As military veterans leave their positions in the armed forces, some face daunting reality of homelessness, a summer IowaWatch report revealed. We take you into the reporter's notebook for this podcast interview with the project's author, Thomas Nelson.
No one knows for sure how many homeless veterans are on the streets in Iowa because only four of Iowa’s 99 counties are surveyed for a total statewide count. Meantime, some of the homeless veterans make it hard to be found.
Iowa’s homeless veterans are missing services available to help them because many do not know about the services, which include financial and housing assistance. Others simply choose not to use them.
Depression and anxiety led Michael Washington down a route to homelessness. He said he still struggles adapting to civilian life but has a home and job, and wants to attend college again.
Jarome Thompson has been homeless three times since being discharged from the Army in 1983. He lives in Marion, Iowa, now and is getting help to stay off the streets.
Far fewer veterans are facing long waits for disability compensation after the Department of Veterans Affairs spent the past six months focusing on the backlog, including mandating case worker overtime
The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense spent at least $1.3 billion during the last four years trying unsuccessfully to develop a single electronic health-records
Veterans who survived Taliban and al Qaida attacks, roadside bombs, mortar fire and the deaths of fellow soldiers told reporters from the News21 project they have returned home to a future threatened by poverty, unemployment, homelessness and suicide.
The numbers were available: Iowa veterans were waiting at the end of 2012, on average, 313 days before the Department of Veterans Affairs processed their benefit claims. Less than a year, but more than 10 months. After returning from war, with disabilities. But what did those numbers mean?
