are veterans 45% need help finding a job
Major Reasons for Veteran Homelessness
There are a number of reasons for veteran homelessness; however, the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans considers the following four reasons as the more significant:
A profile of the veterans we've served:
85% of the Veterans served were men; 73% from VT 27% from NH 15% of the Veterans served were women; 82% from VT 18% from NH 48% of the assisted Veterans had family; 53% of the assisted children - VT 47% of the assisted children - NH |
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end homelessness, now... |
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To read the complete story about this fallen hero... click on the picture.
AP – Chaplain Lt. Cmdr. John Logan talks with Elisha Vivier, the daughter of Raymond Edward Vivier, a homeless … |
An Unfortunate Situation
It has been our experience, when advocating for the homeless, many of the public tend to leap to uncomplimentary images of who the homeless are and how they got there. As unfortunate as this is, it sometimes get in the way of seeking help for a homeless individual or family. In an effort to bring some clarity to this issue, we have found that often times our clients are a result of circumstances for which they had no control. Our older clients were displaced from their civilian lives as a result of being drafted into military service. At the age of 18 or 19 their lives were interrupted at a critical time when most people their age began building their lives (i.e. college, learning a trade, etc.) and often times returned from military service with the scares of war that can affect them for the balance of their lives. Some of our younger clients often times were part of a Guard Unit or Reserves; their unit was deployed and removed from their job at a critical time when jobs are scarce, rents are high, and housing options are limited. In both cases, the returning veteran had to overcome barriers that stood between them and a stabile / sustainable lifestyle for them and their families while dealing with the residue that has tarnished their lives as a result of war.
We have found that our clients are homeless, not because they haven’t tried to rebuild their lives; but because there are prevailing issues that are interfering with their effort. |
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Our children should not have to sleep in the street, help us 