Julia S. Connecticut

Homeless Veterans

We don't know them all, but we owe them all.

Dear Mr./Mrs. President,

The next four years are now in your hands. As you can validate, America and the safety of the citizens is extremely important. We can happily thank all of the brave current members of the military as well as the veterans who previously fought for us. Anyone would agree these people deserve more than the best treatment and well being. Homelessness within the military community is a much larger issue than it should be. I am writing to you today to convey my concern in hopes for you to help fix this situation.

Many of us personally know someone who is either in or was involved with the military. These people are more than likely to be loved ones or family members as well. Even if you haven't had that “coming home” experience, where you are finally reunited with that person, everyone can imagine it. Now imagine it from the point of view of the soldier, finally being able to get home, the immense feeling of joy to be away from all of the violence and terror. Sadly, this is not the case for some veterans. Sometimes getting home is just the beginning of the hardships.

A lot of time people go to war because they have little to no family or don't really know what they want to do with their life. This is what makes coming home for them more difficult. 11% of all homeless adults are veterans. 11 percent may not seem very high, but out of more than 500,000 people, that is about 55,000 veterans. An additional issue with having all of these Americans on the streets is that 70% of them have a drug abuse problem. This is likely due to the fact that over half have a serious mental illness such as PTSD or depression. Evidently, this is concern that needs to be taken care of.

With your help I know that we can provide some aid to the situation. No one should become homeless because everyone deserves to have the best shot at life you can get. Unluckily, this is not the case and this is just something that is going to happen no matter what. However, the veterans surely do not deserve this. They were the ones who fought for us to have our homes and have a safe, successful life, so why should they not get the same? Of course not everyone in the world has the right morals or intentions. They could have come back to a family or job but just fell off the train like many others. These people may not be entitled to receive any assistance, but the majority do. And that is why I am writing to you today.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to read my letter. I believe that you will be able to help with this horrible problem and give another chance to the people who gave all of us another chance and those who aren't fortunate enough to come home to anyone. 

Lewis S. Mills High School

Advanced Composition

Mrs. Mandel's Advanced Composition students write about what's meaningful to them, across disciplines, genres, and domains.

All letters from this group →