Originally Posted By RoadTrip Thank You. I'd never have the guts to do what they do, but I'm sure glad someone does!!
Originally Posted By jonvn It was just on the news that 25% of the homeless people in this country are veterans. 1 out of 8 people who have no health insurance are veterans.
Originally Posted By x Pirate_Princess x >>>It was just on the news that 25% of the homeless people in this country are veterans. 1 out of 8 people who have no health insurance are veterans.<<< This is absolutely ridiculous. We have a lot of veterans here in this county, and a majority of this county is at or below poverty level. The nearest VA hospital is a 2 hour drive away. And the ONE doctor on the VA contract is overbooked and incompetent. Thank you to all the veterans ...and active duty and reserves. My dad spent 24 years in the Air Force, so I have the utmost respect for those who've served, and their families.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> It was just on the news that 25% of the homeless people in this country are veterans. << Sadly some veterans suffer from mental problems steming from combat, and alcohol, and drug abuse. There were programs introduced back in the late 60's to help with adjustment from military to civilan life. Sadly some veterans did not benifit from them. >> 1 out of 8 people who have no health insurance are veterans << Insurance is hard to come by for a lot of people now. To get into a V.A. hospital down here you almost have to be destitute. >> The nearest VA hospital is a 2 hour drive away. And the ONE doctor on the VA contract is overbooked and incompetent. << Sadly that is the case in so many smaller towns across the country. Even in the larger cities they have more patients than they can care for. We need to fix the lack of affordable health care for all Americans.
Originally Posted By Mrs ElderP I heard the story on NPR about 25% of vets being homeless, and while PTSD and all that contribute to the problem, the biggest factor is just that the vets are not represenative of the population in general. The army recruites from poor areas, and poor neighborhoods, so lots of vets didn't have very many life skills before they entered into the Armed Services, and they don't have much of a safty net once they get out.
