The Homeless Veterans

Don’t have a real grasp on the facts yet, so will with hold an opinion until I get some decent research. Please note that none of the numbers are necessarily incorrect or contradictory.

Homeless statistics are difficult to pin down, as is the language. One study you found apparently says 336,000, Another 155,600. However you must look at exactly what they are measuring.

The 155,600 says “chronically homeless”. This means “an unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition who has either been continuously homeless for a year or more, or has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years”

In other words a family of 2 or more does not count, an individual who is homeless for ONLY 9 months doesn’t count, and individual who is healthy doesn’t count. In other words many people who ALL of us would agree are homeless are not counted in the data for “chronically homeless”.

The HUD statistic may well be (Don’t have time to search) the number of people who had no shelter for at least a week within the past year. Thus the Chronically Homeless are a subset of that number.

Another statistic may show a different number due to a definition of homeless being a person who had no permanent residence for at least one night in the last year (Thus if you were forced to stay with friends due to loosing your house in a fire you would be classified as homeless.) That used to be one definition a few years back, don’t know if it still is.

Comparing differing stats in this area can be tricky if you don’t pay attention. Be careful on this one.

But wait, Trying to decipher these numbers gets worse.

You point out that

“So .004% is worthy of a 1,947 word article from the AP? This article from the NYT’s in November puts the number of Iraq/Afghanistan homeless veterans at 400. In two months it went up 1,100. That’s some jump.”

That can be completely correct. Keep in mind that homeless do not report in to the government each day and say, “I am homeless”. Quite the reverse, many homeless actively try to avoid the government. Many of the statistics are gathered from shelters and food banks. Why does that matter?

The November numbers may well come from the summer time, and the recent numbers may come from December. The number of homeless going to shelters and thus being counted would skyrocketed between the two surveys. After all its COLD! Where I live there are no government shelters in the Late spring, summer and fall, Not till December do they open up.

In order to deal with these stats make sure your comparing the same things and think twice before calling bullshit on someone’s stats. Not to say that a lot of BS isn’t found in this area, Theres tons of it. But it can be tough seperating the wheat from the chafe.

Will do more researh if I have time and there appears to be interest on this subject.

Random

Thank you, Curt.
“I noted a few times about the differing stats. I didn’t call bullshit on the stats, I called bullshit on the underlying message of the article.”
IMO, Nothing is going to appear in the NYTs that is going to make the military or veterans look good. Hasn’t for forty years and isn’t going to in the future. If something appears in the NYTs, IMO it has been carefully reviewed by someone to insure it is anti US military.

OK got some initial stats on Homeless vets in America. Looks like Vets MAY BE almost twice as likely to be homeless as non vets.

Yes I know they are not perfect (Different sources and statistical samples, etc). Aside from the National Law center all of the stats are US government, and the NLC if it has a bias is likely to be biased towards a HIGHER number of homeless. IF this is the case then it makes the ratio between vet and non vet homeless even worse. Not better.

For the purpose of this data, the homeless are those who were homeless at least once in the year of the study.

24.5 million military veterans. *1 (US Census 2005)

390,000 former military personnel have been homeless 1 night in the last year. *2 (US Dept VA )

Thus
1.59% of all veterans are homeless.

227.8 million adults in America (Current US Population 301.1 million – Children 73.3 million) *3 (US Census)

2.15 million adults are homeless. *4 (National Law Center)

Thus
0.94% of all adults both veteran and non veteran are homeless.

Non veteran adult population = (227.8 adult population – 24.5 adult veterans) = 203.3

Non veteran adult homeless = (2.15 adult homeless-.39 adult vet homeless) = 1.76

Thus
Total non veteran homeless = 0.87%

Veterans are almost twice as likely to be homeless.

Keep in mind this is even worse when one considers that according to the VA *2 homeless veterans are on the average better educated then non Vets (Higher education should mean less homeless from all studies I have read.)

This of course doe not touch on Iraq/Afghanistan Vets as I have been unable to acquire those numbers.

Random

*1 http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/005696.html
*2 http://www1.va.gov/homeless/page.cfm?pg=1

*3 http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html

*4 http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/How_Many.pdf

Sorry, but you used the wrong number in your calculations.

“Although the prevalence of youth homelessness is difficult to measure, researchers estimate that about 5 to 7.7 percent of youth experience homelessness each year.”

Your confusing terms. Youth does not equal children, Youth appears to be a small subset of children in the article you quote. Note in the same section you got the youth statistic from it says “youths age 18 and older” my guess is they are defining youth as 15-19 (Many population statistics have that grouping).

It states from the same source on page 3 that Children = 1.35million of those homeless.

Not the 269000 you used in your calculations.

Yes the math and stats are tricky and you need to compare the same sets.

Random

I never said double. I said “almost double”. To be exact it’s 83% higher. If you wan’t to quible over weather 13% = “almost” then I’ll give it to you.

As for the nearly triple if we assume 2.3 million, I was wrong. It’s actually 5.7times greater if we use the low end figures.

I eyeballed it and simply assumed the 2.3 vs. 3.5 would account for a 50% increase again . In reality it’s

2.3 million – 1.35 children = .95 million adults - .39 veterans = .56 million Non Vet homeless.

Versus Non Vet adult population of 203.3 = 0.28% of Non Vet Adults are homeless.

0.28% vs. 1.59% = Vet vs. Non Vet is 5.7 times greater.

Sad to say if true.

Random

Been a bit busy crunching numbers to look fully at the article. From a quick view of the article, the language is biased with terms like, “As the war in Afghanistan plods on in its seventh year…” If veterans are disproportionately homeless then who cares if it’s Plodding into its 7th Year, or 7th second.
Even so it doesn’t look heavily slanted at least when compared to “Our Vets the Killers - NYT Trash”
Many of the figures are meaningless as regards Iraq/Afghanistan veterans. That’s not to say there isn’t a problem. There may be (And I suspect there is). However nothing in the stats he quotes shows that. For all the article shows the Vets are getting superb treatment and counseling, compared to Non Vets, and there homeless numbers will be far lower then past wars or even the general population. I doubt it, but my doubt do not justify a News article.

Some of the sentiments however are correct. We do need to make sure they are not forgotten, and adequate treatment is ignored.

Random

I don’t care about Liberal or Conservative “Lies”. I care about the TRUTH. Thats why I took the time to research the homeless Vets stats.

If a Liberal were to show me decent figures that our Iraq/Afghanistan veterans aren’t getting treatment then I don’t care that s/he’s a liberal, and neither should you.
I try not to play politics. I try to base my decisions on facts.

Random

I never said you felt they shouldn’t get treatment.

Why point out the Vetrans only?

Becuse the article is about a perceived problem veterans are having. If the problem truely exhists then the persons politics don’t matter. That’s a logical fallicy.

Random

No I don’t have guesses.
I have provided the numbers. I have provided the sources. If you wish to provide solid data that contradicts it feel free. I notice you tried, but suddenly when you can’t disprove it you abandon ship and call it guess work.
Does that mean all of your poll quotes, and numbers you keep putting up in your articles are just your guesswork? Meaningless drivel? I don’t think so, but If you feel that way, then say so.

Random

Curt, It doesn’t matter what the reason for the articles were. If something is true, then it’s true. (Not that the first article had any real truth, and the second is quite weak in many important areas.)

If I believe abortion is wrong, then my writing an article that showed such does not in and of itself nullify the article.

Criticize incorrect numbers. Criticize Lies. Criticize bad debating tactics.

But Criticizing the messenger tends to show that one has a weak argument.

Random

Curt
“Estimate, extrapolate, blah blah blah….guesswork.”

Spoken like someone who doesn’t understand the terms he is using…

Estimate and Extrapolate within science does not = Guess.

Curt ” They admit the numbers are too fluid to get good numbers but you can’t. Interesting.”

No they did not admit that. Notice YOU added the TOO in your sentence. Not them. They say it is fluid.

To give you a simple analogy…

Think of it like a river. Saying the river is fluid means I may still be able to sail down it in my raft.

Saying it is “TOO fluid” implies other wise

Stop misrepresenting the data and article and use the facts.

Random

I worked for the city of Columbia SC, court system for a few years in the late 1970s. During that period, I came in contact with a good number of the homeless of that city. I came in contact with them because they were picked up for public drunkenness or drugs. For many of them, if they got released in the morning they would be back in jail, the next morning. Every one of them had a story, and I’m sure some of them were vets, but the facts are that there were many sources of help and many of the homeless just did not take advantage of them. There may be many places where no help is available, but Columbia, SC was not one of them.
The problem was not that help was not available, the problem was they could not stay sober.

CURT READ MY POSTS.

