Homeless Veteran USAF Colonel Now Lives In His Car Because He Cannot Find A Job

Photo: At the peak of his career, Freniere was a special assistant to General Stanley McChrystal, the former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan (right)

From The Pentagon To Life In A Van -- Philly.com

After a 30-year military career in which he earned three graduate degrees, rose to the rank of colonel, and served as an aide to Pentagon brass, Robert Freniere can guess what people might say when they learn he's unemployed and lives out of his van:

Why doesn't this guy get a job as a janitor?

Freniere answers his own question: "Well, I've tried that."

Freniere, 59, says that his plea for help, to a janitor he once praised when the man was mopping the floors of his Washington office, went unfulfilled. So have dozens of job applications, he says, the ones he has filled out six hours a day, day after day, on public library computers.

So Freniere, a man who braved multiple combat zones and was hailed as "a leading light" by an admiral, is now fighting a new battle: homelessness.

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Update: From commanding the skies to sleeping in a minivan: Homeless veteran USAF colonel now lives in his car because he can't find a job -- Daily Mail

My Comment: Talk about bad luck .... but here is the sad part .... most homeless vets do not receive the pension that he now receives.

The Number Of Iraq And Afghan Vets Who Are Homeless Has Doubled In The Past Two Years

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Homeless, At-Risk Veterans Double -- USA Today

The number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who are homeless or at risk of losing a roof over their heads has more than doubled in the past two years, according to government data.

Through the end of September, 26,531 of them were living on the streets, at risk of losing their homes, staying in temporary housing or receiving federal vouchers to pay rent, the Department of Veterans Affairs reports.

That's up from 10,500 in 2010. The VA says the numbers could be higher because they include only the homeless the department is aware of.

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My Comment: And we wonder why the suicide rate for vets are so high .... it is clear that many are experiencing horrific and depressing financial/debt/money problems. These men (and women) deserve better.

How Are America's Homeless Vets Counted?

Photo: Homeless U.S. military veterans stand in line to receive free services at a "Stand Down" event hosted by the Department of Veterans Affairs on November 3, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. John Moore/Getty Images

How Does Washington D.C. Count America's Homeless Vets? -- Popular Mechanics

The Obama administration recently said that the number of homeless veterans dropped by 12 percent from 2010 to 2011. But getting accurate counts of the homeless is extremely difficult, and the government changed its counting methods during the year of the reported drop. Is the number of homeless vets really going down, or is the drop an artifact of murky statistics?

It's extraordinarily difficult to get accurate statistics on the number of homeless people in the United States. That's why it's so interesting that Shaun Donovan, the secretary for Housing and Urban Development (HUD), announced in late December a double-digit percentage point drop in the national number of homeless veterans over one year.

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My Comment: How can homeless vets be counted .... or anyone else who decides to drop out of society. Sighhhh .... our government hard at work (not).

More Women Veterans Are Joining The Ranks Of The Homeless

More Women Falling Into Ranks Of Homeless Veterans -- L.A. Times

Though they didn't have direct combat roles in Iran and Afghanistan, they suffer many of the stresses that plague male vets — often while trying to raise children alone.

Reporting from Fayetteville, N.C. — As a soldier, Ruth Donaldson was an accomplished ammunition specialist. As a civilian, she became a stressed-out single mother struggling to find a job and raise her child.

After a five-year stint in the Army, Donaldson lost her job at a gas station. She couldn't pay her rent. She and her 6-year-old son ended up living in a Pontiac Grand Am, hungry, homeless and exhausted.

Women make up a growing number of homeless veterans, a group usually associated with combat-hardened men unable to cope with civilian life. Homelessness among female veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has increased every year for the last six years — from 150 in 2006 to 1,700 this year — according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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My Comment: Women who have children and are homeless ... that gets to me everytime. This news article explains the problem that women vets have in finding work.

America's Growing Homeless Vet Problem

Veterans More Likely To Be Homeless, Study Says -- U.S.A. Today

Military veterans are much more likely to be homeless than other Americans, according to the government's first in-depth study of homelessness among former servicemembers.

About 16% of homeless adults in a one-night survey in January 2009 were veterans, though vets make up only 10% of the adult population.

More than 75,000 veterans were living on the streets or in a temporary shelter that night. In that year, 136,334 veterans spent at least one night in a homeless shelter — a count that did not include homeless veterans living on the streets.

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Update: Government Publishes Veterans Homelessness Report -- U.S. Department of Defense

My Comment: We all see them on the streets everyday. Breaks your heart.