Addiction Among Veterans Essay

Words: 726
Pages: 3

Addiction among Veterans has traditionally been very high since the Vietnam conflict ended in 1975. But while any war can cause a soldier, sailor or marine to turn to drugs in order to self- medicate their pain and stress. Vietnam Veterans were subjects to a hostile return when the war was over. Instead of being treated like heroes as their fathers were after World War II, Vietnam Veterans were shunned, ridiculed and expelled from their customary peer groups. Additionally, these veterans found it difficult to reintegrate into a workforce that largely had no use for their military skills. Consequently, many of America’s most courageous veterans became disillusioned addicts with very few opportunities to better their lives. Since Vietnam there have been many more but just as significant wars. All of which have had just as many men and woman return home and end up on the streets homeless and addicted to drugs. “How can we improve on the issue of homeless and drug addicted Veterans in America”?
The homeless population is diverse, 30% of the homeless population are veterans and 20% of those veterans are drug or alcohol dependent studies indicate that up to 1/3 of adult
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20% of patients in the VA inpatient acute mental health care facilities on a single day were literally homeless and an additional 15% were doubled up temporarily. The average annual cost of healthcare for homeless Veterans is $27,206 or 13.3% higher than costs of care of Veterans who are not homeless. The cause of homelessness among Veterans are similar to cause of homelessness among non-Veterans (interrelated economic and personal factors and shortage of affordable housing). Nearly half a million Veterans pay more than half their income for rent. More than half the Veterans in the U.S. have incomes well below then federal poverty