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Jasmine Pankey

Ms. Caruso

UWRT 1102

11 April 2017

Homeless Veterans

I never really understood why veterans would be on the streets begging for money. I

always thought they would get checks for being in the army, so what more do you need? I never

took the time to under what challenges a veteran might face. Researching this topic opened my

eyes on how much assistance veterans need. The Veteran Affairs is a benefit system ran by the

government to assist those in the military. Even though you would think the Veteran Affairs

would take care of veterans, only so many people can receive benefits. According to the Veteran

Affairs, in 2009, they helped over 92,000 homeless veterans (Veteran Homeless Facts 1).

Supporting over 92,000 homeless veterans may seem a lot, but in reality there was over 400,000

homeless veterans left without any benefits (Veteran Homeless Facts 1). You may wonder why

the Veteran Affairs are not supporting more veterans. The process of trying to receiving benefits

can take eight months or more. Some benefits even have a waiting list. The Veteran Affairs have

prepared numerous programs to specifically give assistance to those who are homeless. Not only

are the homeless veterans receiving assistance from specialized programs, they are accumulating

other benefits, such as compensation and pension (National Coalition 1). Over decades, the

Veteran Affairs have focus on cooperating with community service providers to expand help to

those in need (National Coalition 1).

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We see homeless veterans everyday around the United States. According to research,

New York, Florida, and California holds forty-four percent of the homeless veteran population

across the country (National Coalition 1). My goal is to inform others about homeless veterans

and what factors contributed to them becoming homeless. The succeed my goal, I made a poster

I would display in every doctors office in New York. My audience would be the family

members of veterans or anyone who would be interested in helping veterans. Many people enter

a doctors office every day. While waiting, some people may become interested about what is on

the wall and it catch their attention. Some people may have family members or friends and want

to help assist those in need. Also, reading the poster could help families who have veterans

support them to make sure they do not end down the path of becoming homeless. Two of the

major factors that cause homelessness is social isolation and lack of support. Research shows 1

to 5 veterans are living alone (Veteran Homeless Facts 1). Veterans tend to have high divorce

rates and low marriage rates. (Veteran Homeless Facts 1). These factors can cause a veteran to be

a risk for becoming homeless. To be considered at risk for homelessness is paying more than

fifty percent of your income towards rent (Veteran Homeless Facts 1). With over 21.8 million

veterans in the United States, more than 1.5 million are considered being at risk (Veteran

Homeless Facts 1).

The poster includes a homeless veteran holding up a sign in black and white. Around the

veterans head are faded gray words, which represent the different factors and feelings a veteran

may experience that contribute to him or her becoming homeless. I want people to be aware of

these different factors because some factors can be prevented with the right support from others.

Many veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, which is a person having difficulty

recovering from some type of traumatic event, substance abuse, and physical disability (National
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Coalition 1). Farther down on the poster there are two statistics I thought were interesting and

eye catching. Towards the bottom of the poster is a website to give you more information about

homeless veterans and how you can support them. The two statistics and the website are in white

font because that is what you want the viewers to focus on the most. With the spread of

awareness different support groups are created to help. Wounded Warrior Homes is a non-profit

organization designed to create housing for those who suffer certain illnesses (Wounded Warrior

Homes 1). Armed Forces Foundation is a non-profit organization that provide comfort to those in

the military, provide counseling and therapy programs, and financial assistance (Armed Forces

Foundation 1). Creating a poster like mine help develop ideas on how we can support more

veterans.

The focus of the poster was to inform those who are not veterans about what can led to a

veteran becoming homeless. The poster would be a reminder to help those who served for our

country. I want others to understand that every veteran has a different situation, which is why so

many need assistances. Spreading this information helps the creation of organizations to decrease

the number of homeless veterans.

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Works Cited

Old Sources:

"National Coalition for Homeless Veterans." National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.

New Sources:

Dockens, Christopher. "Wounded Warrior Homes - Help Our Homeless Veterans." Veteran

Transitional Housing. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.

"Veteran Financial Resources." Veterans Opportunity Program. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.

"Veteran Homelessness Facts." Veteran Homelessness Facts | Green Doors. N.p., n.d. Web. 11

Apr. 2017.