Urban Exile: On the 4th of July Remember…The Few, The Proud, America’s 76,000 Homeless Veterans

by Erika McNamara

On June 11, 2011, the Los Angeles Times reported:

Contending that the region’s population of disabled homeless veterans has reached crisis proportions, a coalition led by the ACLU of Southern California filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that the federal Department of Veterans Affairs has misused large portions of its West Los Angeles campus and failed to provide adequate housing and treatment for the people it was intended to serve.

“This is the first lawsuit of its kind in the country seeking to end homelessness for U.S. veterans,” said Mark Rosenbaum, legal director of the ACLU’s L.A. office. “In Los Angeles we have a 387-acre parcel deeded in 1888 for the specific purpose of housing a permanent home for U.S. soldiers, and it’s now housing rental cars, buses, hotel laundry facilities and state-of-the-art sports facilities for a private school.”

The complaint, which seeks class-action status, was filed in U.S. district court on behalf of four disabled homeless vets; the Vietnam Veterans of America, a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Vietnam-era vets and their families; and a descendant of one of the property’s original owners.

One would think that providing housing and treatment to our nation’s veterans is something that our military and federal government just do.  Sadly though, this is not the case.

The Department Veterans Affairs reports that there are an estimated 76,000 veterans homeless on any given night. To put it another way, one in five homeless individuals you see every day on the sidewalks of Ann Arbor is a veteran. This number will surely only increase with the expected removal of troops from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. You have definitely encountered a homeless veteran.  Many of them return home, and because of an inadequate support system for physical health, mental health, and employment opportunities begin a steady decline to an end point of homelessness. These are individuals who’ve served in World War II, Korea, Viet Nam, Panama, Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflicts.  Although, it is true that many homeless veterans are more than likely to have served in Viet Nam, the injuries and disabilities many of them face as a result of more recent conflicts contribute to the problem of homelessness.

In 2009 the Department of Veteran Affairs finally recognized there is a serious lack of support for many individuals returning from war and launched a new program to combat homelessness among the veteran population.  A strategic plan to stop the rise in the number of homeless veterans was announced recently, with the final goal to end veteran homelessness by 2015. At the presentation to mark the launch of this new program, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki, a distinguished veteran himself, said, “President Obama and I are personally committed to ending homelessness among Veterans within the next five years….Those who have served this nation as Veterans should never find themselves on the streets, living without care and without hope.”

This is an enormous endeavor undertaken by a federal agency that does not have the best track record. After the 2009 announcement, the VA implemented many new programs and momentum grew.  The programs began to produce results—the number of homeless vets decreased and it was announced that the 2015 goal to end homelessness was on track to be met ahead of schedule in 2014!

However, it is apparent not all branches of the federal government are on board with the plan. Congress cut $75 million from the budget for housing homeless veterans. Conversely (and not without a touch of irony), Congress decided not to cut the $27.4 million for advertising to promote joining the Army and National Guard. I hope the advertisements include something about becoming homeless after discharge.  Congress members appear to be oblivious in their creation of an unending cycle of broken and homeless veterans with no federal support system in place.

It is also apparent that the VA is not entirely on board with the zero homeless Vets by 2015 pledge either as evidenced by the ACLU’s lawsuit against the Department of Veteran Affairs filed just weeks ago. This is not the first time that the VA has been sued by vets. In July of 2007 a veteran of the War in Iraq sued the head of the VA over delays in providing health care. The Washington Post reported:

The lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, filed Monday in federal court in San Francisco, seeks broad changes in the agency as it struggles to meet growing demands from veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Suing on behalf of hundreds of thousands of veterans, it charges that the VA has failed warriors on numerous fronts. It contends the VA failed to provide prompt disability benefits, failed to add staff to reduce wait times for medical care and failed to boost services for post-traumatic stress disorder.

In November of 2008, veterans’ groups sued the VA to force the agency to rule on disability claims within 90 days and to resolved appeals within 180 days.

It is very hard to estimate the true number of homeless veterans in the state of Michigan.  Many of these individuals are disenfranchised and no longer wish to self-identify as veterans. Many have given up all hope of receiving help from the federal government and therefore do not report that they are veterans. Despite these difficulties, Michigan homeless advocates estimate there are approximately 3,500 homeless vets living in the state.

The Goodwill Industries of Northern Michigan currently is working to finish a transitional housing complex for homeless veterans in the northern part of our state (this is a male-only facility even though there are over 230,000 women veterans of recent conflicts, many of whom are also homeless. This new housing in Gaylord is set for completion at the end of Summer 2011.  The new complex will house 24 individuals for up to two years.  During that time, the residents will be able to begin to work on being transitioned into more stable living and housing in the community.  Officials in the City of Detroit also recently started to build a transitional housing complex for veterans. The Detroit facility will accommodate 60 individuals for up to 24 months per stay.  Both programs, supported by various grants and loans, will provide veterans with the support and stability they need to live and thrive in the local community.

It is very important to remember that in order for these programs to work, there must be community support from individuals and local organizations. However, money is only one of the elements needed to guarantee success for these programs. Other necessary elements include support from the local community, and the support system created to be a safety net for those soldiers returning to civilian life.  This Fourth of July remember that there are many veterans who are on the brink of homelessness.