AATTP Interviews A Homeless Veteran In Cambridge Ohio

[hvactec]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H2kNxDeQP4]AATTP Interviews A Homeless Veteran In Cambridge Ohio - YouTube[/ame]

 

[waltky]

Lack of financial skills leads to veterans' homelessness...

Study: Lack of financial literacy may trigger vets’ homelessness
October 22, 2013 ~ Veterans are more likely to end up homeless not just because of military stressors but also because of poor financial skills, according to new research.

A new report in the American Journal of Public Health found that military members in general are less familiar with household budgets, more likely to be targets for predatory lenders and “may not have the opportunity to learn the skills necessary for being financially independent and managing money.” The study — part of a host of new research released by the journal Tuesday on veterans housing and health issues — might help explain why veterans are overrepresented in the homeless population. Past studies have found that veterans make up about 20 percent of Americans without stable housing, even though veterans are less than 8 percent of the population.

A Department of Veterans Affairs study published in the journal found that about 2 percent of all veterans who sought health care last year were at risk of losing their home or had spent time on the streets. While post-traumatic stress, brain injuries and drug abuse have been established as contributing factors to the homelessness problem, the financial literacy study lists money mismanagement as another dangerous pitfall, and one that’s potentially easier to address. Researchers from the University of North Carolina and Duke University said the study of 1,000-plus veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan era found nearly one-third had gone over their credit limit, written a bad check or been contacted by a collection agency. About 5 percent of those surveyed spent some time homeless.

The median income for the group was $50,000, and researchers said the financial problems weren’t confined to low-income veterans. “Money mismanagement was reported by a substantial number of veterans and urgently needs to be addressed,” the report said. “Financial education even on simple issues, such as how to create a budget, avoid financial scams, balance a checkbook … could readily and inexpensively be added into pre- and post-separation work with veterans.” VA leaders have set a goal of ending veterans homelessness over the next two years and have expanded housing assistance and job training programs. Researchers said the department and military do offer some financial literacy programs, but their effectiveness needs to be re-examined.

A VA study out of New York, also published Tuesday in the journal, found that homeless veterans are six times more likely to consider suicide than those with stable finances. A VA study by Colorado researchers noted that half of all homeless veterans could be suffering from traumatic brain injury. The special issue of the journal was developed with help from VA and its National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans. In an editorial published with the research findings, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said their hope is that the work will increase public focus on the problem. “Homeless veterans — all homeless Americans — must not remain our invisible citizens,” they wrote. “What they need are permanent places to live, jobs, education and quality healthcare.”

Study: Lack of financial literacy may trigger vets? homelessness - News - Stripes

See also:

Veteran homelessness is dropping, but jobs still hard to find
October 21, 2013 — Strangers sometimes shake Hamp Beck’s hand to thank him for his military service in Vietnam. Cosmetology student Lauren Rolow went a step further and gave him a manicure.

Rolow’s uncle, grandfather and great-grandfather served in the military, and when she heard that Sherrill’s University of Barbering and Cosmetology was going to offer services at Friday’s Capital Area Vet Stand Down, she volunteered. “I thought, ‘Why not come down here and help the people that fought for us?’” she said of the downtown Raleigh event. The school was one of 40 agencies that set up at the annual one-day event that started as a way for homeless veterans to connect with some of the groups whose services could help them get off the streets. The Stand Down is now open to all veterans.

On any given night, about 30 of the 234 men staying at the South Wilmington Street Center, site of the Stand Down, are veterans, said John Youker, the shelter’s homeless veterans services officer. Each week, he said, three or four new vets come to the center asking for a place to stay. The annual count of homeless people conducted for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found 204 homeless veterans in Wake County in January, up from 141 the year before. But Youker said he thinks that’s because the area continues to attract veterans who think they will find better employment opportunities in this region.

Expanding veteran help

Across the state, and throughout the country, the number of homeless veterans has declined. In 2013, 9 percent of the adults in the homeless count in North Carolina were veterans, compared with 10 percent in 2012. Nationwide, 10 percent of the homeless adults counted this year were veterans. Last year, they made up 13 percent of the homeless population. In 2009, when 16 percent of homeless adults were veterans, President Barack Obama and Eric K. Shinseki, the U.S. secretary of veterans affairs, said the administration would try to eliminate homelessness among veterans by the end of 2015. It’s working to do so by expanding and adding programs that help pay for housing, job training, legal assistance, financial counseling, transportation, child care, utilities and other needs of very low-income veterans.

Beck is one of those. He’s been homeless off and on for several years and at 62, he said he’s ready to get into a place of his own. He’s working his way through the transitional housing program at the Wilmington Street Center, which requires clients to get a job or other income, such as disability if they’re eligible for it, and to save most of the money so they can eventually afford to live on their own. Beck, who said he served in the Army from 1971 to 1985 and did a tour in Vietnam, said he struggles sometimes with post-traumatic stress disorder and fought a drug addiction until 10 years ago. He was doing well for years, he said, working in retail store management, but then got sick with diabetes and missed so much work he was let go. Eventually, he lost his apartment and began staying in rooming houses when he had a little cash, shelters when he didn’t. He likes being around people, he said, and hopes to find another job in retail.

‘A positive attitude’