Imagine, you have just returned home from fighting overseas for our country. When you come home, you have no job and no place to live. While you were gone, your boss needed someone to work so he replaced you. Now, you are on the streets just trying to get by. Representatives, we have the opportunity today to help these people that need our help and we must pass this bill to help. By setting aside this money to help homeless and at-risk veterans we can provide them with the skills that they need to get a job.
The first reason that we need to pass this bill is that the VA, or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, does not have the capability to help all of these people that need it. Currently it is estimated, by National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, that there are around 50,000 homeless veterans on any given night and there are about 1.4 million other veterans that are considered at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks, and dismal living conditions. Each year the VA’s specialized homeless program provides health care to 150,000 homeless veterans and other services to another 112,000 veterans. Of around the 1.5 million homeless or at risk veterans, only a small
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According to the ESMI, 53% of skilled-trade workers in the United States were 45 years and older, while 18.6% were between the ages of 55 and 64. Going back to statists from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, 9% of homeless veterans are between the ages of 18 and 30, while 41% are between the ages of 31 and 50. By relating these two statistics together we can see the future need for skilled labor, and providing the ability for homeless and at-risk veterans, we can fill this need. The large amounts of homeless and at risk veterans provides the opportunity to fill jobs that we desperately need such as Maintenance Repair and