My marriage is falling apart. We just don’t talk any more… I really don’t have any friends and I’m pretty particular about who I want as a friend… What I’d really like to do is have a home in the mountains, somewhere far away from everyone…There have been times I’ve been so depressed that I won’t even leave the basement. I’ll usually start drinking pretty heavily around these times. I’ve also thought about committing suicide when I’ve been depressed...Night is hardest for me. I go to sleep long after my wife has gone to bed… Sometimes I grab for her neck before I realize where I am… I don’t know, this has been going on for so long; it seems to be getting gradually worse. My wife is talking about leaving (Goodwin).
Many servicemen face trauma and injuries serving overseas and return to the US with health issues such as PTSD, depression, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and other medical problems that require treatment. Ex-servicemen sometimes bring negative qualities from the military into civilian life. These ex-servicemen should receive the incentives needed to help them re-integrate into our communities again since they face various adversities during this transition.
Ex-servicemen often face the problem of homelessness. There has been an increase in the number of veterans in the homeless population in the United States. “Nearly 13 percent of the U.S. homeless population are veterans, and another 1.4 million veterans are at risk of homelessness” (Hoffler). Although the US Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) has a homeless assistance program and other affiliated programs, they are not utilized by some of these homeless veterans. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, between 130,000 to 200,000 veterans on a g...
... middle of paper ...
...ws item by foxnews.com, “Veterans face delays when applying for education benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), making it more difficult for them to receive an education after leaving the military” (“Education Benefits”). Although there are benefits for education, it is difficult to access it due to delays.
At first one might think that all the assistance programs by the VA and other governmental agencies, plus the benefits veterans are entitled to after serving, would help the transition process. However, considering all the above-mentioned psychological, emotional and social issues, the re-integration of veterans into civilian communities is hindered by these problems. Some of these problems may be inevitable, but there should be well-established systems, treatment programs and services in place to take care of veterans returning home.
“Homelessness continues to be a particularly troubling problem facing American society. Perhaps, even more troubling is the disproportionate share of veterans among the American homeless. Simply put, it is unconscionable that people who have often sacrificed a great deal in service to their country should face such deplorable circumstances upon their return to the home front. While the causes of homelessness among veterans are numerous and complex, research demonstrates that child support obligations play a major role in impeding the ability of homeless veterans to leave the streets and return to productive society.” (Berenson, 2011, Para.
“states that the nation’s homeless veterans are predominantly male, with roughly 9% being female. The majority are single; live in urban areas; and suffer from mental illness, alcohol and/or substance abuse, or co-occurring disorders. About 11% of the adult homeless population are veterans.
While soldiers are away from home, many things might change that they aren’t there for, for example, family problems and disasters. In addition, veterans might come home to a whole different world than when they left, and this already makes their lives more challenging to go with these changes. In addition, soldiers might also come back with physical injuries, like a lost limb, or loss of hearing. As a result, this makes everyday tasks much harder than they actually are. Veterans also might be mentally scarred from war. For example, a mental disorder called post traumatic stress disorder, makes life for the veteran and family much
Veteran homelessness must be attacked at multiple levels in order to ensure that it does not turn into a revolving door. So beyond simply providing temporary housing support we will also have to improve our veteran’s lives for the long-term. This entails treatment for their PTSD by providing them with access to health and wellness clinics, recovery resources, peer support groups, and individual counseling. (Note: Key information from HYPERLINK "http://www.voail.org" http://www.voail.org).
Homelessness in the United States has been an important subject that the government needs to turn its attention to. There has been announced in the news that the number of the homeless people in many major cities in the United States has been increasing enormously. According to United States Interagency Council on Homelessness reported that there was an estimation of 83,170 individuals have experienced chronic homelessness on the streets of the United States’ streets and shelters on only a single night of January 2015, which is a small decrease of only 1% from the previous year (People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness, n.d.). The United States must consider this subject that most of the people underestimate it and not pay attention
Although most people know what homelessness is and it occurs in most societies, it is important to define because the forces of displacement vary greatly, along with the arrangement and meaning of the resulting transient state. The Stewart B McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 defined a homeless person as “an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence or a person who resides in a shelter, welfare hotel, transitional program or place not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation, such as streets, cars, movie theaters, abandoned buildings, etc.” Resent surveys conducted in the U.S. have confirmed that the homeless population in America is extremely diverse and includes representatives from all segments of society, including: the old and young, men and women, single people and families, city dwellers and rural residents, whites and people of color, employed and unemployed, able workers and people with serious health problems. The diversity among people that are homeless reflects how difficult it is to generalize the causes of homelessness and the needs of homeless people. Robert Rosenheck M.D., the author of Special Populations of Homeless Americans, explains the importance of studying homelessness based on subgroups, “each subgroup [of homeless people] has unique service needs and identifying these needs is critical for program planning and design.” Despite these diversities, homelessness is a devastating situation for all that experience it. Not only have homeless people lost their dwelling, but they have also lost their safety, privacy, control, and domestic comfort.
