I hope all of the current military and Veterans on this board have the time to truly reflect on the meaning of Veterans Day. May all of you live in peace for many more years.
A genuine homecoming for veterans
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Respect for our veterans requires more than parades and "welcome home" signs. It means assuring that the men and women who have gone to war for this country are treated with dignity as they make the transition back to civilian life.
The Obama administration is taking an important step in that direction with its ambitious five-year goal of reducing homelessness among veterans.
Erik Shinseki, secretary of veterans affairs, has said the $3.2 billion plan would expand the department's focus to prevention, instead of merely getting veterans off the streets. A recent VA study found that 131,000 of the nation's 24 million veterans are homeless on any given night.
Shinseki should look to San Francisco's nonprofit Swords to Plowshares program, currently home to 102 veterans at the Presidio, for a model that works. Its key to success has been to include on-site support services along with housing. Most of the veterans at Swords served in the Vietnam War. The years of neglect they endured was a national disgrace that must not be repeated with the veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Obama administration has taken on a mission that is as noble as it is difficult. Congress should supply the funding to make it happen.
This article appeared on page A - 15 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Read more:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/10/EDDU1AI2PE.DTL#ixzz0WWR9ygBI
