Dear future president,

I am writing you today because the way we treat veterans needs to change because A large number of vets become homeless or have very low incomes coming out of war.  My grandpa came out of the military because he was injured and is still affected by it today, and is not able to get a job or help that he needs. Reason one is important because veterans make up a lot of the homeless population and they are not getting the medical care they need.  The importance of reason two is that when and if veterans can get a job it is most likely not a good paying one and if they can't get one they get very little money to support themselves.

This is important to improve because veterans should not have to go homeless if they get injured in war and are not able to work, I believe the military and government should help support the vets after their service.  People should care more about this topic because veterans fight for the country and are making up a large number of homelessness and poverty in america and many are disabled.  Since veterans get extremely low or no income are at a high risk of homelessness.  "One in a half million veterans have incomes that are below the federal poverty level" (national coalition for homeless veterans).

Some vets are on the streets asking for money or in homeless shelters and I think that is also a big problem that isn't being taken care of.  If vets get hurt and are disabled they should get more money and help from the military and government because they are not able to work or get jobs.  "47% of homeless vets served during the vietnam era more than 67% served for at least 3 years"(National coalition for homeless veterans).  Vets who don't have a family to go back to or to help support them have a higher chance of being homelessness.

Some might say that the government is providing enough support to the veterans and that we do enough for them.  The percentage of homeless vets has lowered throughout the years but not by a lot.  More than half of the veterans that needed mental-health evaluations did not receive them in 2 weeks contact which is what the VA’s goal is.  A veteran in the VA health system tries to commit suicide every half hour, and they have stalled disability compensation for more than 125 days.  Vets are not being treated how they should be and should not have to wait months to get health care.

As the president I think you should get the military and government to give the veterans more.  If a soldier comes out of the military and is wounded or disabled they should have their medical bills paid for and get the medical attention they need as soon as possible instead of having to wait months to get health care.  If a veteran is disabled to where they can not work anymore then they should get more help and money to stay away from homelessness.  Instead of receiving incomes that are below the federal poverty level they should have more job opportunities and higher incomes if they are unable to work.  More shelters could be opened for homeless vets to help them stay off of the streets until they can go on their own.

I think that it is wrong for veterans to be treated how they are, we should be doing more to help and support them.  They need better health care and a higher income than they are receiving.  Veterans should not have to be homeless and 67% of soldiers that served at least 3 years were injured have became homeless.  We need to make things better for them and do more to help and support veterans.

Sincerely,

Bella =

   National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. "Homelessness Is a Serious Problem for Many U.S. Military Veterans." The Homeless. Ed. Louise Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 Oct. 2016.