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Kind of a longish article but worth a read. Anybody have any comments on this? Should we "deprogram" returning war veterans so they can operate in society or is it a given that war changes them forever?

Why Does Johnny Come Marching Homeless?



Saturday, January 19, 2008 1:30 PM

LEEDS, Mass. -- Peter Mohan traces the path from the Iraqi battlefield to this lifeless conference room, where he sits in a kilt and a Camp Kill Yourself T-shirt and calmly describes how he became a sad cliche: a homeless veteran.

There was a happy homecoming, but then an accident _ car crash, broken collarbone. And then a move east, close to his wife's new job but away from his best friends.

And then self-destruction: He would gun his motorcycle to 100 mph and try to stand on the seat. He would wait for his wife to leave in the morning, draw the blinds and open up whatever bottle of booze was closest.

He would pull out his gun, a .45-caliber, semiautomatic pistol. He would lovingly clean it, or just look at it and put it away. Sometimes place it in his mouth.



The Rest: http://www.newsmax.com/us/homeless_on_t ... 65795.html

RedGlitter;760391 wrote: Kind of a longish article but worth a read. Anybody have any comments on this? Should we "deprogram" returning war veterans so they can operate in society or is it a given that war changes them forever?
From the article:

The VA spends about $265 million annually on programs targeting homeless veterans. And as Iraq and Afghanistan veterans face problems, the VA will not simply "wait for 10 years until they show up," Pete Dougherty, the VA's director of homeless programs, said when the new figures were released.



"We're out there now trying to get everybody we can to get those kinds of services today, so we avoid this kind of problem in the future," he said

War does change a person forever, but that's why we need to give them every assistance possible. I don't know if "deprogramming" is the right term, but we definitely need to be activist reather than reactionary. I would think that, say, annual psych evals for combat vets, possibly for life, wouldn't be out of line.



It would also be a good idea for the Pres. and every congressman be required to visit one-on-one with a PTSD vet before making a decision about sending more to risk the same. I was going to write 'the same or worse' but PTSD may be worse than death for many.

I agree with that, Acc. A PSTD test would be a good thing and the president having to visit a vet with PSTD would be an excellent requirement I think.

Also, I'm not too familiar with any "perks" the government gives veterans so maybe something's already being done like this, but I've thought about this and you know how we provide former presidents with expensive homes and bodyguards when their term is over? Why couldn't we give our veterans a fraction of that courtesy and provide them a secure home when they're in danger of ending up on the street instead of these shelters? I mean if they've fought for our country isn't that fair? Am I being too idealistic here? Even I think I might be. I'm just throwing it out there. Especially since I read this morning that they've okayed $690 BILLION!!!! more for the war. I'm thinking if we have that kind of money to spend on this war, then we shouldn't have any homeless vets. Too much idealism?

Combat vets deserve whatever they need, and whatever they want up to a point I'm not wise enough to mark.



Here's a link to the presidential benefits package if you're curious.

http://www.senate.gov/reference/resourc ... 98-249.pdf

You find the most helpful stuff, Accountable! Thank you for that chart.