Why do our veterans who sacrificed for our country live in poverty while the politicians who send them into harm's way live in the lap of luxury with free everything?

I'm not a vet, my grandfather was but he was never neglected!

I know there are homeless people from every walk of life but why is it that vets are homeless? Do homeless vets get more attention?

I'm not asking to stir anything. I'm trying to understand a situation that matters to me.

They are more concerned with the illegals and minority’s then the folks that matter!!! It’s ridiculous!

It’s good to be the kings of America.

Because people don’t want to be uncomfortable. We have the option every two years to vote these people out but don’t because we think they’ll do something for our district or tax bracket

Let me blunt about it... some but not all are drug addicts and they simply play the system to get their va checks. They get admitted to a psych clinic for a few weeks and make a lot of money just to get out and go buy more coke and weed. Some have absolutely zero pride or work ethic and are leeches sucking the life out of a broken government department. The ones I am speaking of were most likely pieces of crap when they were in the military and now are enabled to continue being mooches. Many never saw a foreign land but best believe they claim to be a veteran.
As for those who sacrificed and fought I can not answer for you. Sadly many of them were sent home and military was all they knew. They didn’t know how to adapt to civilian life and their brothers in arms were the only families they had. I pray for all of our vets. Some of them never got a fair shake at life.

I’ll take a stab on this based on my experiences. The ones I’ve come in contact with don’t help their case. This isn’t true for all of them but a lot of them are fighting inner demons and were de-civilized once they were in the military. A lot of them get hooked on drugs to possibly fight those inner demons and then act all crazy and want to blame the VA’s for this or that. Now I think we could all argue that the government could do a better job of handling and helping these individuals, but when sent to the VA they threaten doctors, want narcotics so on and so on. It’s a real issue no doubt but it’s difficult to help some that are playing some sort of game with the system. Again, this is a representation of only a handful of individuals that I come in contact with, so that’s all I can talk on. You have to remember that vets are normal folks like you and me that chose to fight for their country. After their 4 years in, or medical leave or whatever the case may be, they do get government assistance but are expected to become a working class citizen unless medically disabled. So take vets out of the equation and answer why there are homeless folks period?

With all due respect to Vets, why are they living in poverty? Is it due to poor life choices such as spending beyond
their means?

There's a lot of us that this is surely the case.... there's also a lot of us that should have never been let in the military to begin with (didn't have the head for it). I think that's why you see all the PTSD issues you see now. People who don't have the mental capacity for war sign up and come back and fall apart due to what they've been through. Then of course you have those who take advantage of the system. Finally there's those select few who are truly getting hosed. I know I've mentioned it before but I have a buddy who crewed the first F model Chinook that got shot down overseas (Korengal). He had 26 broken bones and vertebrae in his back. He has to go to the VA every 90 days to get shots just to walk and they've only got him rated at 60%. That's a f'n travesty if you ask me when you have guys who got booted after basic and are at 100% because they have PTSD.

Casue we have become soft and allow it. We have "me" before everything.

I spent the first 25 years of my life living on the doorstep of Eglin AFB. I never knew any homeless Vets. Everyone I knew connected to the AF was well taken care of. If I was a young person who didn't know what to do with my life, I would highly recommend going in. Now, the VA is an entirely different argument.

A guy in our squadron was over there during Desert Storm - he came back incredibly messed up (physically). I don’t know if it was chemical related or the shots they gave us before deploying, but I can tell you that he was VERY messed up. When they sent him back - he was medically discharged, I don’t know the final outcome - but, I heard that he was totally screwed by our system. That was back in 90-91 - unfortunately, I lost contact with him when he moved back home.

I remember when they lined us up for the shots - they asked us if we drove a stick or automatic before giving you the shot in the hip. If you drove an automatic - the shot was in your left hip, if you drove a stick it was in your right. Everyone walked in - but most of us limped out.

Most homeless vets, like all other homeless, are suffering from some type of mental illness. Many are drug addicts. If you are simply facing poverty because of poor money decisions, they can get plenty of handouts just like anyone else. Housing and food stamps, etc.

I ha e dealt with my fair share of homeless. Very few of them really want anything different, or they are unwilling or unable to make the changes in their lives to get help and a place to live. Simply they don’t care. Be it addiction or mental health, the person has to want help.

Your buddy can challenge his disability rating. He needs to start with his county VA rep. It can be a slow process but it is doable.

Yea, I've talked to him about it but he's not interested in fighting with the VA. I don't know about you but I've not had good luck with the VA period and especially not my county rep. I don't think he's been too impressed either.

I admit I was very fortunate in challenging my VA disability rating. I had a very good county VA rep that got the ball rolling. X-rays and lab work don’t lie. I realize a lot of veterans don’t like the VA system. I have been very pleased with the care and treatment I have received at the Tuscaloosa VA hospital and clinics.

DK is spot on. My church has worked with alot of people in our community that are poverty-level. For a short time it seems we make a little progress but they eventually slip back into the same malaise. They only want to piece enough work together with odd jobs and part-time jobs to have just the bare necessities and that's it. Most of the households have small children and the adults seem satisfied with constantly relying on the outside world to fill in the gaps for them even if their children constantly do without. Beyond mental issues, stark, abject poverty is a choice in the U.S.A..