NEWTON'S BEST OF THE BEST
MILITARY SITE
OUR HOMELESS VETERANS
AND HOW YOU CAN HELP
About one-third of the adult homeless population have served their country in the Armed Services. On any given day, as many as 250,000 veterans (male and female) are living on the streets or in shelters, and perhaps twice as many experience homelessness at some point during the course of a year. Many other veterans are considered near homeless or at risk because of their poverty, lack of support from family and friends, and dismal living conditions in cheap hotels or in overcrowded or substandard housing.
Right now, the number of homeless male and female Vietnam era veterans is greater than the number of service persons who died during that war -- and a small number of Desert Storm veterans are also appearing in the homeless population. Atlthough many homeless veterans served in combat in Vietnam and suffer from PTSD, at this time, epidemiologic studies do not suggest that there is a causal connection between military service, service in Vietnam, or exposure to combat and homelessness among veterans. Family background, access to support from family and friends, and various personal characteristics (rather than military service) seem to be the stronger indicators of risk of homelessness.
Almost all homeless veterans are male (about three percent are women), the vast majority are single, and most come from poor, disadvantaged backgrounds. Homeless veterans tend to be older and more educated than homeless non-veterans. But similar to the general population of homeless adult males, about 45% of homeless veterans suffer from mental illness and (with considerable overlap) slightly more than 70% suffer from alcohol or other drug abuse problems. Roughly 56% are African American or Hispanic.
So. How can you help. First you can contact Gary King who is starting a new program called Adopt a Homeless Veteran.
He can be reached at:
Then be aware of the phone numbers and contacts people who are homeless may need:
VA Benefits 1-800-827-1000
Life Insurance 1-800-669-8477
Debt Management Center 1-800-827-0648
Telecommunication Device for the Deaf (TDD) 1-800-829-4833
CHAMPVA 1-800-733-8387
Headstones and Markers 1-800-697-6947
Persian Gulf Hotline 1-800-PGW-VETS
Persian Gulf TDD 1-800-829-4833
VA On-Line telnet://vaonline.va.gov/ or via data line 1-800-US1-VETS up to 28.8KBPS at 8-N-1 modem setting.
VA World Wide Net Home Page Server http://www.va.gov/
Bulletin Board for dissemination of VA procurement information to vendors 1-800-735-5282 (or 202-565-6971 inside DC metropolitan calling area). Modem settings are 8-N-1 for ANSI terminal emulation.
Other ways to help:
While organizations and programs exist to help our nation's veterans --- wonderful programs coordinated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans service organizations and community-based groups -- they are not enough. These programs lack volunteers, wide spread awareness and funding to reach out to all those who need their services. Our nations veterans need your help. Write to your elected officials and urge them to provide more support for veterans programs.
Providing transportation for veterans to and from the VA medical centers, assistance for nationwide Stand Downs, community efforts to provide a hand up to veterans that wish to find assistance in their community to get off the streets, get cleaned up and get a job.
What can you do to help…Donate your time and energy to a veteran’s organization in your area. This could include answering phones, doing clerical work, serving food, washing dishes or distributing clothing.
Donate food to a local homeless veterans' shelter.
Offer your professional skills and services to teach homeless veterans job skills so that they can once again become productive members of our society.
Participate in a Stand Down in your community.
Remind your friends that one in three homeless persons is a veteran.
If you are a teacher teach your students about the brave role many homeless veterans have played in defending our country.
If you are a parent, make volunteering for a homeless veterans program in your community a family event.
Write to your elected officials and urge them to provide more funding for homeless veterans programs.
Encourage your company or other organizations to which you belong to hold fundraisers or donate money to homless veterans programs in your community
Lets join the fight to make sure that homeless and veteran are never mentioned in the same sentence again.
