I’m asking you to take some time and watch CNN this Saturday, April 12, at 10:00PM EDST, or on Sunday, April, 13, 10:00PM EDST when the show I’m going to tell you about will be repeated.
CNN traveled to N.E. Pa., to do a story with myself and three homeless, or formerly homeless veterans in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. They came here yesterday. A reporter for the network interviewed each of us for quite a while about homeless veterans issues, and as for myself we discussed the wider issue of homelessness in this country and also focused on homeless veterans. CNN reporter Dan Lothian interviewed Mike, Bob, Pinky and myself. “Mike,” shown in this photo, is a former police officer of 28 years and also “homeless vet,” who was placed on indefinite suspension because he missed training while he was away. He has still not been given the missed training and has become in effect homeless. Bob is an Iraqi War Vet, formerly living under a bridge. He has been in approximately 1,000 combat missions in Iraq been wounded, and has been diagnosed with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.) Bob could not concentrate to hold a job and was put out on the street by the VA. (CNN visited with Bob and interviewed him around and under the bridge where he lived as recently as last December.) “Pinky,” is a Vietnam Vet and formerly homeless, he now lives in doors and holds a job. Later Dan Lothian and his video man, drove around with me to get a few views of homeless campsites and a better over view of the Wilkes-Barre area while interviewing me. I’ll admit driving around with a CNN reporter, and having a video camera in my face is quite a bit unnerving. I don’t know how articulate I was in this circumstance, but I hope that I stated the central issues of Homelessness clearly. I also hope what I had to say about the veteran’s issues would be understood by the public that hears my views. I am not an “expert,” but I have been working as a street photographer and chronicler of the homeless for quite a few years. During that time I have seen first hand how pervasive these problems are and I feel compelled to speak out and call for solutions. This as most of you know is an election year and it is the time therefore to demand changes in how we treat our veterans, the poor and addicted, and people with mental and emotional problems. A country is judged on how it treats it’s most venerable and we are grave consequence as those numbers grow. There are approximately 196,000 veterans on the street in the United States on any given night. That is, one out of every four homeless men women or children in the United States is a veteran. In N.E. Pa. it is one out of every three homeless. This country is about to have an explosion of new homeless veterans, partly because of much longer war deployments, and an overwhelmed and ineffective VA. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is especially high and being diagnosed in a magnitude not seen since the Vietnam era. I think it will be much greater than anyone now predicts, and will no doubt create many more homeless and untreated or under treated people living on our streets. Let me add, we also have Katrina victims on our streets, and now adding a full-blown recession to this mix we stand poised to self-destruct. There will be many lost jobs and many home foreclosures thus putting even more people on our streets. First soldiers and then the middle class we must act to ensure that every one has a roof over their head and food to live. These are basic human needs. I’ve heard our homeless referred to as the canary in the coalmine of our society. When the canary dies there that signals that there is an urgent problem. “We have a dead canary!”
Tune in and have a look and listen please!
CNN Saturday, April, 12 10:00PM EDST
Repeated Sunday April, 13, 10:00PM EDST