Why are 1 out of 4 homeless people in the U.S.A. veterans? It is Veteran's Day, what is going on?

Question

Even veterans from Iraq are having major problems & not being cared about.
They go back to very old vets. from ww2. Korea, Vietnam right through to right now!
If Americans are so patriotic, why are you not looking after these Veterans??

Answer 1

Years ago veterans were respected. They were given preference in hiring. If you had 2 candidates for a job and one was a veteran, the vet got the job. Even a bad conduct or dishonorable dicharge was a severe black mark and hurt one's chances for employment.
After Vietnam, vets were looked down upon. Then came the Clinton presidency and draft dodgers were accorded a higher status than vets in the public's eye. American voters even rejected a bona fide war hero, Bob Dole, in favor of an admitted draft dodger, Clinton.
Then with increasing numbers of conflicts, Panama, Bosnia, Grenada, Kuwait, Afghanistan ect, came more and more veterans. With the increased number of vets came increased costs of providing care for them. VA hospitals stopped accepting vets unless they either paid for the care or could prove their conditions were service connected. The government began looking for ways to cut the VA expenses every way they could.
With the volunteer military we have today, most military members, and therefore veterans, are from the lower social and economic classes with little political influence. Also the majority of the upper middle and upper class population do not have a family member or friends serving so they don't have the sympathy or empathy for the vets like people did when their family and friends served. So people nowadays will just stick a magnetic yellow ribbon on their car and say they support the troops and figure that's enough.

Answer 2

This is propaganda for the government! It comes at the perfect time when we are all suffering. They give away our tax dollars and we are supposed to be happy that we can help. We are supposed to feel less sorry for ourselves and happy that we can help these unfortunates. Im not happy at all with that. I want my tax dollar to stay here. If I had to send help there, it would be in the form of a shovel, wheelbarrow or hammer. All the funds will disappear like they did in New Orleans and Haiti will be no better off. They lived in poverty, chaos, slum and in corruption long before this and that is how they will live until the next one wipes the island off the map. All the help money in the world wont better anyone if they don't know how to live better. Sad isn't it when all that money could work for our own Country's and we would see results!

Answer 3

Thank you Sunny! America needs to protect the very people that have put their life on the line to protect us. I don't know why they can't build a Veteran's Shelter or something like that. Heck for that matter, I wonder why our homeless is not taken care of better. With a country like ours, why do we even have homeless. It really pisses me off that these people have to live like this. I wish there was something I could do beyond helping hand out meals and donating what money I can to the homeless. Good question, you get a star for sure!

Answer 4

Source of this information: http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/305/homeless-facts.html

Are veterans more likely than other populations to be homeless?

Yes. About 40 percent of homeless men are veterans, although veterans comprise only 34 percent of the general adult male population. The National Coalition for Homeless estimates that on any given night, 200,000 veterans are homeless.

Answer 5

Sunny ? Where are you getting your facts ? Who are you listening to? The Veteran's Administration has been in existence for years and the majority of veterans from all the wars since WW1 who were in financial need could get assistance from the administration . This included hospitalization and care from therapy to lower prices for drugs. Most veterans in need were accomodated. As for homeless, there are many reasons for that condition that have nothing to do with the patriotism of Americans.

Answer 6

The fact that so many veterans are homeless is an American tragedy. These brave people fought to preserve OUR freedom. We as a nation should do everything humanly possible to ensure the dignity, and future of our veterans.

Answer 7

Unfortunately, Americans would rather crane their necks to catch a glimpse of Britney Spears then walk up and shake the hands of a veteren and give them a hot meal.

Many thought they could return with honor. Many decided to remain out here. Why return home to a big fat NOTHING? Not even so much as a thank you.

There are jobs out here and shelter. People ask why many of us become contractors. They think it's for the money... of course it is, because we don't want to be homeless in our own country.

Answer 8

A lot of it has been attributed to PTSD. I wish I knew the answer.
There is help available through the Veterans Administration.
Many vets choose not to take advantage of it. And who knows why?

Answer 9

America needs to get it together! It is now that the country is trying to compensate for its past mistakes by applauding our military for risking their lives for our safety. Still, the country does not treat its veterans the ways they should be treated. We praise celebrities instead of the people who have lost their limb(s) serving this country, and I doubt that few if any celebrities would ever serve voluntarily. In my opinion, at least America recognizes its past mistakes and it's trying to prevent them from occurring again.

Answer 10

Some homeless lie about being veterans so they can get more money and so that people respect them.