Study: 1 out of 4 homeless are veterans

elmer

I recall reading once that a third of homeless in London were ex-forces, alcohol being the driving factor in their fall of course. When a large proportion of those joining the armed forces do so as a 'means to an end' they can find themselves further cut adrift from society when they resurface. The police are unlikely to recruit from the army, there does'nt seem to be a clear route for those without skills relevant to civy-street.

Pegasus

elmer wrote:

I recall reading once that a third of homeless in London were ex-forces, alcohol being the driving factor in their fall of course. When a large proportion of those joining the armed forces do so as a 'means to an end' they can find themselves further cut adrift from society when they resurface. The police are unlikely to recruit from the army, there does'nt seem to be a clear route for those without skills relevant to civy-street.

don't know about veterans, but the majority of homeless in London have Mental Health issues, often combined with alcohol/drugs problems.
They are support structures to help homeless, but people with those problems refuse it or drop out easily when they become unwell (due to them not thinking clearly because of the illness)

I also think I read somewhere there's a high instance of people in the army coming from foster care, so when they leave, they have no family support.

you can't really end up in the street if you have a family (unless like the above said 'problem' people you 'avoid' help)

gabers

They're our heroes until the uniforms come off. And a lot did come from "difficult backgrounds" to begin with, but war fucks a lot of their heads up. I'm always appalled by how many homeless veterans I see.

macgyver06

RolandTD20Kdrummer wrote:

The gov't because they make it look and sound so enticing. In reality it is not "be all that you can be"

youre right the miltary should be called LIMBO and the motto ''how low can you go''

macgyver06

gabers wrote:

They're our heroes until the uniforms come off. And a lot did come from "difficult backgrounds" to begin with, but war fucks a lot of their heads up. I'm always appalled by how many homeless veterans I see.

im appaled by this soicety we live in that builds people up and tears them down... and than i love those people that say '' they can get a job''

you ever been fucking crazy!? its not that easy

satansbedbugs

gabers wrote:

They're our heroes until the uniforms come off. And a lot did come from "difficult backgrounds" to begin with, but war fucks a lot of their heads up. I'm always appalled by how many homeless veterans I see.

And alot of the homeless vets are medical discharges from the military, released with no military aid what- so - ever. The military uses and abuses these people then cuts ties with them with no pention. They are too " physically " unable to perform to get a good job and with no help from the gov. they are stuck without homes.....all for " fighting " for their country.

sweetpotato

http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=261319

my2hands

satansbedbugs wrote:

And alot of the homeless vets are medical discharges from the military, released with no military aid what- so - ever. The military uses and abuses these people then cuts ties with them with no pention. They are too " physically " unable to perform to get a good job and with no help from the gov. they are stuck without homes.....all for " fighting " for their country.

dead on balls accurate

good post!

blackredyellow

satansbedbugs wrote:

And alot of the homeless vets are medical discharges from the military, released with no military aid what- so - ever. The military uses and abuses these people then cuts ties with them with no pention. They are too " physically " unable to perform to get a good job and with no help from the gov. they are stuck without homes.....all for " fighting " for their country.

Right... and a lot of times after they have been through hell mentally or got injured, and the military (like insurance companies) try their hardest to find a "pre-existing condition" and then discharge them. Like Jon Town (http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070409/kors)

satansbedbugs

so its ok to join the military, just as long as you dont get hurt. I know a guy who was pronounced 83% unable to perform in the marines and they denied him his full pention after 18 years of service....no wonder why noone wants to fight for uncle sam anymore....

MahoganySouls

bgivens33 wrote:

Oh really?? Those guys in Vietnam chose to do that?

Seriously?

Yep seriously. If you really didn't believe in the Vietnam war, you could have refused to go. It would have cost you some time in jail, but hey....standing behind your principles is worth that don't you think?

MahoganySouls

prism wrote:

these vets chose to get PTSD and/or other disabling injuries when they signed up? or in the case with Vietnam were drafted? if they end up with problems as a result of their time spent serving in a warzone the government of the country that they served owes, yes OWES it to them to see that they don't end up on the streets.

you have all the empathy and compassion of a maniacal piranha

What do you think you are sigining up for when you enlist? A country club?

