Not enough housing for homeless female veterans

[unhappycamper]

Source: Army Times / Associated Press



Carisa Dogen shows her Veterans Affairs identification card. The Army veteran is among the 7,000 to 8,000 homeless female U.S. military veterans as estimated by the VA.


Not enough housing for homeless female veterans
By James Hannah - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Nov 9, 2008 16:41:31 EST

DAYTON, Ohio — When Carisa Dogen looks back on her life of 38 years, it’s easy to see where she lost her way: She left her hometown of Dayton at 15 and moved to Kentucky, where she graduated from high school and enrolled in electronics school. But drugs beckoned, and she didn’t finish.

She joined the military, but fate intervened and she later found herself homeless — forced to sleep in parks on some nights when it was bitterly cold and rainy, and scavenge for food in trash cans.

“I got accosted a couple of times by males. Walking the streets and stuff, it’s hard and it’s scary,” she said in the comfort of The Other Place, a homeless shelter in Dayton that helped put her into new housing where she will receive treatment and job training.

~snip~

Of the 1.8 million female military veterans, Dogen was among the 7,000 to 8,000 who are homeless, as estimated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. She is among the few who have benefited from new housing specifically for female veterans, an initiative homeless advocates say falls far short of what is needed.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_homeless_veterans_110908/%2e




Read more: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_homeless_veterans_110908/

---

uhc comment: We've been talking about homelessness among veterans for along time now. Fully 25% of the entire United States homeless population are veterans. You have no idea how much this pisses me off.

[Indi Guy]

1. Another Nail in the Coffin of Bush's Credability...

...what a gang of blatant hypocrites...

[SpiralHawk]

2. Republicons treat our soldiers & veterans like dirt

Republicons spew patriotic sounding propaganda, and prance around with their little made-in-China flag lapel pins, then they treat our sons and daughters in uniform like absolute shit.

Ptoooey on republicon chickenhawk hypocrites.

[Mithreal]

3. So what are we willing to do about it?

Awareness is not an enough. I worked in a homeless shelter, I have some experience with this. It pisses me off as well. So, I am asking for advice.

[blackbart99]

4. I'm not sure...but...

Maybe call the veterans admin and ask about local homeless vets in your area...and if you have room
take them in for a while. My house is full..2 renters in the basement...because the economy is so great
I can't pay my mortgage w/o them. As soon as they leave I might talk my wife into helping in this manner.

[Mithreal]

6. That's a grassroots answer so I like it. Anyone know if...

Anyone know if there is a particular state or community model for helping homeless people? I am especially interested in anything that can be done legislatively and cheaply. My state legislator who is VERY PROGRESSIVE and also fiscally conservative has said he will look into it, but there are so many other pressing problems I figured I might be able to help steer him toward good ideas? He is very well regarded and a person who gets things done, so any help?

[Ian David]

5. Where do we send donations to fix this? n/t