Homeless (Iraq war) vets: A hidden crisis

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-homelessvets0607aug06,0,6748265.story

Often, when Ryan Svolto manages to sleep, he finds himself back in Iraq preparing for triage, awash in blood and bodies. But he can't find his medical kit, and, helpless, he thrashes awake, damp with sweat.

As an infantry medic, he patched up soldiers wounded in combat in Iraq. Now, Svolto, 24, is trying to fix his own wounded life after a recent stint at a Daytona Beach homeless shelter.

Svolto is one of a growing number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who joined the ranks of Florida's homeless after returning home. Experts say a system already buckling under one of the nation's largest homeless populations might collapse under the weight of a new wave of veterans, many saddled with mental-health issues and crippling brain injuries.

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For Svolto, it's yet another battle, one he believes he won't be fighting alone.

"That's the scary part: when they get out of the Army and realize they're not who they used to be," he said. "It seems easier to disappear in the woods and live that way. A lot of these kids aren't going to be prepared. I wasn't prepared."


Ryan Svolto, who has battled alcoholism and post-traumatic stress, learned at Serenity House to enjoy crocheting. `I can sit here doing this in front of the TV for hours.'

And I bet the war-mongering chickenhawks will call these vets lazy, shiftless bums! Don't come begging to the "Support the Troops" Repukes for any sympathy!