Encouraging Homeless Veterans in the US - Essay Example

? English Essay: Homeless Veterans The US military troops from Afghanistan are expected to be withdrawnfrom the country by the end of 2014. These troops, fortunately or unfortunately, are in excess of 63,000. For over a decade these brave men have put their lives at risk to make ours safer. Now, is the United States prepared to deal with such a large number of war veterans returning home? Are the veterans going to receive medical, psychological and other essential needs as they had been promised when they joined the army? The Iraqi war veterans, increasingly becoming homeless present a contrasting picture. To save the veteran homelessness, everybody has to join hands. Being in the army is no easy job, and everybody of us knows the implications of such a dangerous profession. Dealing with stressful situations on the battle field and experiencing one of the worst kinds of human slaughter, the thought of war brings with it grisly images for the veterans even when they have returned home. Almost every one of the army men faces extreme depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) once their numbness begins to lift. For some war veterans it has even taken a decade before the effects of the war have emerged plunging them into complete darkness. This is helped by little or no support from the government which even though has made independent organizations such as the U.S. Department of the Veteran Affairs (VA) but no real improvements can be observed on ground. This fact is further supported by the figures given by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that on a single night in the United States at least 62,619 war veterans are homeless and living on streets or in shelters (National Coalition for Homeless Veterans). Another 1.4 million veterans are suspected on the verge of homelessness due to various reasons. Is that how we return our services to people who had once served us? If the issue of fixing homelessness for war veterans is not treated as a grave emergency, things can be safely assumed as getting out of control. Though the VA argues on successfully providing shelter, medication and other services to the war veterans, which is even true to some extent, but the number of veterans still homeless indicates huge loopholes. Once the US troops in Afghanistan start returning home, will they as well be welcomed by similar homelessness? Taken the fact that the VA could not get the 62,619 war veterans off the road, little hope can we have for the 63,000 troops. The matter to address veteran homelessness is also barred by political circumstances. Some of the confidential Pentagon reports have suggested that the United States has no intention of evacuating all of its troops from Afghanistan as soon as 2014; it intends to stay much longer. However, even if we expect a fourth section of soldiers from our army, they easily exceed the number that is already homeless. Thus solutions covering a much wider ground are needed to not just home the existing war veterans but any of the future ones as well. To reduce veteran homelessness an array of measures will have to be taken. An organization or two supported by another few cannot alone fight the consequences of such a grave matter. Veterans do not just need shelter but immense psychological and physical support, taken their horrendous experiences at the battlefield. Most of these men have faced extremely unpleasant situations – after all a war has nothing pleasant to it – and as a result they are at a very high risk of developing psychological disorders. Though people argue that families should be responsible for the health of the veterans once they return, they fail to recognize the fact that many of these ex-soldiers have severed ties with their families after the long time-period spent abroad. We have clear evidences of wives leaving their veteran husbands for other guys since their husbands could not provide for them. As veterans find it difficult to acquire jobs after their services in the army, it worsens their family situation. Addressing the issue of homelessness for a hefty number of war veterans as that in the United States is not much of an easy task. Taken the fact that many veterans’ existing locations are either unknown to the government or the veterans are unaware of the help that exists for them, the plan of a home for every veteran faces serious problems. Though superficially we can see the government involved in reducing veteran homelessness by arranging donors through international conferences, the whole process is so complicated that is not easy for the government alone to end veteran homelessness. For veterans it is not just a home but food, counselling, medications, therapies and a lot more to keep them as an active member of the society. The government thus fails in keeping up to its promises and eventually part of the burden of this problem falls on the shoulders of the nation. Morally, all of us owe something to the brave men who put their lives in danger to save ours. Thus every one of us should play our role in reducing veteran homelessness. A simple act of guiding a homeless veteran we know of, to the help that exists for him/her can change a life. Others of us who enjoy a more stable position in the society can, for the sake of humanity, take responsibility for a homeless veteran and give him/her the physical and psychological support he/she is in need of. The support that will come to the veteran through our family this way would be the best of what he would need. But still if we are not ready to take such a responsibility, which indeed is a big one, we can make financial contributions to the organizations that run services for the veterans. This way at least we fulfil our moral duty as a responsible citizen of America. Others who are ambitious to help the government in eradicating veteran homelessness can assist different NGOs dedicated to the said purpose as doctors, nurses, or whichever way possible and make life easier for the ones who have made ours comfortable beyond words. Works Cited National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. "National Coalition for Homeless Veterans." 2010. Web. 27 Jul 2013. . Read More