Support Our Houseless Heroes
He goes to war. She fights for the United States. He gets injured while serving our country. She suffers from PTSD from serving our country. He is homeless and disabled. She could be homeless and disabled as it becomes hard to work a civilian job.
This is the truth for so many brave Americans once they depart the military. In fact, half of all homeless veterans have disabilities (DNVF.org). Homelessness is not uncommon for veterans. In Oregon alone, it is estimated that there are at least 1,300 homeless veterans (Oregon.gov). That is more than 10% of the entire homeless population in Oregon. This suggests that if one has served in the military, they are more likely to be homeless.
When this type of quantitative analysis is observed, veterans are not getting the support and critical resources they need. The government utilizes the Transition Assistance Program to help service members and their spouses prepare for civilian life, however, little is continued past an initial briefing (Military.com).
Image courtesy of The Defense Post
There are many resources available for veterans that are homeless and/or disabled, however, the accessibility of Veteran’s Assistance (VA) is severely lacking. From personal experience, it is impossible to get through on the phone, appointments are months out, and the bureaucracy of the VA gets in its own way. In addition, many homeless veterans suffer from various physical and mental ailments making office visits and resource gathering hard on veterans. We can make this easier for our veterans.
Improve the lives of our veterans. Improve the lives of those that fought for yours.
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Published by Kasey DeRaad
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