Where am I on the Iraq war veteran Article? You need to ask? Read my posts. I have critisized it repeatedly. On that thread I was the first poster to start handing you Numbers and stats to disproove there lies. Post number 4

“According to one website, as of April 2005, 1,048,884 people had served in the Iraq/Afgan war.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2005/050412-gone-to-war.htm

Mind you it’s from an anti war site trying to show the HUGE number of Americans sent off to the horrors of war, So they MAY be biased. But they are siteing their sources, and it does appear to be a numbers oriented article. I don’t have time to research further as I need to be off to work, but I hope this provides data for you folks to help dispel the myth of our KILLER vets.”

In Post 17 on this thread I said
“Even so it doesn’t look heavily slanted at least when compared to “Our Vets the Killers - NYT Trash”

Random

Thank you very much Scrapiron. I always enjoy personl attacks of that level against me since quite often it means the attacker has nothing to bck up their opinion.

To answer your questios.

I tried enlisting 2 years ago but discovered I had a major pancreatic tumor, I am still fighting with it and do not qualify for military service.

My Brother, Father and Gandfather have all served.

I donate on the average 2% of my income to Veterans groups. I donate another 2% to various homless shelters/ food banks.

Scrapiron

Random

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=134&tid=35089490

This site puts veterans at 11% of the population and 25% of the homeless. I’m guessing Keith Obermann’s MSNBC was used as the source.

The vast majority would be WII, Korean and Vietnam vets which went though several administrations.

(see link below)
Any given night 500,000 vets are homeless

81 percent of veterans had a serious psychiatric or substance abuse disorder, and 33 percent had both psychiatric and substance abuse disorders

different study:
Of this total, 49 percent reported an alcohol problem, 40 percent a mental health problem, and 31 percent a drug problem.

http://www.nchv.org/content.cfm?id=26

They all could be linked. Both drinking and drugs are linked to causing mental illness and turning minor illnesses into major ones. If vets were more inclined to do drugs and drink themselves silly, then later on they could have developed mental illnesses later on.

The other 20% could want to be homeless, have physical disabilities that prevent them from working or have some personel issues like going cost to coast on a motorcycle or a horse.

When the vets that served in Vietnam die off, I believe the number of homeless vets will also drop and the ration would turn to non vets as making up the vast amount of homeless.

What the liberals want you to believe is that we just did away with the military and wars than we would not have a homeless vet problem. That was John Kerry’s whole rationale for not deploying Americans except under UN guidance. It would solve all the American vet problems. Go back and read his 22 Apr 1971 speech, the one where he admitted meeting with the enemy during wartime, adopting the enemy positions and promoting them in the US.

“When the vets that served in Vietnam die off, I believe the number of homeless vets will also drop and the ration would turn to non vets as making up the vast amount of homeless.” I believe this statement is true, but I also would point out that (a) we have a few of the WWI vets left and (b) I know vets from several different wars and non of us have ever expressed a desire to pass on just to reduce the homeless numbers.

Pagar,

Many liberls do believe that unfortunatley.

I have one friend who firmly beleives that if we only could talk to people that they wouldn’t do evil things. That all men can be reasoned with. That they can be made to see how illogical hurting other people is. She is truly a kind soul who I don’t think realizes that some people only care about themselves and always will.

You probably are right that the Vietnam Vets make up a disproportionate percentage of the Homeless Vets. Even so my guess is that unless we spend significant resources on Vets “Who saw Combat” they will have higher rates then non vets.

Not to say we shouldn’t wage war if needed. Casualties be they death, wounded physically or mentally or homeless is a price you pay, but sometimes that price is worth the result.

Random

“All about an Iraqi veteran”
Yes, It’s a story about Iraqi Veterans who are Homeless. Where’s the significant Bias?

“Why are we failing our veterans again, letting it happen to our Iraqi vets now! (obviously a part that pulled your bleeding heartstrings)”

Comparing our Vietnam Homeless to Iraqi Vet homeless. My How biased can you be.

“Acknowledged the small numbers but then goes on to describe the coming surge and onslaught.”

The Small number is what he has to work with. I have said the article is weak because of it. But it doesn’t invalidate the article, nor make it Biased towards one party or another. At least so long as you state the numbers and acknowledge they are a minority. If I wrote an Article about the 300 people who had a certain rare cancer would that mean it’s biased. No it’s talking about “That Cancer”.

” Back on the “new” homeless, all 1500 of em.”

Yep your complaining about 1500. See my response above.

” Yup, easy for all 1500 of them”

Yep easy to focus only on the 1500 quote he made. He is talking about Iraqi homeless. They Currently number 1500.

