Veterans make up 1 in 4 US homeless

Press TV
Posted: 2007-11-08 19:55:33

Veterans are one in four of the homeless people in the United States, though they are only 11 percent of the general adult population.

Homelessness is not a problem just among middle-age and elderly veterans. Younger veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are trickling into shelters and food looking for services, treatment or help in finding a job.

The Veterans Affairs Department has identified 1,500 homeless veterans from the current wars, and said that 400 of them have participated in its programs specifically targeting homelessness.

The estimated number of veterans who were homeless on any given night is over 250,000.

Overall, 45 percent of participants in the VA's homeless programs have a diagnosable mental illness, and more than three out of four have a substance-abuse problem, while 35 percent have both.

ABZ/PA