MahoganySouls

Pj_Gurl wrote:

what if it was chosen for them?


how did the veterans who were drafted 'choose' to kill people?

My father was drafted. He declined because he refused to participate in something he viewed as wrong. He was put in jail for quite a long time. When he was released after the war, his conscience was clear.

MahoganySouls

Thecure wrote:

speAking as a WMA. teh government has a duty to protect the people that fought the wars to protect your freedom.

Thats one way to look at it I suppose. However, if a soldier comes back and chooses not to reenter the civilian world, that is no ones fault but his own.

Jeanie

So I guess it's ok to break the law in some circumstances?

You can rally against your government and go to jail if you're conscripted, refuse to go and that's acceptable BUT if you did what they wanted and went, and now you're completely fucked up and in need of assistance, breaking the law and getting involved in drugs, sleeping on the street, participating in the first place, doing what the law and the government required of you, that would make you a bad person and thoroughly deserving of bad things??????

I must remember to tell my uncle that he's a total bastard and unworthy of any further assistance for doing what his government decreed and "deliberately" going off to Vietnam to be a warmonger just because his "number" came up. :rolleyes: Because he didn't want to break the law. He would have been a much better person if he broke the law and went to jail for his ideals. :rolleyes: Yeah, right. :rolleyes:

War is never a good thing and quite frankly I think we as human beings should be above such behaviour, but if governments and big business insist on continuing to battle other countries by sending off their young men and women to combat then they have a responsibility to clean up their mess. AND if they make a mess of you as an individual by using you to get their dirty work done, then I say start digging deep into all that filthy lucre you got from your warmongering ways in the first place and assure the health and happiness of the people that sacrificed so you could get rich and powerful.

If the government doesn't want to spend money on veterans, then don't make anymore of them. Simple.

prism

MahoganySouls wrote:

What do you think you are sigining up for when you enlist? A country club?

I'm damn sure that anyone that enlists knows that they're not signing on to go to a country club. however, I'm also sure that when they do sign up that if they think that they may be one of the ones that gets injured physically or mentally that the military will pay for them to receive the on-going health care and/or therapy that they'll need in such case.
in fact i'm pretty fucking certain that they never get told before or even after enlisting that if they do get injured while at war that the military and government may very well turn their back on them, and all they will receive for their sacrifices is a great big Fuck You.

gabers

MahoganySouls wrote:

Yep seriously. If you really didn't believe in the Vietnam war, you could have refused to go. It would have cost you some time in jail, but hey....standing behind your principles is worth that don't you think?

How about if you join the Air National Guard to avoid getting deployed to Vietnam? Or if you get five deferments to avoid getting drafted? Was that the honorable thing to do?

I'd be willing to bet McCain has had a whole lot of therapy. For his ordeal in Vietnam he gets my respect and sympathy, regardless of his politics. But honestly, I could never vote for him to be president even if I did love his politics. In my mind he's always one step away from having a flashback and ordering a nuke strike.

Have you seen "Born on the Fourth of July"? I think what Ron Kovic went through was emblamatic for a lot of veterans. They were duped into serving their country and trusting their leaders. Kind of like a lot of the guys who joined after 9/11.

prism

MahoganySouls wrote:

Thats one way to look at it I suppose. However, if a soldier comes back and chooses not to reenter the civilian world, that is no ones fault but his own.

what about the ones that come back unemployable due to PTSD or other injuries, that the civilian world won't hire or rent to? how in the fuck is that no one's fault but their own?

Jeanie

gabers wrote:

Have you seen "Born on the Fourth of July"? I think what Ron Kovic went through was emblamatic for a lot of veterans. They were duped into serving their country and trusting their leaders. Kind of like a lot of the guys who joined after 9/11.

I'm glad you mentioned it. I recently bought it at a second hand bookstore and am reading it. It's a great book. I have seen the movie, but I'm liking the book so much more.

justam

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder...all these poor guys...

I remember the guy without legs selling pencils in SF on a wooden thing with wheels from WWII...now we have more guys suffering and they're getting even less help.

It's wrong!!! :(