This study is extremely sad, but the worst is how unsurprised I am by it. While approximately 11% of the general American population is homeless, a full 25% of veterans have no means to a permanent home. The government that uses and abuses them in service of their country spits them back out into civilian population with little to no means for survival. As one of the veterans in the study aptly states, "The only training I have is infantry training and there's not really a need for that in the civilian world." Soldiers are often marginalized as a result of the insular military community and are afflicted with mental disorders such as PTSD (the issues with which Erik has previously described) as a result of the horrors they witness due to the government's machinations. Put back into the regular world with this kind of baggage is bad enough but, when there is little to no help from the government that exploited them and they have trouble finding housing or work, let alone understanding. They are then further marginalized by society's terrible attitude toward the homeless and to the mentally ill. This study has no way to acknowledge the effect our current war will have on them but, if the current figures of PTSD, etc, are accurate among these soldiers proves correct, these numbers could become absolutely staggering.
In reading on the subject, I came upon Wandering Vet's blog. I may not agree with everything he says in his writing, especially in terms of the way immigrants are treated in comparison with homeless veterans but he gives an interesting first hand account of what this life is like. How he has resources to post on a blog as a homeless man, I do not know. Apparently, he is explaining this issue in a series of future posts. Anyway, it's worth a read.
