Homeless Iraq vets showing up at shelters

[donsu]

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20041207-121848-6449r.htm


U.S. veterans from the war in Iraq are beginning to show up at homeless shelters around the country, and advocates fear they are the leading edge of a new generation of homeless vets not seen since the Vietnam era.

"When we already have people from Iraq on the streets, my God," said Linda Boone, executive director of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. "I have talked to enough (shelters) to know we are getting them. It is happening and this nation is not prepared for that."

-snip-

Nearly 300,000 veterans are homeless on any given night, and almost half served during the Vietnam era, according to the Homeless Veterans coalition, a consortium of community-based homeless-veteran service providers. While some experts have questioned the degree to which mental trauma from combat causes homelessness, a large number of veterans live with the long-term effects of post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse, according to the coalition.

-snip-

Data from the Department of Veterans Affairs shows that as of last July, nearly 28,000 veterans from Iraq sought health care from the VA. One out of every five was diagnosed with a mental disorder, according to the VA. An Army study in the New England Journal of Medicine in July showed that 17 percent of service members returning from Iraq met screening criteria for major depression, generalized anxiety disorder or PTSD.

-snip-

Roslyn Hannibal-Booker, director of development at the Maryland veterans center in Baltimore, said her organization has begun to get inquiries from veterans from Iraq and their worried families. "We are preparing for Iraq," Hannibal-Booker said.
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the spoils of invasion

[flamingyouth]

1. *cough* *sputter* *gasping for breath*

AUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! :argh:

Pardon my lack of eloquence, but this just fucking enrages me. :grr:

[arcane1]

2. this is fucking shameful....

:evilfrown:

Support the troops, they say...

[IrateCitizen]

3. This makes me so f***ing mad, I could cry!

This is one of the biggest things that pisses me off about the militarism that has pervaded our national consciousness. We like to hold up people in the military as heroes, and laud them as we send them off to the slaughter -- but as soon as they're done or injured or suffering from PTSD, we wash our hands of them, because they've lived out their usefulness.

ONE SINGLE VETERAN on the streets should be an outrage. Yet, we have over 500,000 of them! And the worst thing is, hardly anybody seems to give a flying fuck!

:argh: :argh: :argh: :argh:

:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

[mhr]

5. Republican Mantra - Survival Of The Fittest - They Were School Slackers

Sarcasm Off/

[Karenina]

11. Think FOOTBALL.

Same mentality.

[BattyDem]

4. That's how well the GOP-controlled country "supports the troops"

:eyes:

[proud patriot]

6. What a disgrace to dishonor our Vets this way

:grr:

[Liberal Veteran]

7. But I thought sticking a magnet ribbon on SUV magically...

...prevented that from happening (sorta like garlic wards off vampires).

[Ilsa]

8. They should ask for a room in Bushco's White House.

I know there isn't enough room for them, but it's a start.

[VOX]

9. They will be embraced by Republican compassion when they return...

Which is to say, ignored altogether.

How incredibly sad.

[Sandpiper]

10. Soon they'll be fighting the Vietnam Vets

For their spots under the overpasses.

Support our troops indeed! :grr:

[stevedeshazer]

12. Homeless vets march on Washington?

Will we see it happen?

[Feathered Fish]

13. I could smell this coming a mile away

This is only the tip of the iceburg. Many more will be homeless and sick and disabled and what is Bushco gonna do? Nada.

[nytemare]

14. This pisses me off to the point of tears

that fellow vets are being treated like this. I need to do something about this. I just don't know what yet.

[dolo amber]

15. This is wrong

Sick, sad, and fucking wrong. :grr: :nuke: