Who are the homeless? The Armed Forces represent a large portion of the homeless population in America (roughly 20-25%). Most people don’t consider the factors that contribute to homelessness such as mental illness or armed forces veterans suffering from their own trauma etc. Far too many veterans are homeless in the united state a number that staggers around 130,000 to 200,000 on any given day representing between one fourth and one fifth of all homeless (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2007). Why negative stereotypes have been created for the homeless?
3) National reports estimate that veterans compose between 24% to 40% of the homeless population. Many of these veterans are homeless due to the general causes of homeless, but it is believed that an additional reason is due to the long-term effects of untreated Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (National Coalition for Homeless, 2008b). Although the majority of homeless individuals are men, women and children are becoming homeless at a disturbing increasing rate. Some of the general causes of homelessness such as affordable housing and poor access to support networks are especially challenging for women and children experiencing domestic violence, who are estimated to comprise of between 46% to 92% of homeless
Grief and Loss Ostovary and Dapprich (2011) states that since late 2001, the number of veterans deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan has exceeded 1.9 million (p.63). Statistics compiled by the Congressional Research Service show that Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraq Freedom (OIF) resulted in 6,840 casualties and 50,450 service members wounded, of those that returned to the states, 103,792 have displayed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 253,330 were diagnosed with varying degrees of traumatic brain injuries (Fischer, 2013). The numbers of those killed or injured though tragic, are less than the numbers gathered from previous wars, the issue is that service members returning from a military deployment
Some statistics show more than 87,000 Americans aged 65 and older - mainly men - are being hospitalized each year for alcoholism, a rate similar to that for heart attacks, say Milwaukee researchers. In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, they say drinking problems evidently do not decline with age. Hospital admissions related to alcohol were 54.7 per 10,000 for retired men and 14.8 per 10,000 for women. (1) The problems surrounded around alcoholism in the elderly are as many as 3 million Americans over age 60 are alcoholics or have a drinking problem, according to the AMA, Chicago. Alcohol abuse is frequently overlooked in the elderly because they often are cut off from the outside world.
Lupus is most common in women ages 15 to 40, and a higher incident after puberty. Persons suffering from lupus experience different signs and symptoms from the disease- no two lupus patients are alike. The most common signs and symptoms of lupus in persons include: Fatigue and low grade fever, join and muscle pain (swelling or stiffness), and skin lesions that worsen with sun exposure. Dry eyes, memory loss, confusion, headache, chest pain or shortness of breath are other presentation or symptoms of the disease. Lupus is a multisystem disease, can affect different body systems, from skin lesions to kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart, and
* The unemployment rate of post-9/11 veterans (aka “Gulf War-era II veterans”) is 6.2%. * Nearly 10 million veterans are age 65 or older. * Veterans make up 12% of the adult homeless population. * 70% of homeless veterans suffer from substance abuse, while 50% experience mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which makes it harder to maintain relationships and hold down a job. * Many homeless veterans end up living on the streets for 8 or 9 times the length of their deployments.
According to Divorce Rate, “between the ages of 20 to 29 the divorce rate is greater than couples 30 and older.” Some statistics say at least 66 percent of younger couples end up divorced because of childless issues. The only thing that tends to hold the marriage together would be love. Yet, some say that love tends to fade. While others say the contrary. Couples that have children tend to have a lower divorce rate.
By the 1990s lone-parent mothers had a 2 in 3 chance of being poor. Women's greater life expectancy, their lower wages, lack of private pensions and disrupted employment patterns also help to explain why the majority of the elderly poor are women. At the other end of the scale, families in the top 20% of income brackets are most likely to contain a married couple (at least one of whom generally has a university degree), live in a major city, and own a home and a car. Women in these families, families that are the most likely to conform to the stereotypical but distorted image of the family, tend to be either professionals and managers with high-paying jobs, or they stay out of the labour force. Today the majority of married women are working or are actively looking
National Co-morbidity Survey Report estimates the lifetime prevalence of PTSD among North Americans to be 7.8%. In contrast, the lifetime prevalence of PTSD for women who have been sexually assaulted is 50%. More importantly, sexual assault is the most frequent cause of PTSD in women, with one study reporting that 94% of women experienced PTSD symptoms during the first two weeks after an assault (Brunello, 2001). The disturbingly high rate of PTSD in sexual assault survivors suggest that current therapies for rape victims are not meeting as effective as current needs demand. There is no one treatment for every victim suffering with PTSD, as the disorder can show itself in many ways.
In the report titled, The Forgotten Americans Homelessness; Programs and the People They Serve, it states that serious problems since childhood are common causes among homeless people with 25% reporting childhood physical or sexual abuse, 22% reported they were physically assaulted and 7% sexually assaulted. It also states that 38% reported an alcohol problem and 26% reported a drug problem. “According to date from the Administration on Children and Families, in 1998 there were an estimated 2,806,000 referrals of child abuse or neglect to relevant state or local agencies,” Additionally, approximately, 1,100 children died of abuse or neglect, a rate of 1.6 deaths per 100,000 children. Of all forms of abuse, about three quarters of the perpetrators were parents,” (Almanac of Policy Issues:Child Abuse). Domestic Violence also plays a major role in abuse.