Homeless Veterans

There are many news reports that state 1 in 4 homeless people across the United States are Veterans. That is an alarming number. USAToday, Fox News, ABC News and many others have written articles about this phenomenon. But remember, statistics can tell whatever story you want them to tell.

This is not intended to belittle the claim because this is an important issue. Even ONE homeless person in the greatest country to ever grace this planet is ONE too many. But, their claim is a little misleading. While it’s true that 1 in 4 homeless people are veterans it’s not the whole story.

The 2005 census estimates there are 24.5 million veterans in the U.S. That'd make about 1 in every 12 citizens a veteran (8.3% of the general population). Thus, if homeless people were proportionate to the general population then 1 in 12 would be veterans. Based on these numbers it seems veterans are 3 times more likely to be homeless than non-veterans.

But wait, there's more. For one thing don't forget that the overwhelming number of military personnel (and therefore veterans) is male. According to 2004 census numbers 15% of the military are women and 85% are male. Some more numbers from PBS, suggest that it's not as bad as it sounds. About 66% of all homeless people are Men. While male veterans make up 34% of the general population (this would imply males are about 80% of all veterans which is consistent with the 2004 census numbers) they make up 40% of the male homeless population. Thus, homeless men are only about 18% more likely to be veterans. That's vastly different than "3 times more likely".

Homelessness in America is an important problem that must be addressed. But, there are many different reasons for people being homeless. Many people imply our Veterans are homeless because they’re suffering from “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder”. This implies weakness that these Veterans couldn’t handle being in a war. This is obviously not true as male Veterans are only 18% more likely to be homeless than non-veterans and that could be attributed to a lack of proper transitioning from soldier back to citizen. Our young men are trained to be soldiers but are never trained to return back to an everyday citizen. Focusing on the “real” problems of homelessness like substance abuse, mental illness, and a faulty healthcare system would be more productive in solving this very important issue.