{"id":37,"date":"2015-11-19T09:21:52","date_gmt":"2015-11-19T14:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.townehouse.net\/phoenix\/?p=37"},"modified":"2015-11-19T09:21:13","modified_gmt":"2015-11-19T14:21:13","slug":"homeless-veterans-our-nations-shame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=37","title":{"rendered":"Homeless Veterans, Our Nation&#8217;s Shame"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/homelessvet.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"186\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?attachment_id=186\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/homelessvet.jpg?fit=476%2C442&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"476,442\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"homelessvet\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/homelessvet.jpg?fit=476%2C442&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-186\" style=\"float: left;\" title=\"homelessvet\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/homelessvet-150x150.jpg?resize=150%2C150\" alt=\"Our Nation's Shame\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/homelessvet.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/homelessvet.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/homelessvet.jpg?zoom=3&amp;resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>How is it possible that the word homeless can be used to describe a Veteran&#8217;s state of existence. How can we, as a nation, allow our veterans to come home and then abandon them. Don&#8217;t they deserve a little extra attention. After all, these are the men and women who not so long ago, or maybe long ago, were &#8220;over there&#8221; protecting our freedom. They are the ones who faced enemy gunfire, IEDs, death and disease. They are the ones who left body parts on the battle fields in wars and police actions including world wars, Korea, Viet Nam, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, and more. And how do we welcome them back and show our gratitude? \u00a0Sorry kid, there is no job for you. Why are so many veterans jobless and eventually homeless? Consider the following.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>There are 21.8 million veterans in the United States<\/li>\n<li>There are approximately 50,000 homeless veterans in the United States.<\/li>\n<li><\/li>\n<li>On any given night, more than 300,000 veterans are living on the streets or in shelters in the U.S.<\/li>\n<li>Approx. 33% of homeless men in the U.S. are veterans.<\/li>\n<li>Veterans are twice as likely as other Americans to become chronically homeless.<\/li>\n<li>Veterans represent 11% of the adult civilian population, but 26% of the homeless population, according to the Homeless Research Institute (2007).<\/li>\n<li>Veterans are more at risk of becoming homeless than non-veterans<\/li>\n<li>The number of homeless Vietnam-era veterans, male and female, is greater than the number of soldiers who died during the war.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Primary causes of homelessness among veterans are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lack of income due to limited education and lack of transferable skills from military to civilian life (especially true of younger veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan)<\/li>\n<li>Combat-related physical health issues and disabilities<\/li>\n<li>Combat-related mental health issues and disabilities<\/li>\n<li>Substance abuse problems that interfere with job retention<\/li>\n<li>Weak social networks due to problems adjusting to civilian life<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These are very depressing statistics and we as a nation owe it to our veterans to turn this around. We must insist that returning veterans are given every opportunity to receive medical care, job training, and first priority on jobs. Some folks find it difficult to understand why a Vet should get job priority? Simply put, because they deserve it. They stepped up, they put on the uniform, they went out on the battlefield, and they sacrificed for our freedom. They deserve it. We need to reach out and do all that we can to help. Donate money, volunteer time, write your representatives, whatever it takes. If you are not sure how, Google &#8220;Homeless Veteran&#8221; and a wealth of information will be provided. They did their part, now we need to do ours.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Those are my thoughts, what are yours?<\/p>\n<p>Feel free to comment, like, share, agree or disagree with this post. Please consider a <a href=\"http:\/\/townehouse.net\/subscription-info\/\">free subscription<\/a>. Options to like and subscribe can be found elsewhere on the page. Thank you for reading the Townehouse Blog.<\/p>\n<p>This material may be published, broadcast, or redistributed. In fact, I encourage it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How is it possible that the word homeless can be used to describe a Veteran&#8217;s state of existence. How can we, as a nation, allow our veterans to come home and then abandon them. Don&#8217;t [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_daextrevo_audio_file_creation_date":"","_daextrevo_text_to_speech":"","_daextrevo_document_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/gty_veteran_dm_120320_wblog.jpg?fit=720%2C405&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1167,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=1167","url_meta":{"origin":37,"position":0},"title":"Thank A Veteran!","author":"Tom Lind","date":"November 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Happy Veteran's Day. First off, a quick reminder to all politicians that today is the National Holiday when living Veterans are honored. Invariably, each year, some politician, somewhere, makes a reference to all those veterans who have given their lives for this country. Typically those politicians are not veterans so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"vetpos87","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/vetpos87.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14367,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=14367","url_meta":{"origin":37,"position":1},"title":"Veteran&#8217;s Day 2024","author":"Tom Lind","date":"November 11, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Happy Veteran\u2019s Day! First and foremost, I\u2019d like to remind all politicians that today is a national holiday dedicated to honoring the veterans of our country. Every year, it seems that some politician, somewhere, makes a reference to all the veterans who have sacrificed their lives for our nation. Unfortunately,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/BetDay2024.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12126,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=12126","url_meta":{"origin":37,"position":2},"title":"Our Nation&#8217;s Greatest Shame!","author":"Tom Lind","date":"September 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Previously I have written about the plight of homeless veterans. I have referred to this as our Nation\u2019s shame and I have stated that the word homeless should never be used as an adjective to describe a veteran. I still feel this way but I believe that the idea of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/rotate1_VISN10_Cincinnati.jpg?fit=800%2C333&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/rotate1_VISN10_Cincinnati.jpg?fit=800%2C333&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/rotate1_VISN10_Cincinnati.jpg?fit=800%2C333&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/rotate1_VISN10_Cincinnati.jpg?fit=800%2C333&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":879,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=879","url_meta":{"origin":37,"position":3},"title":"Military Liaison Group","author":"Tom Lind","date":"May 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Kudos to the Cincinnati Police Department for establishing the Military Liaison Group. This group will work in conjunction with organizations such as Battle In Distress, Veterans Court, the VA Hospital, and the Joseph House to assist returning soldiers during their transition back into civilian life. In addition, members will assist\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"gmbusvet","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/gmbusvet-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":291,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=291","url_meta":{"origin":37,"position":4},"title":"What Are You Giving For Christmas?","author":"Tom Lind","date":"December 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This time of the year is all about giving and getting. Many merchants are finally operating in the black and they get the gift of staying open for another year. Frequently you ask, or will be asked, \"what are you getting for Christmas this year?\" Depending on who you ask,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"What Are You Giving For Christmas?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/sadchristmas-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13349,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=13349","url_meta":{"origin":37,"position":5},"title":"Heavier Than I Thought","author":"Tom Lind","date":"January 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Little did I know, a few days ago, when I wrote the article \u201cThey Ain\u2019t Heavy\u201d how some folks would react.\u00a0 I know, and expect, everyone will not agree with what I have to say.\u00a0 But I did not expect this bit to cause the emotional break down that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/nancypelosipic3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p38YRh-B","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}