Noteboom The Law Firm

Sec. Shinseki: Ending Veteran Homelessness Still Top Priority

Department of Veterans Affairs Sec. Eric Shinseki addressed an audience at the 2011 Army Medical Command Training Symposium and spoke about homeless veterans. He restated his 2015 goal date by which he plans to eradicate homelessness among veterans. He went on to say he could not find one reason why any veteran should be homeless.

Sec. Shinseki acknowledged the complexity of homelessness among the veteran population. He also questioned the recognized number of "at risk" veterans, claiming the number is probably lower than the actual amount of such veterans. "At risk" veterans are the veterans living one missed mortgage payment or unexpected bill away from no longer having a home.

Eliminating homelessness among veterans by 2015 was only one of Sec. Shinseki's goals when he took office in 2009. He spoke of the other two goals he set for the VA while he is at the helm:

 

·      eliminating the VA's enormous and debilitating disability claims backlog; and

·      providing easier access to the VA's benefits and services.

 

Sec. Shinseki went on to assure the audience the VA's growing budget is being spent properly. Health care for homeless veterans is about 3.5 times more expensive than healthcare for non-homeless veterans. Therefore, it just makes good business sense for the VA to eliminate as much homelessness as possible.

Finally, Sec. Shinseki noted only about 1/3 of the veterans across the country are enrolled in the VA health care system. He highlighted the new illness presumptions the VA is recognizing and encouraged every veteran to sign up for VA healthcare.

If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today - 1-888-234-5758.