Ending Homelessness - One Click At A Time
A special report released by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Housing and Urban Development, stated that there were about 144,000 homeless veterans in 2010. Most homeless veterans are white men, middle-aged and have a disability. Of all the homeless young people, veterans are two times as more likely to be homeless than other young people who are not veterans. According to this report, the number of veterans in 2010, that utilized transitional housing or emergency shelters, decreased about 3% from the previous year. In 2009 the figures were 149,465 and for 2010 the figures were 144,842. The report on homeless veterans showed they continued to be overrepresented when compared to the total of all people that were homeless in America during this time period.
The study showed that when veterans fall under the poverty line, a greater number of them will become homeless, approximately 1 in 9. Some government analysts asserted that the cause could be by two main reasons. The first one is that a large number of the homeless veterans happend to be single men that do not have any family support, and secondly, many of these veterans have a disability. These disabilities include substance abuse issues, mental illness and physical injuries.
The data also revealed that greater than 90% of homeless veterans in homeless shelters are men, and about 50% of these men were disabled and white. The main population of veterans in these shelters, were in the age group of 51 and 61. The smallest group of homeless veterans were younger, under 30 years of age. Unfortunately, they were two times as likely to be homeless when compared to non-veterans of the same age group. This has raised concerns because these veterans have served in Afghanistan and Iraq and are living in poverty after they have returned home. The number of homeless veteran families living in shelters was just 2%. Within this number, the homeless veterans were much more apt to be younger women that were from a minority populace that didn't have any disability.
The report learned that although white males ended up being the biggest number of homeless veterans, minorities ended up being disproportionately represented, which is similar to the non-veteran group as well. The report stipulated this could be because of the fact that approximately 7 in 10 homeless veterans reside in urban areas, in which the population there is more diverse ethnically.
There is a plan backed by the current administration to help decrease homeless veterans by offering vouchers for housing for the disabled veterans and funds to pay for back rent or rental security deposits.