Homeless veterans face new battle for survival

Homeless veterans face new battle for survival
Story Highlights
More veterans are facing a new enemy on the nation's streets
Veterans make up almost a quarter of homeless population
Homeless rate among veterans expected to rise

By Mike Mount
CNN

(CNN) -- "I can't find the right words to describe when you are homeless," says Iraq war veteran Joseph Jacobo. "You see the end of your life right there. What am I going to do, what am I going to eat?"


War trauma sends many veterans to the streets where they beg for survival.

Jacobo is one of an increasing number of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who come home to life on the street. The Department of Veterans Affairs is fighting to find them homes.

Veterans make up almost a quarter of the homeless population in the United States. The government says there are as many as 200,000 homeless veterans; the majority served in the Vietnam War. Some served in Korea or even World War II. About 2,000 served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The VA and several nongovernmental organizations have created programs that address the special needs of today's veterans returning from war. In addition to treating physical and mental injuries, there are career centers and counseling programs. But the VA still expects the homeless rate among the nation's newest veterans to rise because of the violent nature of combat seen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Officials say many more Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffer post-traumatic stress disorder than veterans of previous wars. The government says PTSD is one of the leading causes of homelessness among veterans.

"They come back, and they are having night trauma, they are having difficulty sleeping. They are feeling alienated," says Peter Dougherty, the director of homeless programs for the VA.

The VA says 70 percent of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan saw some form of combat, either through firefights, rocket attacks or the most common strikes on troops -- roadside bomb attacks on their vehicles.


That is three times the rate of combat experienced by Vietnam veterans, according to the VA.

"Because we are convinced, and we know that the earlier the intervention happens, particularly when it is related to PTSD, the better the prognosis is for recovery," Dougherty says.

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Vietnam Vets: Helping Iraq War Trauma

Peter Dougherty knows what he's talking about. So does every other expert who has honestly been working on this since Vietnam veterans came home. There were 1.6 million Vietnam veterans considered to have come from the hot zones of combat despite over a million more considered to have been in relatively safe zones. Out of the 1.6 million, the result was 500,000 diagnosed with PTSD by 1978 according to a study funded by the Disabled American Veterans. By 1986 117,000 committed suicide. Over 300,000 ended up homeless. Thousands of them ended up in prison. As bad as those figures were there were another 148,000 seeking help for PTSD for the first time between 2006-2008 in 18 months alone. This does not include the veterans being diagnosed in between all those years.

For the most of them it was a matter of not knowing what PTSD was. They knew there was something wrong with them but very few knew it's name or the fact there was a treatment for it. It was not until the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan produced news reports of the newest generation of PTSD wounded they began to receive the information through increased outreach efforts. Even many Gulf War veterans were not aware of PTSD.

With a homeless veterans count of these new veterans already at 2,000, studies placing the PTSD wounded at 300,000 along with another 320,000 TBI wounded, we should all be in emergency mode to address this head on. We are not even close to being ready.

The worst part of all of this is that the fact remains as soon as PTSD is treated it stops getting worse. When family members are aware of PTSD, they have a great chance of staying together and coping with the wound affecting the entire family. They also have an opportunity to take a proactive role in being an advocate for their spouse. When it involves the National Guard and Reservists, this is even more important to provide the emotional support they need to seek treatment. This is not happening at the rate it needs to be happening all over the nation.

While National Guard forces are taking a pro-active role developing their own videos like Picking Up the Pieces, the rest of the units are not. We are still receiving reports unit commanders are discouraging their troops from seeking help and still regarding PTSD as a fake illness. All this at a time when they could be saving the lives of their men instead of jeopardizing their lives needlessly along with their families.
Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos