Milwaukee Homeless Veteran FAQ

 

Our Mission: To help end homelessness among current and future Milwaukee area veterans by enabling them to secure their rights and benefits, and to obtain access to housing, education, counseling, health care and employment opportunities.

 

    1. How many homeless are there?

    2. How many of those are veterans?

    3. Doesn't the Department of Veterans Affairs take care of Homeless Veterans?

    4. What does maintaining people in a state of perpetual homelessness cost the American public? 

    5. Misconceptions about the homeless. I often hear or read statements about the homeless that are misleading, halfway true, and

        often outrageous nonsense. These are some of them.

    6. What dangers do people face when having to be homeless that most people don't?

    7. What really helps?

    8. Profiling to Get Help?

 

    1. How many homeless are there?

Over 643,000 people are homeless in the United States at any given time, based on a HUD report released June 2010 , and this includes families with children. That number is from a survey taken on a single night in January '09. The report also indicated that during the year, October '08 to September '09, over 1.5 million individuals had used an emergency shelter or transitional housing. About 37% of the homeless are unsheltered.

 

 

  2. How many of those are veterans?

In that survey it was found that 23% of all homeless persons and 33% of all homeless men are veterans. That would indicate there are between 529,000 and 840,000 veterans who are homeless at some time during the year. In 2006 the Department of Veterans Affairs report estimated 194,000 homeless veterans on any given night. 2007 report estimated 154,000.  1.8% of homeless veterans seen by VA in 2006 were Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. So as the numbers for older veterans are starting to decrease, the numbers for younger veterans will begin to increase.

Milwaukee's homeless population is estimated at 15.000 - 20,000 from numbers compiled by Health care for the Homeless. That would estimate out to between 3,000 - 4,000 homeless veterans.In addition to that, it is estimated that there are over 6000 veterans living in the Milwaukee area that are either rent burdened (below poverty level and paying over 50% of that in rent) or "stacking" ( multiple non related individuals or multiple families living together in one apartment ). These are at risk veterans who can become homeless with the slightest change in circumstances. BACK TO TOP

 

  3. Doesn't the Department of Veterans Affairs take care of Homeless Veterans?

The VA reaches only an estimated 33% of those in need, leaving many thousand in the Milwaukee area in need of assistance from local agencies and organizations. Locating and connecting these veterans to services that they have earned from their service to this country can relieve local resources for non veteran needs. BACK TO TOP

 

  4.  What does it cost the public in taxes and charitible contributions to maintain people in a state of homelessness?

Doesn't it make more sense to invest in getting those who could be working back to work again, or provide modest housing for the homeless

that can't work rather than continuing to pay the costs of keeping them homeless? Among the costs of keeping people homeless are medical costs (ambulance rides, emergency room visits, surgery, medication, and hospital stays), food (soup kitchens and food stamps), jail time (often for minor infractions), and shelters where homeless are just housed for the night (without a meaningful plan for progress). Much of these expenses could be substantially reduced while also improving the lives of thousands. There are more practical alternatives. While some say it costs too much to house the homeless, there are program and studies that have proven it actually costs less to assist the homeless in getting housing than to leave things as they are. BACK TO TOP

 

  5. Some misconceptions about the homeless.

Panhandlers are homeless.

It's a common conception that if you see someone panhandling (begging) that they must be homeless. Actually, most frequent panhandlers are not homeless. For many it's just an easy way to get money, often for drugs.

The government or charitable organizations will help them if they only ask.

Government funding is limited, and that is even more true with private organizations. Donations for private organizations that try to help the homeless has been spread out even thinner in recent years. There isn't shelter space for even 10% of those in need. Simply getting shoes to wear is difficult.  It's not unusual either for local city governments to come up with new restrictions aimed at closing down soup-kitchens and other assistance specifically to run the homeless out of town (and into someone elses jurisdiction).

They should be put in mental institutions.

It's true that perhaps a third of homeless people have some type of mental problems, some significant enough to prevent them from keeping a job or dealing with common life situations. A significant percentage of the general population also have mental problems, they just can afford to stay in housing. Many do get help on an outpatient basis but still can't afford housing or maintain adequate work.

They're all living on welfare.

Nationally, only about 20% of the homeless get some government payments. If a person works even part-time it may disqualify them from any assistance, even though they still can't even afford as much as an ocassional rental room.  Many homeless who have significant physical or mental problems still get nothing in government assistance. Many have been turned down so many times that they have given up all hope and don't try anymore.

It's their own fault.

It's true that many people are homeless as a result of making wrong choices in life, but many have problems, such as with their health, that they did not cause. How many people choose  to get cancer or arthritis? A substantial percentage of the working U.S. population is only a couple paychecks away from being homeless, and that percentage is increasing. People are losing their homes every day through forclosure. How many people make a deliberate choice to be homeless?

Homeless people are criminals.

The rate of serious crime by the homeless is not much different than the general population. It's true that there are many homeless who very frequently face time in the county jail due to minor violations such as open-intoxicants, trespassing, and so on. Most serious drug addicts have money and homes. Do you really think the multi-billion dollar drug trade in the U.S. is funded by homeless people?If the media covers a crime and the accused is homeless, they will make sure to point that out. When a homeless person is assaulted, even to the point of having to be hospitalized, and robbed it usually doesn't even get a paragraph in the paper.

All they need to do is get a job.

Just getting a job won't get anyone off the street. Maintaining a job that pays enough to afford housing and other living expenses is what is necessary. Being without housing, clean clothes,  transportation, food, and other necessities makes it nearly impossible to become established long enough to maintain any kind of meaningful work. READ MORE

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  6. The Hazards of being homeless.

There are dangers homeless people face every day which most people don't usually experience. The death rate of homeless is about four times that of the general population. Some hazards are due to being pedestrians, having to live outdoors, poor nutrition and health care, and lacking protection from crime.  Living outdoors, without the benefit of locked doors, homeless are always at risk of being beaten, robbed, and possibly killed. Some people, often teenagers, will assault and even kill homeless just for entertainment. READ MORE

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    7. What really helps?

Often I see people make a big deal about helping the homeless, giving a sleeping space for a couple nights or a simple meal. What about providing enough help so the person can get off the street for good? Any doctor can tell you that giving a patient only part of a prescription for their problem not only isn't effective, but can make the problem even worse. When homeless people are promised help, and then dumped back where they were, they become even more discouraged and often give up all hope. It's an easy excuse to label them "chronic" and turn them away as not worth the time or expense. There are thousands of churches, missions, shelters, and drop-in centers that provide homeless with just a little so they don't starve. All too often the primary objective is maintaining a list of clients to refer to when seeking more funding. Certainly it's good to give food and clothes, and treat homeless people with the same respect as anyone else, but if there were consideration to the total picture, with a realistic objective of helping people to get off the street, there would be less homeless each year instead of far more. READ MORE

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    8. Profiling for Dollars

    Some people protest against being profiled, being categorized by race or ethnic background. If you're homeless it often becomes necessary to fit into a profile for designated funding in order to recieve any help. Programs for the homeless that depend on government funding need to prove that their clients fit specific need profiles in order to get grant  money. If you have a list of DUIs, or arrests for being intoxicated in public, then you can get into a funded program for that. If you can prove a serious medical or mental problem, then there may be a specific program available. Be capable and willing to work without any obvious problems, forget it! The assistance available depends on where the governmentfunding is, and that requires fitting into a catagory. Don' fit the profile? Come back when you do. If you stay on the street for enough years you will eventually become disabled enough to qualify for some help.

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