One reason so many veterans are homeless? They can’t afford lawyers.

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Abner, Jul 11, 2016.

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  1. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    FYI,

    Washington Post Op-ed: One reason so many veterans are homeless? They can't afford lawyers. | The Salt Lake Tribune

    "With nearly 50,000 veterans sleeping on the streets each night, it's clear we are failing to serve those who have served our country. But the solution isn't as obvious as it might seem. Veterans don't need simply more doctors and shelter beds; new research shows that veterans need lawyers to fight on their behalf as well."

    This seems to be seldom talked about, but it is a very real persistent problem. Glad to see these new programs being tried out for those who really need it. We need to support our troops for start to finish.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 11, 2016
  2. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    But they're heroes, right? Just thank them for their service. That oughta take care of it.
     
  3. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    Short sighted thinking never turns out well. Kind of like when many of the State mental hospitals were closed down in the name of smaller government over thirty years ago.
     
  4. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member

    My wife works in health care with at-risk populations. The only people with available free housing in my city are all of the veterans groups. They would love nothing more than to get these guys/gals help, but we have lots of panhandlers holding up the "Vet" card to get money that say they're veterans but they're actually not. Many of them have substance abuse issues that they are not willing to give up in order to get the help they need. Still more have mental health issues to deal with as well.


    When I go to my local VA; they ask me questions about where I live, what I eat, mental health issues, etc. There are people, literally on standby, at every VA to deal with this.


    Many people don't want help.
     
  5. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    You may recall, a few years ago, a police officer bought some shoes for a homeless man on the streets of New York.

    People got all up in arms when it turned out he wasn't homeless at all. The guy had an apartment, either provided by the city or a non-profit (or maybe a combination of the two), as a disabled vet.

    He was also sitting on a Manhattan sidewalk in the middle of the winter with no shoes on and feet that were blistering from walking on the frigid sidewalk. I think it safe to say he had some mental health issues.

    Housing First has shown some promising results in terms of getting people with substance abuse issues on their feet. And it can be an effective way of helping people with mental illness. But giving an apartment to a homeless person doesn't fix all of their problems. Regardless of their affliction they require additional support in order to integrate back into society.

    Treatment aside, imagine the social impact of living on the street with the local homeless community, knowing people, having people know you, and then just getting dropped into an apartment complex with no sense of community at all.

    So it isn't always a simple matter of "wanting help." Some of it has to do with the help available not being enough to actually make a meaningful change in a person's life.
     
  6. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Interesting anecdotes. I wonder what the real statistics are.
     
  7. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member


    Could be better could be worse. How's your local VA? We also have a Transgender at my local VA, male to female. She gets treated pretty well, still a bit shy and keeps to herself. I'm sure a lot of the older guys have a problem with it, but you see and learn a lot by talking to people at the VA.


    My wife's experience working with homeless and at-risk populations is much less rose colored than most. I'm not sure how social services people can do it, it takes a toll on my wife. She likes to help people, but some people are beyond help.


    What's your experience with homeless Vets?
     
  8. b4cz28

    b4cz28 New Member

    What's the disability stats for the military now? 99% of all service members are coming out as disabled vets? I'm not even sure how we can sustain those payouts as fast as they are growing.
     
  9. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Then we should stop getting them hurt.
     
  10. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member



    Is it really that high? Whenever I go to the VA is mostly older guys, most of them in pretty bad shape. There is a few young ones; an Army vet I see at the Prosthetics place (it's adjacent to the Physical Therapy area). I saw him a few times when I was doing some PT, he must have been getting his leg adjusted. I wonder what the average rating is?


    I agree with Rich, less wars in places we don't belong (hint: everywhere but home) and we won't have to deal with wounded troops.
     
  11. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    The threshold for VA disability is fairly low. I, myself, have a 10% rating for carpal tunnel I developed while working in Personnel. I know another guy who picked up 10% because of nerve damage in his feet caused by him standing gate watch in ill fitting boots. A guy we both went to RTC with was discharged from boot camp after he tore the cartilage in his knee after his foot got caught in a storm drain while he was running Battle Stations (the big test at the end of basic training). He walked away with a rating over 30% and he never even graduated. There is no need for me to go to a VA facility despite my disability rating. The same is the case for many of the young vets with issues. I have two employees who served in Iraq and are treated for PTSD and they, like myself, take great pains to avoid the VA. One of them, despite having a rating for PTSD, gets his medications filled by his private physician at a local pharmacy and has it billed to medical insurance rather than utilizing the VA services. From the VA he just cashes the check.

    But VA facilities, at least those I've been in, are all pretty disgusting and generally poorly managed. Being a bit too liberal with payouts to veterans is so far down on the list of VA sins that I can't imagine it being a real issue until the biggest offenses are resolved.

    Perhaps the VA could misappropriate a fresh coat of paint in the waiting areas. I get that the 1920's insane asylum look is in vogue but maybe just a splash of color would brighten things up. I guess I'm just proposing that maybe VA facilities could be at least half as nice as the typical recruiting office.
     
  12. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member

    Free Legal Clinics in VA Facilities


    http://www.va.gov/ogc/docs/LegalServices.pdf


    If you actually know of a veteran in need. A vet who is homeless, you can go here and chat with a rep who will get them help.


    https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/Resources/HomelessResources.aspx


    "Homeless Veterans or anyone concerned about one can also call or use online chat to reach the Veterans Crisis Line and get free, 24/7 support for any personal crisis. Responders are trained to work with homeless Veterans and connect them to resources in their area"
     
  13. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    Translation of the underlined text: "Your Mileage May Vary"
     
  14. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member


    Never pegged you as a cynic.
     
  15. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    The VA doesn't have vast tracks of unoccupied housing waiting for anyone with a DD-214 and no roof over their head. They have counselors available who can point you to local resources.

    Some locales have more resources than others. In certain parts of upstate New York that could mean finding yourself in a relatively cushy piece of government (state funded and administered by the city) housing. In New York City that likely means an overcrowded and incredibly dangerous homeless shelter while you get added to a years long waitlist for a studio apartment in an incredibly dangerous housing project.

    Different areas have different resources.

    The VA can only point you to what is available where you are. They cannot make things appear out of thin air.
     

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