“Serving those who have served” (About Disabled American Veterans 1). This is the mission statement of the DAV, or the Disabled American Veterans. The DAV helps thousands of disabled American veterans in their life after war.
Veterans have struggles with their civilian life after separating from the U.S Armed Forces. Returning to the civilian life seem to be a big challenge for veterans who have no prior job’s skills for civilian life because they had been influenced from military’s training, have physical and psychological damage.
In the article, Numbers, it states, that the estimated number of homeless veterans in the United States was 200,000 (Lamarque). This article was based on the statistics of homeless veterans from 2006, meaning the number of homeless veterans has increased. This statistic represents how many veterans are homeless and how much is not being done about it. According to Veteran's Inc, between 529,000 and 840,000 veterans are homeless at sometime during the year. This means that since 2006, the number of homeless veterans have doubled, possibly even quadrupled over the past few years. Homeless veterans make up a huge portion of the homeless
Our soldiers can’t afford the cost of living because they enrolled in the military at a young age. Adding a drug/alcohol free facility for our homeless veterans will reduce rates for everything. If we can’t take care of our own military personnel, who will ever want to serve for our country knowing they won’t get anything beneficial from it. The majority of our homeless veterans are males with the percent of 33. Even women are left homeless after returning home with a percentage of 10. The numbers for both male and female homelessness is said to rise as more people are enlisting into the service. People in today’s society take advantage of our soldiers and veterans. It’s very disrespectful knowing that there are veterans out there on the street and not one person will do anything. People need to start taking action to make a change. Without a change being made, soldiers are going to going to continue to be homeless and lack the care they need. (Cole para
Everyone knows the dangers of being in the military, many military members put their lives on the line every day. Which makes them some of the most underpaid people in America. One the other hand there are many benefits military members enjoy that many people don’t consider. Military members receive tax free housing and food allowances, free health care, access to high tech training and other educational benefits.
One of the most serious problems facing all veterans today is the lack of proper healthcare. Soldiers, sailors and airmen are leaving active duty without having proper healthcare to cover their physical or mental injuries. The department responsible for veteran’s healthcare is the Department of Veterans Affairs. (VA) According to The department of Veterans Affairs website, “The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is responsible for administering programs of veterans’ benefits for veterans, their families, and survivors. The benefits provided include disability compensation, pension, education, home loans, life insurance, vocational rehabilitation, survivors’ benefits, medical benefits and burial benefits. It is administered by the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs.” The VA, who was formerly called the Veterans Administration, was established 21 July 1930, to consolidate and coordinate government activities affecting war veterans. The VA encompassed the functions of the former U.S. Veterans' Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. On 25 October 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed legislation creating a new federal Cabinet-level Department of Veterans Affairs to replace the Veterans Administration effective 15 March 1989 (V.A.)
There are millions of veterans that come back from overseas disabled, whether that means physically or mentally. The transition from military life to civilian life can be difficult for any soldier no matter how long they serviced their country. A growing number of veterans are in need of services for different disabilities. These disabilities happened or were aggravated during military service. These veterans are protected under the American Disability act.
Veterans may have an additional adjustment to make. The routines of military life are regimented, and veterans can become frustrated by the less structured academic life (Horne Whitley & Tschudi, 2014). While in the military, these veterans may have made life or death decisions and now their decisions are about keeping up with class assignments. Some veterans may feel their responsibilities as a student are less important or significant which may lead to a lack of effort or involvement (Horne Whitley & Tschudi,