Veteran’s Day is right around the corner.  I was wondering how it came to be.  According to History.com this is the story:

“On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in the First World War, then known as “the Great War.” Commemorated as Armistice Day beginning the following year, November 11th became a legal federal holiday in the United States in 1938. In the aftermath of World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became Veterans Day, a holiday dedicated to American veterans of all wars”

The 11th day of the 11th month will soon be here.  My heart is heavy for a group of veterans who will, on that day, see the parades, see more flags flying, all as a reminder of the sacrifice they made to keep America free and safe.  These vets, will then return to the same streets that previously honored them, calling it ‘home’.  These vets are homeless, over 100,000 nationwide.

In 1990 the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans was formed to address the issues of our homeless vets.  One of the questions they asked was “Why are veterans homeless?” They list the following as a few reasons:

• Extreme shortage of affordable housing
• Livable income and access to health care
• A large number of displaced and at-risk veterans live with lingering effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Substance abuse
• Lack of family and social support networks.

I am becoming more aware of the problem, but what is happening to solve it?

NCHV has a database which will help you to find resources in your community. When I searched the NCHV database, this is what came up for my community…”No records were located that matched your criteria.” I sighed.  There are so many issues around the homeless that need to be addressed.  I was very saddened that this particular resource did not list anything for the homeless veterans in my city.  But it has spurred me on….

…this search will continue.