” More focus on one out 1500″

Yep your still focusing on 1500 instead of showing Severe Bias. Would you rather he ignore “Iraqi Homeless Vets”? SSHHHHHH. Lets not talk about them even though they exist. It’s bad for are side.

” Yes, can’t wait for the day of popsicles and bubblegum for all and everyone is flying kites. That damn war stuff.”

Yep there’s a little more Anti War Bias.

To sum up your complaints. In an article about Iraqi Veterans who are homeless you are upset that he is

Talking about Iraqi Veterans,

Comparing Iraqi Homeless Vets to Vietnam Homeless Vets,

Telling the current numbers and acknowledging they are ½ of 1% of the total homeless Vets,

Slipping in a few lines that show his anti war bias,

This to you makes it ONE SIDED

Random

Just because the thngs you want covered are under reported does not make an indvidual article One Sided.

It sounds exactly like you want to deny the existance of the bad news. That won’t get support behind the cause.

Show the good News. If they won’t report it YOU report it.

Some of your stories have been Fantastic. The MSM stories that are lies “Jamal Husein” & “NYT Murder Trash” were spot on.

I read them here first.

The photos of our troops and the Christians and Muslims working togeather were top notch. I forwarded them to my friends.

But trashing an article that has left leanings doesn’t score points. It simply starts you on the slide towards the gutter that half the MSM is allready in.

Print Facts, Print Truth, Print the Good News.

Sorry. Was not a Rgistered user so couldn’t Edit.

Random

The biggest hole in the bullshit statistics is that the data coming from homeless shelters, etc., is complete crap. The claim to be a vet is part of the standard con of these junkies, drunks & mentally ill clowns, and shelters don’t even make an effort to verify this.

Ask some of these panhandlers who claim to be a “homeless vet” something simple, like “What was your MOS?” The vast majority go blank, not even knowing the term, and the rest don’t get past another question or two.

The few REAL homeless vets were in all likelihood bounced from the service, probably before they even completed Basic.

“The remaining unconfirmed 125,812 probable Vietnam War service personnel do not account for the 9 million plus Americans, as of 1995, who falsely and fraudulently claimed to be in-country/in-waters Vietnam veterans. As of 2005 the number of Vietnam War claimants has grown. A repeat of The American War Library”‘”s 1995 national survey in 2005 reported that a greater number — 11,104,005 — (a 71.68% increase over ten years) of Americans since 1995 claimed to have served in Vietnam (In-Country/In-Waters), and 2,591,083 Americans claimed to have served aboard a U.S. naval vessel in Vietnamese waters (between 1955 and 1975). The total number of Americans claiming in 2005 to be eligible or possessing authorization of the United States Vietnam War Service Medal (Reference #7) is 13,695,088.
Article

Read the entire article and see if you believe the difference in numbers between those who were there and those who claim they were there.

The very first line of your article says
“85% of Vietnam Veterans made successful transitions to civilian life.”

That suggests 15% did not make a successful transitions to civilian life.

But hey, Who gives a @#$% about 15% of 2.7 million American Service personnel, they’re an embarrassment.

“Support the Troops. But only if they don’t make my side look bad, otherwise cover it up.”

Just because SOME people lie about being a vet does not mean we should ignore those who are Vets.

Random

Thank you for the Ad- Hominem attack instead of rebutting my points. It generally signifies that what I said is correct.

Random

But hey, Who gives a @#$% about 15% of 2.7 million American Service personnel, they’re an embarrassment.

“Support the Troops. But only if they don’t make my side look bad, otherwise cover it up.”

Just because SOME people lie about being a vet does not mean we should ignore those who are Vets.

Ok, I only stepped into the middle of this, and didn’t see the flow of the conversation.

Certainly, any vet who isn’t supported is one vet too many. But my point goes back to Curt’s original point, in how the anti-war media and Hollywood likes to perpetuate this myth about veterans as broken losers.

From Pagar’s last comment,

Which goes back to my blockquote, earlier:

During that same Census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served in-country was: 9,492,958. ~ As of the current Census taken during August, 2000, the surviving U.S. Vietnam Veteran population estimate is: 1,002,511.

After re-reading some of the comments, I’d like to comment further since I spent a number of yrs in the Pentagon dealing with Congress and the otherr Federal agencies. I’ve also had my medical care thru the VA for many years, primarily since in my area (Virginia) I think their care is better than active Army hospitals.

