Homelessness on the Rise for Female Veterans, African-Americans Hit Hardest

[redqueen]

http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/01/homelessness_on_the_rise_for_female_veterans_african-americans_hit_hardest.html

Last month the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that found the number of women veterans that are homeless has grown substantially and the majority are black women.

“As more women serve in the military, the number of women veterans has grown substantially, doubling from 4 percent of all veterans in 1990 to 8 percent, or an estimated 1.8 million today,” Daniel Bertoni, Director of Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues at the GAO, writes in the report. (PDF)

And like their male counterparts, sometimes these women face challenges readjusting to civilian life. According to the report the most at risk are women veterans who have disabling psychological conditions resulting from military sexual trauma and those who are single mothers.

According to the report 45% of homeless veterans they identified were black women, 41% white, 7.6% Latinas, and 1.3% were API. The majority of those homeless are veterans who fought in the Persian Gulf Period or after (8/90-present)—including conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

...

[think]

1. Very sad to hear. No Vet should be homeless. Seriously this needs to be addressed

America is a great nation and I hope and pray that we find away to support all our Vets. Homelessness for our American servicemen and women should not be the victory they fought for.

How can those who profit from war sleep while women who served their country in a time of war are treated with such disregard?

This is why you don't cut taxes for the rich and go to war.

[Sera_Bellum]

2. Yup,

In the military their chances of being raped are higher than civilians, and when they come back, little work and homelessness.

We really stink as a country sometimes don't we? We really can do better.