How should we honor America’s Veterans

Published 3:06 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

Most likely you have attended a sporting event before, but I’m

talking about what happens afterwards. You know, when you are walking to

your car and you happen to come across a person holding a sign that says,

“Please help a homeless veteran.” You might give him some spare change and

walk away without a backward glance. He might receive enough for his

dinner or possibly a place to sleep, but that is a short-term solution. These

veterans have fought to keep this country free. The least we can do to

honor them is to help them get back on their feet, or get them off the street

and into a better living situation.

I know that there are already several organizations set up to help

veterans in this situation, but I think we need one that is really strong and

can get the job done. We need an organization that can help the homeless

veterans that are in little or no physical or mental condition to take care

of themselves. My idea would involve an organization that offers

medical and psychiatric help. Getting a little deeper into this idea, we might

even be able to set up more shelters in each state where veterans can go

and receive medical attention and have a temporary place to stay.

The government could set up a new system that offers homeless

veterans a meal and clothing allowance. This allowance system would be

based on each individual’s financial needs. Each veteran’s case file would

be reassessed once a year to determine the veteran’s current needs. This

program might also provide some kind of health insurance that helps to

pay for any extra medical needs that aren’t covered by other programs.

I know all these changes are not likely to happen soon, but I

believe that within the next decade, America will be in great need of a

homeless program and an awesome way to honor America’s homeless veterans is

to help improve their health and living conditions. Hopefully this

program will be a significant way to repay our nation’s veterans for defending

our country and helping to make it what it is today.