Veterans fought for us then ended up home-less

By Chaplain Kathie at woundedtimes

It is bad enough when an active duty soldier has to worry about losing their home while they are deployed but when it comes to the National Guards and Reservists, it is even worse.

Think about how they live. They have jobs, most of the time working for police and fire departments. They are the people we count on everyday in our own communities. They base their budgets on the pay from their jobs, even when they are the boss of their own business. When they deploy, while the law is supposed to protect their jobs while they're gone, the pay stops. They get paid by the government leaving them to live off of a financial loss.

Military veterans have a hard time finding work when they are discharged but citizen soldiers have a harder time finding work. The risk of them being redeployed hangs over their heads. Human Resources directors think of the possibility of having to have the job done by a temp or making others fill in the gaps if they are redeployed. Even if they are more qualified, someone else gets the job.

Then there is the worry about PTSD along with the false impression it makes them unstable. With PTSD there are different levels. Higher levels of PTSD make it impossible for them to work in the first place, so they are very unlikely to even look for work. Low levels of PTSD are not a problem for employers. According to the latest numbers, half of National Guards/Reservists have PTSD, but the data does not separate them by levels.

Read it all here …