Not doing enough for veterans

Not Doing Enough For Veterans

By Nikos A. Leverenz, AlterNet. Posted November 11, 2005.

The sad reality is that many of the soldiers serving today in Iraq and Afghanistan will join the ranks of those who call the streets of America home.

On this Veteran's Day, Americans are serving abroad far away from their friends and loved ones. Hopefully, each of them will return home safely, finish their commitments to the military, and move on to rewarding civilian lives.

But the sad reality is that many of today's service members, including those currently stationed in the combat theaters of Iraq and Afghanistan, will join the ranks of those who call the streets of America home.

Indeed, the extent of the homelessness problem among veterans is already large. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), "as many as 200,000 veterans are living on the streets or in shelters, and perhaps twice as many experience homelessness at some point during the course of a year."

Are we doing enough? Not by a long shot. The Director of Homeless Veterans Programs at the VA admitted to The Washington Times last winter that they serve 100,000 homeless veterans each year. By its own numbers, the federal government is not meeting its obligation to those who have served.

More:
http://www.alternet.org/story/27818/

the veterans of this country. I don't even know what to say about it or where to begin. It is disturbing at every level.