I take the VA’s estimate of the number of homeless vets with a giant grain of salt. Firstly, what the hell is “homeless for (at least) one night?” You got drunk and the wife threw you out? The cops removed you after you hit your wife or kids? You got out of jail or rehab and have no place to go? After all, vets — like everyone else — have their share of bad apples (though I’d be amazed if it were anywhere near the overall average of the population). At any rate, that definition of “homeless” seems a bit silly and contrived, to say the least. I had a pipe burst last year and we had to stay in a motel for a day; was I homeless?

Secondly (and here I speak from vast experience with the ever-present VA questionnaires and polls), let us keep in mind that behind every statistic a government agency plays with there is always a budget consideration. Given two different statistics, both reasonably defensible, the tendency is to pick the one that will put you in the best possible position to defend your budget requests when you compete against the other Agencies. They all do it. And their estimate might easily be based on data from a place as obvously full of bullshit as the “National Alliance to End Homelessness” — a group that clearly has a budget and fundraising ax to grind, and whose data I wouldn’t trust as far as I could throw their entire Executive Committee.

Vets sometimes wind up being drunks, junkies and loonies sometime (perhaps many years) after they leave the service — though, I’m convinced, at a rate far less than the population as a whole. Whether their problems have anything to do with combat (since few soldiers, sailors or airmen ever see combat anyway) is highly arguable. But budget pimps can skew numbers that fools will swallow without thinking.

After 20+ years active duty, much of it in the belly of the Federal Beast, and another 20+ years of watching the political scene, I know crap when I smell it. And this bullshit about homeless veterans smells just as bad as that nonsense about rampaging hordes of murderous veterans stalking our neighborhoods.

I call it like I smell it.

Of course agencies will skew the numbers. If you will notice I used numbers comparing non Vets who were homeless for one night to Vets who were. If the Vets are being counted who were simply kicked out of home for one night for being drunk, then so were the Non Vets. If there is a statistical difference between the two numbers it suggests a problem.

Is the math perfect. Of course not. My QUICK research would not make it through many college courses, (Sadly it would make it through some, as did my spelling.), But we don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.

We look at the studies, and see if their are problems. We do other studies. We research. Then we make our best decisions based on the data.

You say you can smell it being wrong. Other will say they smell it being right. What you smell should lead you to find FACTS that get to the truth. Not to declare that your nose KNOWS the truth.

The only other option is we use no data at all and just throw darts, make guesses and scream “NO I KNOW I’M RIGHT BECAUSE I KNOW I’M RIGHT”

Random

No but numbers can be examined, Smells can’t.

If I said I knew Homeless Vets were a problem because “I could Smell It”, I would be laughed out of this discusion. What something smells like should lead you to the truth. It should not be considered the truth.

Random

“Real World Experience” is nice, But it is quite often wrong. Your credentials on the subject of Vet Homelessness are very limited and are from one particular area with its own bias.

Your knowledge on the specifics, you have thus far shown, is lacking for you to be considered an “Expert” on the subject. Many of the numbers and facts you have used so far have been shown to be incorrect or misrepresented.

Finally we can’t examine your “Real World Experience”. I can round up those with “Real World Experience” who say otherwise.

From the Article

““We’re beginning to see, across the country, the first trickle of this generation of warriors in homeless shelters,” said Phil Landis, chairman of Veterans Village of San Diego, a residence and counseling center. “But we anticipate that it’s going to be a tsunami.””

It’s a nice quote, from someone who also would claim to have “Real World Experience”. But I would give it little real consideration, especially if there was data contradicting it.

I apply the same standard to you as should anyone who wants the truth.

Random

I said “Many of the numbers and facts you have used so far have been shown to be incorrect or misrepresented.”
You said “Your wrong again”

Read post 8, Now Read Post 9. Are you saying you did not use the numbers for youths (Those 15-19) instead of Children (0-17) when trying to compare non vets to vets?

Are you saying your calculations in post 8 are Correct?

Are you saying in your very first post, where YOU took issues with their numbers, that you didn’t use incorrect numbers confusing CHRONICLY homeless with homeless?

Was it not you who tried to imply that this data in the article might be wrong

“This article from the NYT’s in November puts the number of Iraq/Afghanistan homeless veterans at 400. In two months it went up 1,100. That’s some jump.”

when the reality is that someone with REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE with the homeless knows more of them report to the shelters in the winter and thus that jump is to be expected?

Random

Thank you, Curt.

Of course our resident pimp for the homeless hordes doesn’t mind confusing “homeless for one night” with “homeless” when it’s statistically convenient, though grossly innacurate.

If the VA has ever claimed they found 390,000 homeless vets, I can’t find it on Google. Didn’t think I would, because the number is far too stupid for a rational person to believe anyhow.

If the VA did identify 390,000 “homeless vets” yet could only find 1500 from Iraq/Afghan, it must mean that the other 375,000 are predominantly Vietnam Vets, most of whom would be in their 60s & 70s. Interesting, considering the youthful crowd I see hanging around the mall and in our local drug & booze den … oops, I meant homeless shelter.

This whole phony issue reminds me of the idiocy that got the handicapped access laws passed. For years every sob-sister group pimped the “43 million handicapped” figure with almost no one — certainly no one in the MSM — pointing out how full of shit they were.

I shouldn’t complain, since it got me great parking privileges even though I seldom have to use my wheelchair … but why didn’t the rest of you guys figure out that the only way you can get to that 43 million figure is by counting everyone who wears glasses …..?? I mean, that’s about one out of every six people in the U.S., including infants.

One suspects this current crock has more to do with raising money for the National Whatchamacallit to Eliminate Homelessness, whose social-worker executives — I guarantee it — are paid well into six figures for their alleged contributions to society.

Bullshit.

Re: “If the VA has ever claimed they found 390,000 homeless vets, I can’t find it on Google.”

That’s because they didn’t. It was 19,000.

I’m taking a break! I is obvious I cannot type at all today

And your BETTER source of information is….?

“That means that at least 40% of your dollars are going to such costs as fundraising and administration, including the salary of the CEO”

And generally the numbers are actually a lot worse than that, since most of the “charity” industries have learned all the bookkeeping tricks, like hiding salaries in subcontracted “programs” who probably aren’t even tax-exempt and whose books are definitely not transparent. The rackets I’m most familiar with, the larger so-called animal rescue groups (PETA, and anything with “Humane” in its name) learned to cook their books and look legitimate this way years ago, but they learned it from the other corporate charities whose associates & ex-employees set up little companies in which people rotate in and out of, just like the government’s infamous “revolving door.”

It is interesting to read the comments here. In 2004 the VA reduced their homeless veterans number from 313,000 to 194,000 (or a cut of 121,000 homeless veterans). The numbers of homeless veterans is much higher at the local levels. The fact that media is covering just the 1400 from OEF/OIF disregards that fact that there are other eras of service members becoming homeless still as well. The fact of the matter was that if the VA had not ignored the issues going back to Vietnam era, the current level of crisis would not be as high as it is today. At the local level there is a lot of request for services coming FROM THE VA! Unfortunately, local and non profits cannot handle the waves being referred to by the VA. The VA ignored this issue for a long time, and now it is just another issue that is getting them hammered. The issue of drug use is overplayed, though after leaving veterans in the streets for numerous years, mental illnes and substance abuse is a common side effect of homelessness. Now a lot of these veterans are working for minimal wage jobs. Minimum Wage is not enough to secure a foot hold in society today. To add to the homelessness you have inadequate TBI screenings now, PTSD, and other factors that lead to homelessness amongst the veteran poplulation.
Just a few thoughts.

Those who saw O’Reilly this evening may have noticed the piece he did on these alleged homeless veterans, pointing out the absurdity of John Edwards’ claims. There was a VA spokesman on before, apparently, stating that they had over 150,000 beds available for any legitimate homeless veterans, and they were perfectly willing to come and GET them if necessary. O’Reilly had made some efforts thru the homeless community to identify some of them, so this could take place. After several days, guess how many anyone could find?

Two. One who had obvious mental problems and another whose legitimacy was still being checked.

Of course the Loony Left won’t be satisfied until we send out roving goon squads, wrestling each homeless person to the ground and beating them until they admit to being veterans — and then forcibly dragging them, kicking and screaming, into the nearest VA facility.

To comment #49, it is GREAT that their are millions of Veterans that are leading successful, somewhat unaffected lives. But do you not see the numbers here?Do you think it is some freak accident that a majority of homeless people are Veterans,people who were willing to sacrifice their life for us, and their country? Then they come back and everything falls out from underneath them because of PTSD WHICH LEADS TO DRUGS AND ALCOHOL TO COPE!!!! They are mentally ill, forever fucked up from this war and this country did it to them. Thank them for what they have done, given, adn sacrificed. HAVE A HEART FOR GODS SAKE!!!!!!!