Veteran Homelessness On any given night, approximately 49,000 American veterans are homeless, men and women that served our country and fought for our freedom (Unique Issues). Most are suffering from traumatic brain injuries, physical disabilities, and some are over the age of 50 (Unique Issues). Veteran homelessness continues to be a persistent problem. A system in which increased funding goes to housing and providing care to veterans would drastically help these peoples if not homelessness will continue to grow because of the United States’ involvement in the Middle East. The problem veteran homelessness is a nationwide doesn 't just include the homeless veteran population but also the mental and physical disabilities these people …show more content…
In 2014, at the end date of the goals point-in-time count showed that there were still 49,933 homeless veterans, which is a 33% drop in the population since the start of the action plan. Yet today there is still a huge population left on the streets. However, since 2009, the program as sheltered close to 200,000 veterans (O’Toole), but many still lack permanent housing. Federal funding to house homeless people must at least have some level of priority to veterans and those who fight for our country, rather than a pooling and housing people who were homeless because they spent too much on drugs or those who never contributed to society. Next, the mental health, as well as physical, must be taken into account to make sure everyone is being treated and cared for adequately. There shouldn 't be homeless veterans to begin with, mortgages and loans should at the very least be somewhat subsidized by the government so when the return from tour of duty they are not buried with debts. These people served our government and they need to be repaid for their service, they deserve medical care, housing. As a society we have to show our respect for veterans not just while they serve, but during recovery after they