Americans paused this week, and they do every Veterans Day, to remember and to honor the 23 million or so men and women who have served in our country’s armed services.

Celebrations were held around the country. Remembrances in our local area included a service at DeSales High School and a program at St. Aloysius Gonzaga School in Shepherdsville, Ky., during which veterans of World War II and Operation Iraqi Freedom spoke.

But for many this Veterans Day was like any other day of the year: many veterans are living on the streets of our cities or in shelters because they are homeless.
Several days before this Veterans Day a report issued by the National Alliance to End Homelessness said veterans represent about one-fourth of the total homeless population in the United States.

The report said about 195,827 veterans were homeless last year on any given night, and 495,400 experienced homelessness over the course of the year. An estimated 44,000 to 64,000 veterans were “chronically homeless” (meaning homeless for long periods or repeatedly and with a disability), the National Alliance said.

“Far too many veterans are homeless in America,” the report said. “Homeless veterans can be found in every state ... and (they) live in rural, suburban and urban communities. Many have lived on the streets for years, while others live on the edge of homelessness, struggling to pay their rent.”

While the numbers of homeless veterans are staggering now, some believe the situation will get worse.

Phil Landis, chairman of Veterans Village in San Diego, Calif., was quoted in a Nov. 8 New York Times article as saying that we are now seeing “the first trickle of this generation of warriors in homeless shelters. But we anticipate that it’s going to be a tsunami.”

Why is this so? With veterans eligible for many services through our government’s Department of Veterans Affairs, why are so many homeless?

The National Alliance said the main reason is lack of affordable housing, which also is the driving force behind homelessness in general. The alliance estimated that 467,877 veterans were “severely rent burdened” and were paying more than 50 percent of their income for rent. And more than half (55 percent) with “severe” housing costs fell below the poverty level, and 43 percent were receiving food stamps.

But there also are other reasons, according to the National Alliance report. These include:

• The unemployment rate for young veterans (ages 20 to 24) is 15 percent, and these veterans with limited education are struggling to transfer their military skills to civilian work.
• Homeless veterans have high rates of health-related problems and disability.
• About 45 percent of homeless veterans suffer from mental illness, including high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder.
• About 70 percent of homeless veterans suffer from substance abuse problems, with “considerable overlap between mental illness and substance abuse.”
• Lack of available services. The report said studies indicate that with new veterans returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Department of Veterans Affairs is being “challenged” to provide “timely access to mental health and medical services for veterans at risk of homelessness.”

Nearly two decades ago the Vatican’s Pontifical Justice and Peace Commission said in a document on homelessness: “For each Christian and for the church ... the stark reality of homeless persons and families is at one and the same an appeal to conscience and an exigency to do something to remedy the situation.”

Something can be done remedy this situation. The National Alliance report suggests two such solutions: creating more affordable housing and expanding rent assistance.

The alliance report recommended creation of 25,000 housing units over a five-year period dedicated to chronically homeless veterans at an estimated cost of about $3 billion for construction and $1.2 billion for operation and service. The report also called for funding 20,000 additional housing vouchers at a cost of $875 million over five years.

This is the least we should do for our homeless veterans. If our country can spend an estimated $9 billion a month to finance military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, we can spend less than half that over five years to help pay for the human fall-out of these wars.