Top Four Economic Problems Experienced by Veterans
1. Unemployment: While all veterans currently have an unemployment rate of 6.9 percent compared to the national average of 7.3 percent, recent vets are clearly having a tough time getting a job. Those serving since September 2001 to the present have a rate of 10 percent, meaning 246,000 recent vets are out of work, a figure that has risen by 37,000 since last year. Recent female vets also have a higher rate than male ones, 11.6 percent compared to 9.6. Recent vets are also more likely to have a service-related disability than past periods — 28 percent versus 14 percent of all veterans — and of those, around 70 percent were in the workforce, compared to 87 percent of those without disabilities. While the unemployment rate for returning vets has been declining, the challenges they have faced in returning to the civilian workforce have been devastating and may be linked to higher suicide rates.
2. Poverty: In 2010, more than 986,000 veterans under age 64 had been in poverty during the previous year. Their exposure to poverty makes the safety net all the more crucial for veterans: One in five households that relies on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has a veteran in it, and they also rely on food stamps from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). That’s why the recent automatic SNAP cut is impacting about 900,000 veterans. LIHEAP is on the sequestration chopping block, while food stamps are likely to be cut even further during negotiations over the farm bill.
3. Homelessness: Veterans are disproportionately likely to experience homelessness. While they make up 7 percent of the general population, they are 13 percent of adults who are homeless. In a recent survey of homeless people in San Francisco, more than a quarter had served in the military, and on a given night in 2012, the Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that over 62,000 veterans were without a home. While overall homeless vets tend to be heavily male, female veterans make up the fastest growing segment of the homeless population.
4. Mortgage problems: Foreclosure rates among members of the military have been very high since the crash in 2008, with more than 20,000 active-duty veterans and reservists with government-sponsored mortgages losing their homes in 2010. That figure was up 32 percent from 2008 and was the largest loss since 2003. Worse, up to 5,000 active members of the military may have been improperly foreclosed on thanks to robosigning and falsified paperwork and others were overcharged on their mortgages. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is on the case in protecting veterans, and President Obama announced a plan to address improper foreclosures in early 2012 that had a particular emphasis on helping military veterans.
2. Poverty: In 2010, more than 986,000 veterans under age 64 had been in poverty during the previous year. Their exposure to poverty makes the safety net all the more crucial for veterans: One in five households that relies on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has a veteran in it, and they also rely on food stamps from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). That’s why the recent automatic SNAP cut is impacting about 900,000 veterans. LIHEAP is on the sequestration chopping block, while food stamps are likely to be cut even further during negotiations over the farm bill.
3. Homelessness: Veterans are disproportionately likely to experience homelessness. While they make up 7 percent of the general population, they are 13 percent of adults who are homeless. In a recent survey of homeless people in San Francisco, more than a quarter had served in the military, and on a given night in 2012, the Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that over 62,000 veterans were without a home. While overall homeless vets tend to be heavily male, female veterans make up the fastest growing segment of the homeless population.
4. Mortgage problems: Foreclosure rates among members of the military have been very high since the crash in 2008, with more than 20,000 active-duty veterans and reservists with government-sponsored mortgages losing their homes in 2010. That figure was up 32 percent from 2008 and was the largest loss since 2003. Worse, up to 5,000 active members of the military may have been improperly foreclosed on thanks to robosigning and falsified paperwork and others were overcharged on their mortgages. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is on the case in protecting veterans, and President Obama announced a plan to address improper foreclosures in early 2012 that had a particular emphasis on helping military veterans.
Top Seven Health Problems Facing Veterans
1. Musculoskeletal injuries and pain: Just over half of all veterans' post-deployment health visits address lingering pain in their backs, necks, knees or shoulders. And according to an August study in the Journal of Pain, about 100,000 veterans of the Gulf War nearly 20 years ago have reported chronic muscle pain. Previous research indicated that regular, sustained exercise can help reduce that pain, which doctors encourage to help avoid disability.
2. Mental health issues: While post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among soldiers has been well publicized, other mental woes can also result from the trauma of war. A June study in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry found that one in 10 Iraq war vets develop serious mental problems, including violent behavior, depression and alcohol abuse. The study found that PTSD or depression seriously impaired daily functioning in 8.5 percent to 14 percent of these vets.
Disabling on its own, PTSD is also linked to the development of physical illnesses for veterans as years pass. Researchers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., reported this year that 54 percent of veterans with PTSD also had sleep apnea, compared with 20 percent of PTSD patients in the general population. PTSD in vets is also associated with a greater risk of developing dementia, according to a June study in Archives of General Psychiatry.
3. Chemical exposure: Research by the American Heart Association found that exposure to nerve agents such as sarin — which can trigger convulsions and death on the battlefield— may cause long-term heart damage in Gulf War veterans. The damage can include an enlarged left ventricle, heart rhythm abnormalities or a reduction in the pumping strength of the heart. Environmental agents and toxic chemicals are very common in combat theaters and we need to watch these vets closely.
4. Infectious diseases: As a rule, all military personnel are given routine vaccinations before deployment. Yet veterans suffer disproportionately from certain infections that civilians almost never experience for which vaccines are not available, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. They include bacterial infections such as brucellosis, which may persist for years; campylobacter jejuni, which causes abdominal pain, fever and diarrhea; and Coxiella burnetii, which in chronic cases can inflame the heart. Leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease caused by the bite of a sand fly native to the Middle East, is a particularly brutal condition veterans experience. Those infected suffer weight loss, fevers, headaches, muscle pain and weakness, anemia, and enlargement of the spleen and liver. It can be fatal if untreated, according to the VA.
5. Noise and vibration exposure: Hearing loss and impairment — including persistent ringing and buzzing in the ears — are common effects of harmful noise from gunfire, heavy weapons, noisy engine rooms and aircraft, Hunt said. Additionally, vets who regularly worked with machinery can suffer vibration exposure, which can prompt irreversible lower back pain or numbness and pain in the hands and fingers, according to the VA.
6. Traumatic Brain Injury: TBI, often brought on by a blow or jolt to the head, disrupts brain function and has been called the signature wound of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the National Academy of Sciences. Blast exposures and other combat-related activities put service members at greater risk for sustaining a TBI compared to their civilian counterparts, according to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center. Common effects of TBIs include cognitive issues such as shorter attention span, language disabilities, and an inability to process information. Vets can also suffer from lack of motivation, irritability, anxiety and depression, headaches, memory loss and PTSD. Between 70 and 80 percent of combat deaths are from blast-related exposure and of survivors, 20 percent report that they may have had an event that resulted in a mild concussion. Whether there will be any long-term effects is difficult to ascertain.
7. Urologic injuries: Penetrating injuries to the groin area during battle are often treated only after life-threatening injuries have been dealt with, said Dr. Arthur Smith, a Medical College of Georgia urologist who spoke at the Warrior Health Symposium last month. Injuries to the bladder, ureters, kidneys and genitalia usually require complex surgery, but complications often arise because treatment must be put off.
2. Mental health issues: While post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among soldiers has been well publicized, other mental woes can also result from the trauma of war. A June study in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry found that one in 10 Iraq war vets develop serious mental problems, including violent behavior, depression and alcohol abuse. The study found that PTSD or depression seriously impaired daily functioning in 8.5 percent to 14 percent of these vets.
Disabling on its own, PTSD is also linked to the development of physical illnesses for veterans as years pass. Researchers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., reported this year that 54 percent of veterans with PTSD also had sleep apnea, compared with 20 percent of PTSD patients in the general population. PTSD in vets is also associated with a greater risk of developing dementia, according to a June study in Archives of General Psychiatry.
3. Chemical exposure: Research by the American Heart Association found that exposure to nerve agents such as sarin — which can trigger convulsions and death on the battlefield— may cause long-term heart damage in Gulf War veterans. The damage can include an enlarged left ventricle, heart rhythm abnormalities or a reduction in the pumping strength of the heart. Environmental agents and toxic chemicals are very common in combat theaters and we need to watch these vets closely.
4. Infectious diseases: As a rule, all military personnel are given routine vaccinations before deployment. Yet veterans suffer disproportionately from certain infections that civilians almost never experience for which vaccines are not available, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. They include bacterial infections such as brucellosis, which may persist for years; campylobacter jejuni, which causes abdominal pain, fever and diarrhea; and Coxiella burnetii, which in chronic cases can inflame the heart. Leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease caused by the bite of a sand fly native to the Middle East, is a particularly brutal condition veterans experience. Those infected suffer weight loss, fevers, headaches, muscle pain and weakness, anemia, and enlargement of the spleen and liver. It can be fatal if untreated, according to the VA.
5. Noise and vibration exposure: Hearing loss and impairment — including persistent ringing and buzzing in the ears — are common effects of harmful noise from gunfire, heavy weapons, noisy engine rooms and aircraft, Hunt said. Additionally, vets who regularly worked with machinery can suffer vibration exposure, which can prompt irreversible lower back pain or numbness and pain in the hands and fingers, according to the VA.
6. Traumatic Brain Injury: TBI, often brought on by a blow or jolt to the head, disrupts brain function and has been called the signature wound of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the National Academy of Sciences. Blast exposures and other combat-related activities put service members at greater risk for sustaining a TBI compared to their civilian counterparts, according to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center. Common effects of TBIs include cognitive issues such as shorter attention span, language disabilities, and an inability to process information. Vets can also suffer from lack of motivation, irritability, anxiety and depression, headaches, memory loss and PTSD. Between 70 and 80 percent of combat deaths are from blast-related exposure and of survivors, 20 percent report that they may have had an event that resulted in a mild concussion. Whether there will be any long-term effects is difficult to ascertain.
7. Urologic injuries: Penetrating injuries to the groin area during battle are often treated only after life-threatening injuries have been dealt with, said Dr. Arthur Smith, a Medical College of Georgia urologist who spoke at the Warrior Health Symposium last month. Injuries to the bladder, ureters, kidneys and genitalia usually require complex surgery, but complications often arise because treatment must be put off.