Thanks in large part to a renewed energy brought to the office of Veteran’s Affairs by Secretary Eric Shinseki, ill and homeless veterans have more reasons today to hold out hope for a revived and resourceful department than any time in recent memory.

Among Shinseki’s most ambitious goals is the announcement to get all 131,000 homeless vets off the street in just six years.  If nothing else this tangible benchmark signals accepting recognition of the problem – which was strangely lacking in previous administrations – and shows that Shinseki takes the crisis seriously enough to be held publicly accountable for it.

And though things finally seem to be moving in the appropriate direction, the “sprawling” department must still make many great strides in reorganizing and rebranding before any verdict can be made on Shinseki’s tenure as Secretary.  Therefore, I’m reposting my call from Veterans Day 2008, hopeful that our country may finally be on its way to providing the needed care and support our nation’s veterans have long deserved.

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Every year Veterans Day rolls around and media outlets around the county flood the news space with stories about homeless and ill vets.  With 154,000 veterans living on the streets and only 15,000 transitional housing beds provided by the federal government, news outlets have their pick of stories each year.

Though we often debate the size and competency of government and how much it should “influence” or “interfere” (depending on your position) in our daily lives, I can find few substantive arguments that claim it isn’t our government’s full responsibility to look after the men and women it sends to war upon their return.

But even though the issue seems so cut-and-dry, it is still generally unaddressed.  Even in the midst of two wars, we did little to address the needs of those returning home alive.  It wasn’t until Walter Reed Medical Center was exposed as the nation’s shame two years ago that Congress fully funded the VA and passed the biggest increase in veterans health care in the last 70 years. But we’ve gotta keep going.  This is an issue of national morality that can’t only be bandaged up when things get really bad.

In today’s tough economy, its easy to see how those homeless and ill vets might continue to be overlooked to deal with issues more threatening to the nation’s security.  But this is an issue where we can no longer afford to cut corners.  We must take responsibility for our country’s actions and the undue burden it has placed on a select few, making sure we provide them with the care they deserve.

A day of rememberance should not be the cornerstone of our veteran care policy…a day when we say “we haven’t forgotten you!”.  It should instead be merely a complement to the constant attention and great care that’s already being provided, a day when we recognize and celebrate the service of those that have given so much.

They give up everything, and then if they survive, spend the rest of their lives trying to get some of it back. For some, they don’t have the support system back home to get them through the physical and psychological struggle. But why do they end up on the streets?

From the AP

“Veterans make up one in four homeless people in the United States, though they are only 11 percent of the general adult population, according to a report to be released Thursday.

And homelessness is not just a problem among middle-age and elderly veterans. Younger veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are trickling into shelters and soup kitchens seeking services, treatment or help with finding a job.

The Veterans Affairs Department has identified 1,500 homeless veterans from the current wars and says 400 of them have participated in its programs specifically targeting homelessness.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness, a public education nonprofit, based the findings of its report on numbers from Veterans Affairs and the Census Bureau. 2005 data estimated that 194,254 homeless people out of 744,313 on any given night were veterans.

In comparison, the VA says that 20 years ago, the estimated number of veterans who were homeless on any given night was 250,000.

Some advocates say the early presence of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan at shelters does not bode well for the future. It took roughly a decade for the lives of Vietnam veterans to unravel to the point that they started showing up among the homeless. Advocates worry that intense and repeated deployments leave newer veterans particularly vulnerable.”

Some predict that Iraq War vets, like those returning from Vietnam, will again be blatantly ignored by the country they served. For once, I choose to be optimistic. In this war, unlike Vietnam, the criticism is rightfully pointed at the administration and not the troops on the ground. When these soldiers return home, they have the opportunity to become a powerful political force. One that understands the realities of war and the true sacrifice of future generations. Then maybe, just maybe, vets will get the political and financial support they deserve.