Lucky13
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How is it possible/allowed, for veterans to be homeless and live on the street!?
It is beyond me....!
It is beyond me....!
Sorry, but I've got to ask....
- Thread starter Lucky13
- Start date
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vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
I totally agree!
Don't you know? ... in the world with young bodies showing on TV everyday , old people aren't trendy, especially these who fought at wars. They did what they should and aren't needed any longer.
swampyankee
Chief Master Sergeant
- 4,022
- Jun 25, 2013
A lot of veterans have psychiatric issues, including problems with substance abuse. These factors makes it difficult for them to get and keep jobs (this also neglects that some have less-than-honorable discharges, which may bar them from getting any veterans benefits). In a lot of areas, and to a lot of people, being poor, jobless, or sick are signs of indications of defects, and such people shouldn't get help, at least according to some.
I think it's appalling, but the problem has been swept under the rug for several years (this problem predates Gulf War I), and won't get better until everybody in Congress and the Executive Branch (this is a problem that predates the 20th Century, let alone the 21st) realizes that every conflict produces a lot of physically and psychologically damaged people, and those veterans will need special support for life. Add to this the simple fact that many current veterans do not have any marketable skills (not much civilian demand for scout-snipers or mortarmen), that entry-level jobs frequently do not pay a living wage, and areas with the growing economies tend to have increasing costs of living, you end up with a number of veterans who simply cannot make enough money to manage.
There's no easy fix, and there's no free fix. The VA is broken (and has been for decades; problems with the VA were prevalent during the 1970s and 1980s).
I think it's appalling, but the problem has been swept under the rug for several years (this problem predates Gulf War I), and won't get better until everybody in Congress and the Executive Branch (this is a problem that predates the 20th Century, let alone the 21st) realizes that every conflict produces a lot of physically and psychologically damaged people, and those veterans will need special support for life. Add to this the simple fact that many current veterans do not have any marketable skills (not much civilian demand for scout-snipers or mortarmen), that entry-level jobs frequently do not pay a living wage, and areas with the growing economies tend to have increasing costs of living, you end up with a number of veterans who simply cannot make enough money to manage.
There's no easy fix, and there's no free fix. The VA is broken (and has been for decades; problems with the VA were prevalent during the 1970s and 1980s).
meatloaf109
1st Lieutenant
Thank you.
N4521U
Colonel
Problems go far beyond. War vets have Always been forgotten in the States. Rudimentary care at best for the most part.
Here in Oz, a lot of retuning vets were given land.
Granted they had to Clear it, and build their own house. But we met a fellow on a trip to Kangaroo Island who is the grandson of a WWI vet who was given land on the Island, he still lives on there.
You have to remember as well, returning service men from WWII had to be trooped on ships. They were together for a couple of months before knocking on the front door of home. Viet Nam vets were home within Hours. No down time, no time to cry with their buddies. No time! And then they came home to protests by draft dodgers!
Or maybe I shoulda just kept my two cents worth to meownself.
Here in Oz, a lot of retuning vets were given land.
Granted they had to Clear it, and build their own house. But we met a fellow on a trip to Kangaroo Island who is the grandson of a WWI vet who was given land on the Island, he still lives on there.
You have to remember as well, returning service men from WWII had to be trooped on ships. They were together for a couple of months before knocking on the front door of home. Viet Nam vets were home within Hours. No down time, no time to cry with their buddies. No time! And then they came home to protests by draft dodgers!
Or maybe I shoulda just kept my two cents worth to meownself.
michaelmaltby
Colonel
"....How is it possible/allowed, for veterans to be homeless and live on the street!?"
Sadly, I don't think it's a recent phenomenum. France was full of maimed, legless men, begging ... after the Napoleonic wars.
But it's the psychological wounded that are the horror story because they can be hidden in society. And there aren't any brave new cures like hi tech protheses to fix PTSD. Personally, I think adrenalin produced by ourselves plays a hidden role in later mishaps. Running for long periods of time on adrenalin shapes the psyche, IMHO.
Sadly, I don't think it's a recent phenomenum. France was full of maimed, legless men, begging ... after the Napoleonic wars.
But it's the psychological wounded that are the horror story because they can be hidden in society. And there aren't any brave new cures like hi tech protheses to fix PTSD. Personally, I think adrenalin produced by ourselves plays a hidden role in later mishaps. Running for long periods of time on adrenalin shapes the psyche, IMHO.
bobbysocks
Chief Master Sergeant
we take young kids....spend large amounts to money to train them...put them in extraodinary conditions and hardships...and when its over just send them home. there should be several weeks or months of debriefing and counselling before they are discharged for anyone who served in combat situations. if we thought enough to train them for battle we should spend equally the same money ( or more ) to help them fit back into a peace time life....that should be our first step to repay them for their sacrifice.
