The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans war on terrorism, there have been a lot of efforts to not only educate soldiers and their families as they prepare to deploy and while they’re in theater, but also when they come back, to provide for their mental health needs.” He urges people to keep the needs of homeless veterans on the country’s front burner. “There are so many pressing issues facing our country right now, but I don’t want homeless veterans to be forgotten. These are men and women who served their country for the same reasons that everybody else serves their country. But in a lot of ways we’ve turned our back
on them because that’s easy to do.” Waechter grows somber when it comes to an easy transition for combat veterans. “There really is something about combat that changes people in a way that makes it difficult for them to re-enter civilian society. Regardless of how resilient or educated or spiritual or anything else, it’s going to be a transition,” he said. “You have to somehow work through those experiences and be able to put them into some kind of perspective that allows you to go along with your life in a productive way.”
Sleeping cold : Park students learn about being homeless
E
ven though it was just one night in the November cold, Park senior criminal justice/ corrections major Megan Haley and other Parkville Campus students got a sobering look at what it’s like to be homeless. Haley, 25, and co-leaders Mackenzie Howard, a senior criminal justice/law enforcement major, and Christie Gray, a junior criminal justice/corrections major, organized and participated in One Homeless Night, a Kansas City-wide event sponsored by Synergy Services, Inc. to raise awareness about youth homelessness. Community organizations hosted sleep-outs Nov. 14 to acknowledge local youth, believed to exceed 2,000, who are homeless every night. Park was among the area groups
that hosted activities and raised funds supporting Synergy, whose mission is “to eliminate family violence, abuse and neglect by providing quality services for persons of all ages.” The event was sponsored by Park’s Criminal Justice Club, an organization for criminal justice majors. Haley is the club’s president, Gray the vice president and Howard the secretary. About 60 people, including Park and area high school students, participated in the sleep-out on the Parkville Campus. Among the speakers were a man and a woman who had been homeless at some point. Haley, who plans to graduate in May, said she realizes now that no matter how bad things get, her problems are nowhere close to
urges citizens to get involved. A schedule of stand downs across the country is at www.nchv.org/. Visit the Department of Veterans Affairs homeless veterans web site, www1.va.gov/ homeless/, to learn more about the scope of the problem and the initiatives being taken to combat it. Homeless veterans • 94% male • 47% Vietnam era • 67% served three or more years • 33% were stationed in a war zone • 85% completed high school or have a GED (compared to 56% of non-veterans) • 89% received an honorable discharge • 76% experience alcohol, drug or mental health problems Source: National Coalition for Homeless Veterans
“We call these veterans homeless, but they have a home. It is called America, and now is the time to welcome them home.” — Herschel Gober, former deputy secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs what homeless kids face. “Being out in the cold, freezing, being hungry and thirsty, I couldn’t imagine not knowing when I was going to be able to eat again or get a drink or even have a warm place to stay,” she said. Howard, 22, of Liberty, Mo., said that night will stay with her a long time. “The information that Synergy provided us and the personal experiences guest speakers shared with us really opened my eyes to the youth homeless issue and what I can do to help,” she said. “One Homeless Night gave me a much better understanding of the issues those without homes face every day,” added Gray, 20, from Purdy, Mo. “I am now much more thankful for my home and all I have.” Spring 2009 << 5