How the rich America takes care of its Heros and Vets.
Only for TV and Movies otherwise the reality is so different.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/08/homeless.veterans/index.html

Study: Many of homeless are vets

"Veterans make up a disproportionate share of homeless people," the report 
says

Veterans need proper housing and supportive services, organization head says

California, Louisiana, Missouri, Washington have most homeless veterans

Half a million vets are at high risk for homelessness, report found

     
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- More than 25 percent of the homeless population in 
the United States are military veterans, although they represent only 11 
percent of the civilian adult population, according to a report to be released 
Thursday. 

 On any given night last year, nearly 196,000 veterans slept on the street, in 
a shelter or in transitional housing, the study by the Homelessness Research 
Institute found.

"Veterans make up a disproportionate share of homeless people," the report 
said.

"This is true despite the fact that veterans are better educated, more likely to 
be employed and have a lower poverty rate than the general population."

The National Alliance to End Homelessness, which includes the Homelessness 
Research Institute as its research and education arm, planned a press 
conference Thursday to discuss the study's findings.

"These findings highlight the need to provide veterans with the proper housing 
and supportive services to prevent homelessness from occurring in the first 
place," said Nan Roman, the organization's president. "If we can do that, then 
we can greatly reduce the number of homeless veterans in general." 

The states with the highest number of homeless veterans include Louisiana, 
California and Missouri, according to the research. Washington, D.C., also had 
a high rate.

About 44,000 to 64,000 veterans are classified as "chronically homeless" -- 
homeless for long periods or repeatedly.

Other veterans -- nearly 468,000 -- are experiencing "severe housing cost 
burden," or paying more than half their income for housing, thereby putting 
them at a high risk for homelessness. 

The rates of the burden of housing costs were highest in Rhode Island, 
California, Nevada and Hawaii, but Washington, D.C., had the highest rate, 
according to the organization.

To reduce chronic homelessness among veterans by half, the report concludes 
housing coupled with supportive services should be increased by 25,000 units, 
and the number of housing vouchers for veterans should be increased by 
20,000.

Some veterans, like Jason Kelley find themselves in a catch-22, not able to 
find a job because of the lack of an apartment, and not being able to get an 
apartment because of not having a job, The Associated Press reported.

"The only training I have is infantry training and there's not really a need for 
that in the civilian world," AP quoted Kelley as saying in a phone interview. In 
addition, he has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, he said, 
according to AP. Kelley served in Iraq with the Wisconsin National Guard.

A new Gallup poll released by Fannie Mae showed that nearly a quarter of 
veterans, or 24 percent, report having been concerned they may not have a 
place to live. Eighty-six percent of poll respondents believe homelessness 
among veterans is either staying at the same level or increasing.

In addition, 61 percent of poll respondents believe veterans of the Iraq and 
Afghanistan conflicts are at least as likely to become homeless as veterans of 
previous wars.

The poll of 1,005 veterans was conducted September 4-October 17 and has a 
sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

At the National Alliance to End Homelessness event, Fannie Mae will announce 
a $200,000 grant to the Common Ground organization that will enable the 
construction of more permanent housing units for veterans.

"Our veterans have served America, and America must serve them," said 
Daniel Mudd, president and CEO of Fannie Mae, in a statement.

Common Ground is a nonprofit developer of housing and other solutions to 
prevent and end homelessness, according to the Fannie Mae statement. E-
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