Searching for Work and Stability, Vets Fight New Battles at Home

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/5142/searching_for_work_and_stability_vets_fight_new_battles_at_home/

Saturday November 7 8:00 am


(Image courtesy IAVA)


By Michelle Chen

The tragedy at Fort Hood may strike Americans as a singular, incomprehensible horror. But the shock of the killings may recenter Americans' perspectives on the quieter challenges that befall military men and women every day, even when they're stateside.

Countless soldiers are returning from the battlefield to a world that seems alien to them, and a hostile economy often impedes their reintegration into civilian life.

According to federal data, unemployment for post-9/11 era veterans in the past year has surged past of the national rate, to over 11 percent.

Despite the military's promises of upward mobility, unexpected hardships pushes many vets into a devastating downard spiral. For some, being back home doesn't mean having one. The Washington Post reports that, according to federal data, “Roughly 131,000 of the nation's 24 million veterans may be homeless on any given night, and about twice as many are homeless each year.”

The advocacy group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) says the real number of vets who have experienced, or risk falling into homelessness, is likely much higher than official statistics. "In early 2008," the group reports, "foreclosure rates in military towns were increasing at four times the national rate,” as veterans have become lucrative prey for subprime lenders.

Economic problems are aggravated by the psychological trauma that burdens many young vets. A 2008 RAND study estimated that about one in five Iraq and Afghanistan vets suffered from mental health issues (including PTSD or depression). The VA system, meanwhile, lacks the resources to provide adequate treatment and counseling.

FULL story at link.