There are over 140,000 homeless veterans living on the streets throughout America, and while Veterans Affairs estimates that number to be a 20% decline from a 2006 study, the number of homeless female veterans has grown since then from 2% of all homeless vets to 5%.
Female soldiers make up a very significant percentage of our forces in the Middle East; over 190,000 women are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Women are no longer restricted to serving only in support units, they now serve on the front lines of the battlefield alongside their male counterparts. The high number of female soldiers experiencing combat and the effects it has taken on them has simply surpassed the capacity of the Veterans Affairs Department to provide adequate help in their transition back to civilian life.
For a long time the military has been a male dominated organization and the resources for female veterans have not grown in conjunction with the more significant role women serve in today's armed forces. Veterans Affairs is working to step up their programs for women, but a female veteran is still twice as likely to become homeless than a male veteran.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, drug and alcohol addiction are just a few problems facing female veterans returning from war. Many have failed marriages, and some lose custody of their children. A large number struggle with mental health illness, drug and alcohol addiction. These problems combined with the fact that there are not enough VA resources available to these women makes it almost impossible for them to get back on their feet.
One of the programs Veterans Affairs is working on is to provide sufficient housing for homeless female vets. A 27-unit apartment building in Dayton, Ohio is the largest of about a dozen refurbished buildings in America developed specifically as housing for female veterans. Along with a place to live, the women are provided with daycare, legal council, drug and alcohol counseling, assistance with job searches and re-training. While this is a step in the right direction, there are still far too few shelters and services made available to the growing number of homeless female veterans throughout America.
Veterans Affairs officials have referred to the disgraceful fact that well over 7000 female veterans are homeless as our "national shame", and are working to understand the unique problems they face and provide the resources to get them the necessary help. Until then, homeless women who bravely served in the armed forces will be the newest names added to a long list of veterans that have not been treated with the dignity or shown the gratitude they deserve.
Harley Pruett - Harley Pruett is a combat veteran, single father, carpenter and freelance writer. In 1998 after serving four years as a paratrooper with ...