It is near impossible after high school to get a further education if you haven't attained a college or university acceptance, and going back and studying as an adult is a pain in the you know what region for certain fields.
Some join the Military to attain higher education and only after their retirement really see how hard it is to attain a higher position on the ladder (be it corporate or just in general life ladder)
I think there should be more benefits to Veterans and non-Vets alike in terms of education, a lot has been dropped on the ball, and all you need is a negative environment in any place where you are working or studying at and it won't want to make you succeed to go further, even if you are the Albert Einstein in your field there.
Some join the Military to attain higher education and only after their retirement really see how hard it is to attain a higher position on the ladder (be it corporate or just in general life ladder)
I think there should be more benefits to Veterans and non-Vets alike in terms of education, a lot has been dropped on the ball, and all you need is a negative environment in any place where you are working or studying at and it won't want to make you succeed to go further, even if you are the Albert Einstein in your field there.
swampyankee
Chief Master Sergeant
- 4,022
- Jun 25, 2013
i do agree that veterans benefits should be improved, and their should be much more concern in assisting veterans, especially those who have seen combat, back into civilian life. There are two, rather unrelated problems: one is that many veterans do not have useful skills for the civilian world, especially as many employers are largely unwilling to do any kind of training or orientation much beyond "the bathroom's over there, and you can only use it from 10:32 to 10:34." If somebody can't walk into a workplace and be productive from Day 1, they have two strikes against them. The other is that a significant number of veterans have psychiatric issues -- certainly not all, or even most, but enough to make some employers, especially smaller ones, a bit wary. I've also heard, but place little credence, in complaints that veterans are not sufficiently flexible.
I don't know what the services do for personnel that are leaving, but I'd suggest that they have a fairly long (at least 30 business day) transition period with employment counseling, résumé assistance, etc, so that they've got some leg up into the civilian world.
I don't know what the services do for personnel that are leaving, but I'd suggest that they have a fairly long (at least 30 business day) transition period with employment counseling, résumé assistance, etc, so that they've got some leg up into the civilian world.
parsifal
Colonel
In Australia, and to a certain extent in Canada, the US and New Zealand, many post war veterans received their termination payments as land. In Australia, mosty of these "soldier settlers, had no idea on subsistence faring and inevitable, the schemes failed miserably. Failure rates of nearly 50% were common in most districts. Farming is never an easy way to make a living, but in areas where infrastructure was almost non-existence and techniques at the best of times difficult, many farmers simply did not know what to do and how to survive. it was a cruel way of saying thank you and paying our debt to our soldiers.
EJANZH: Articles:
My grandfather was a soldier settler. He was a lucky one. Settled in an area with good soils, rail and road links, just 4 miles from town, he planted 30 acres of orchard an existed on 20 other acres growing vegetables and a small dairy for 10 years until the apple trees became productive. he had some pre war skills at farming, and the locals rallied and without a word came to the aid of all the local soldier settlers in that district. The failure rate in my home region was the lowest in the country .......
The financial payouts dont seem to fare much better I have to say.
At least in Australia, returned servicemen have always been entitled to free ,medical for the rest of their lives. Now, our government in perhaps the most cynical and cruel budget in post war history, has decided, among its other very nasty austerity measures, to terminate just about all forms of veteran care in the name of "balancing the books". It is a measure that I have to say is opposed by most Australians. Recent opinion pols say most Australians would prefer to raise taxes rather than cut the support for our ageing vets.
EJANZH: Articles:
My grandfather was a soldier settler. He was a lucky one. Settled in an area with good soils, rail and road links, just 4 miles from town, he planted 30 acres of orchard an existed on 20 other acres growing vegetables and a small dairy for 10 years until the apple trees became productive. he had some pre war skills at farming, and the locals rallied and without a word came to the aid of all the local soldier settlers in that district. The failure rate in my home region was the lowest in the country .......
The financial payouts dont seem to fare much better I have to say.
At least in Australia, returned servicemen have always been entitled to free ,medical for the rest of their lives. Now, our government in perhaps the most cynical and cruel budget in post war history, has decided, among its other very nasty austerity measures, to terminate just about all forms of veteran care in the name of "balancing the books". It is a measure that I have to say is opposed by most Australians. Recent opinion pols say most Australians would prefer to raise taxes rather than cut the support for our ageing vets.
