"OUT IN THE STREETS" (Final draft 1)

Adjusting to the American life after serving in the military is a daunting challenge for the troops. Some troops returning home face the harsh reality of becoming homeless. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that nearly 200,000 veterans are homeless in any given night. The Urban Institute, in conjunction with the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients (NSHAPC) estimated and projected that: each year, 2.3 million to 3.5 million people experience homelessness in America. By taking 23% in that range for veterans, that would indicate there are between 529,000 and 840,000 veterans who are homeless at some time during the year. A question frequently asked is, "why are veterans homeless?" Well in addition to the factors affecting homelessness such as; no access to healthcare and affordable housing to name a few. Two major complex factors affecting those veterans are the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and substance abuse which often leads to depression, anxiety attacks and mental illnesses. Which eventually makes it impossible for the vets to live a normal and secure life.

The psychological effects of taking lives of other human beings are a lifetime effect often leading to a mental disorder. Most would agree with me when I say that this experience would in a way disfunction ones mind. Nicole Goodwin a vet diagnosed with PTSD stated she found herself walking the streets of New York, with a backpack full of her belongings and her 1 yr old daughter. "When I first got back I just wanted to jump into a job and forget about Iraq, but the culture shock from the military to the civilian world hit me", she said. "I was depressed for months". "I couldn't sleep". "I couldn't eat". "The worst thing wasn't the war, it was coming back, and because nobody understood why I was the way I was". This made it difficult for her to maintain a steady job, therefore, a place to live in. Another Iraq soldier by the name "JOE”, expressed to The Christian Science MONITOR in 2005 his trauma in war. "My first time killing somebody was very devastating". He recalled, saying that he fired at a minivan carrying a family of unarmed civilians. Unable to cope with "normal life". The haunting flashbacks of his experiences in war made iit impossible for "Joe" to live a normal life. "Joe" turned to alcohol and drugs. Having these factors interfering with the ability to maintain a secure job, a stable relationship with family or even society often leads vets to become homeless. Some of them do not know anything else other than the war. Often beause some vets go into the military right out of highschool. For those it may be their first "real job".

I experienced something similar with a friend of mine. Jonathan* joined the U.S. Marines in 2001 after he graduated highschool. He became homeless at the age of 23. I remember asking him "why are you homeless, you are a Marine"? He had told me that his aggressiveness and anxiety attacks did not allow him to have control of himself at times. He could not keep a job. If something would upset him he would react violently to the point where he would physically hurt someone at his job sight. He did not have a relationship with his family for the same reason. Fully depressed, he turned to drugs and alcohol which lead him to the streets. His only way out, was going back to what he knew best, the Marines. In 2006 he got killed by a bomb in Iraq. I remember wanting to join the service when I was in high school. Even though I was totally against war. I was enchanted by the advertising of "Be all you can be". To this day I still do not know what was so enchanting to me about that. After I found out what had happened to my friend and knowing all he went through, I was glad I had made the right choice for myself. One would think that the troops will be well taken care of due to the fact that they risk their lives for our country in combat. But as the facts shown above state the opposite, it is not always true. Even though the downfalls do not apply to all service men and women the chances are still there and that was enough for me to think twice about enlisting.

Most of these issues can be corrected with some effort and are generally dealt with by the average Veteran. Those who cannot learn to cope with a regular everyday life will most likely become outcasts, homeless and lost. I believe there is absolutely no excuse for letting this happen to the Veterans. All Americans have the right to a "home". I mean it sounds ridiculous to say there is enough money to pay millions of dollars for bombs, but not enough money to provide shelter. I asked myself now what is the government willing to do about all of this? The Military news stated that in April, Obama introduced legislation dubbed "Homes for Heroes Act". This act would establish grant and voucher programs to encourage development of affordable housing for veterans. Personally, I think this issue will definitely need more than just an act to provide a "normal life", for the veterans. Reality is that we cannot make an overnight change in helping homeless Veterans. Say mainly because war is not an easy intake in a person's life nevertheless, coming out of that "zone". By doing the research about homeless veterans really opened up my eyes. Whenever I saw a homeless veteran standing in a corner holding a sign that read "homeless veteran spare some change", I just thought "oh he's crazy and lazy that is why he is homeless". Little did I know there was a lot more to just being "crazy and lazy". I know that is definitely not where that person wants to be.

links: http://www.nchv.org/
http://www.military.com/
http://www1va.gov/
http://www.csmonitor.com/
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles