Gen. Eric Shinseki was famously shunned by the Bush administration for daring to state the true costs of occupying Iraq. As President Obama’s secretary of veterans affairs, he is, thankfully, no less candid about the grinding problems veterans face at home. They lead the nation in depression, suicide, substance abuse and homelessness, according to data that Mr. Shineski is delivering in salvos in his current role.

About one-third of all adult homeless men are veterans, and an average night finds an estimated 131,000 of them from five decades bedding down on streets and in charity sanctuaries. About 3 in 100 of them are back from Iraq and Afghanistan. The problem of homelessness for Vietnam veterans is, shamefully, well known. But the men and women in this growing cohort took just 18 months to find rock bottom, compared with the five years-plus of the previous generation’s veterans. (more…)

Sometime Wednesday on Veterans Day Rick Walker will take a moment and think about Fort Gordon in Georgia. The son of an Army aviator, he has happy memories of growing up around soldiers.

“Those were some of the happiest days of my life,’’ said Walker, who went on to serve in the Army. But after his discharge, his marriage fell apart, he became depressed, and he began sleeping in his van. From 2005 to 2007, he spent his nights sleeping upright in the driver’s seat in a parking lot in Leesburg, Va.

Two years ago, Walker, 53, raised some gas money to travel to see his son in Maine and heard about a housing program for homeless vets in Lynn. Since then, he has lived in a rooming house there with 14 other veterans.

While advocates still say veterans account for as many as 25 percent of America’s homeless population, Walker’s story of finding subsidized housing - through the aid of federal grants - is becoming more typical as the US Department of Veterans Affairs has increased funding to help place homeless veterans. During the last four fiscal years, the VA’s allocation to transitional housing jumped from $92.7 million to $171.6 million. During that time, the number of homeless veterans in the United States has dropped from about 196,000 to 131,000. (more…)