Veterans of the Iraq war are returning home and for several reasons they are finding themselves homeless. Things happen when you leave your family for an extended period. It is no fun to watch a loved one leave and it is hard being supportive while that loved one is away for so long fighting a war. Things change especially financially that can cause families to break up and families to become homeless. Young men are returning from war and finding out the cold hard truth that life is sometimes the same or worse when they return. Companies cannot afford to leave jobs open for more than 120 days while our war heroes are away fighting the war against terrorism. Jobs are scarce and they are returning to no employment options or financial help. Some war vets have had to move back home with their parents while others are living in homeless shelters waiting for things with the economy to get better. It is a cold hard truth that there are no apartments affordable and without a steady income Landlords cannot take the chance of renting to a person who is unemployed. With the economy being so bad there is no way for things to be getting better anywhere in the near future as more and more people cannot pay their rent. Along with hard times checking accounts are being seized by credit card Companies in an effort to squeeze money from people who cannot afford to pay their bill. Seized bank accounts are another reason that adds to an already suffering economy because without the convenience of a bank account a lot of services are not available to poor people with financial problems. Check Cashing on an average is costing American's twenty dollars per week when they cash their check.
When looking at statistics given by YSOP (Youth Service Opportunities Project), the numbers are frightening, because it states some 2,500 homeless people are turned away everyday due to no vacancies in the shelters. Rent regulation is not the answer here and we need to look back and see what is not working and make a change. Employee's of Corporation should be more responsible and offer some kind help to those who are homeless in their employ. 45th Street between Lexington Avenue and Third Avenue in the morning I saw a woman changing from old worn clothes into her business clothes. She would not allow me to use her name but she stated that she is embarrassed because she has a good job but cannot afford the rent and security to get an apartment. There are places where you can go to get help but most of them cannot offer immediate help and you are made to sit in these places all day until late afternoon. Sometimes people are sitting there hoping for help and are being turned away and then by the time they get to the homeless shelter it is too late and they are turned away because there is no more room. When you're homeless it comes to be a choice as to whether you go and get on line to be able to get shelter for the night or do you take a chance at an agency that more than likely cannot offer you any assistance. In New York City where rents are anywhere from $900.00 to $5000.00 a month every working person is at the mercy of an old unrealistic system.
The solution to end homelessness is by educating and getting government assistance but that is already in place and is not helping. The rate of homelessness is continually rising every year that itself is indication that something different needs to be done. Affordable housing was a great start but it cannot be affordable today and then a year later the rent increases and people find themselves once again unable to afford the high rents, and this can cause a relapse back into the cycle of homelessness again.