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.