Back from Iraq-and suddenly out on the streets: Homeless Vets on the rise

[LynneSin]

Man, I read this article and it just makes blood boil. All those folks driving SUVs with Yellow magnets all over their back should be ashamed because that damn magnet is doing NOTHING to help these people.

When a man or woman volunteers to serve & protect our country, our country should bend over backwards to make sure these folks get the best of care when they end their military service ESPECIALLY when that service include wartime duty.

Back from Iraq - and suddenly out on the streets
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=1353

By Alexandra Marks / Christian Science Monitor

NEW YORK - Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are now showing up in the nation's homeless shelters.

While the numbers are still small, they're steadily rising, and raising alarms in both the homeless and veterans' communities. The concern is that these returning veterans - some of whom can't find jobs after leaving the military, others of whom are still struggling psychologically with the war - may be just the beginning of an influx of new veterans in need. Currently, there are 150,000 troops in Iraq and 16,000 in Afghanistan. More than 130,000 have already served and returned home.

So far, dozens of them, like Herold Noel, a married father of three, have found themselves sleeping on the streets, on friends' couches, or in their cars within weeks of returning home. Two years ago, Black Veterans for Social Justice (BVSJ) in the borough of Brooklyn, saw only a handful of recent returnees. Now the group is aiding more than 100 Iraq veterans, 30 of whom are homeless.

"It's horrible to put your life on the line and then come back home to nothing, that's what I came home to: nothing. I didn't know where to go or where to turn," says Mr. Noel. "I thought I was alone, but I found out there are a whole lot of other soldiers in the same situation. Now I want people to know what's really going on."

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:grr:

Why aren't we doing more to help these folks who have served our country. A $2 magnet on the back of your car isn't going to solve the problem!!

[mhr]

1. Home From Nowhere - The New American Dream

You too can fight and die for nothing because the Republicans never planned to share the wealth with you to begin with.