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Homeless veterans need more help

The Union Daily Times - 6/3/2019

June 01-- Jun. 1--UNION COUNTY -- Why does the United States of America spend trillions of dollars on other countries when there are veterans of service in its armed forces who are homeless?

That was the question at the heart of an essay written by Sims Middle School student Jackson Shields and presented by his grandmother, Marie Gault, at the Memorial Day Ceremony hosted by the Veterans Posts of Union County at Veterans Memorial Park Lodge Monday morning.

Jackson, who wrote the essay as a school assignment, begins by stating that the US government sends more money overseas than it spends to help homeless veterans.

In 2017, the VA (Veterans Administration) stated that there were over 40,000 homeless veterans nationwide, and not enough homeless shelters to meet their needs.

Given the large number of homeless veterans needing help, Jackson states that the government should concentrate its efforts and resources on helping these men and women before assisting other countries.

The US government should focus on funding shelters, food, and medical care for US veterans before focusing on other countries' problems.

Even though there are homeless shelters that provide help for the homeless veterans, Jackson states they have difficulty getting the financial support they need from the federal government.

The homeless shelters that are located here in the Upstate such as Alston Wilkes Society said to get government help they have to fill out all kinds of forms and wait to see if any money will be sent to them. They have to ask for grants and donations from the public for food, clothes and they try to help the veterans with medical help, but if the grants don't get approved they say many veterans are turned away.

Jackson contrasted the money spent by the US government on other countries with that spent on its homeless veterans.

In 2017, the American federal foreign aid budget spent four trillion to help foreign countries and sent tons of food such as grains, flour by the US Agency for International Development. In 2017, a grant and per diem program given by the government of one hundred eighty-eight million dollars to the VA to help benefit the homeless vets. This was to cover 49 states.

While things have begun to change, Jackson said enough is still not being done to aid America's homeless veterans.

The government has begun to help our homeless vets, but it's not enough to stretch over the United States, especially when that's to cover shelter, food and medical.

Jackson concludes by calling on the US government to do more to address the needs of homeless veterans and give them the help they've earned.

If the US government can spend trillions of dollars overseas, I think they could focus more on the needs of homeless shelters and any other needs that our homeless veterans need and deserve, after all, they fought for it.

Our Fallen Comrades

Monday's ceremony also included a remembrance of "Our Fallen Comrades," local veterans who have died over the last year. Their names were read aloud during the ceremony in honor of their military service to America and in memory of their entering into eternal rest. Those remembered at Monday's ceremony were:

James L. Crisp, Jr.

Darrell R. Fisher

Michael R. Petty

John R. Meadow

Joseph E. Boulware

Jack M. Scales

Charles G. Morris

Terry C. Cody, Sr.

Jerry L. Foster, Sr.

Eugene E. Foster

Maxie E. Copeland

Ronald J. Humes

Wallace T. Alexander

Samuel M. Bobo

Maurice Smith

Wallace W. Garner

William C. Bennett

James M. Rose

Gonzales Means

Ted D. Babb

Oscar S. Dawkins

Leonard H. Tipton

Waddell Lyles

Warren V. Keisler

Roy E. Aiken

Stanley S. Means

Kenneth E. Garrett

Gerald "Luke" wilson

James C. Boyd

Donald W. Lowe

Rev. Dr. Joseph W. Smith, Jr.

Phillip Miller

Billy J. Hamrick

Bobby T. Moss

James W. Black

James Bennett

Richard B. Mason

James E. Millwood, Sr.

Richard D. Gregory

Harold D. Hammett

Gilbert Smith

Haskell O. Howell

William E. Fincher, Jr.

Theo J. Chapman

John Earl Smith

David R. Betenbaugh

Roy B. Rector

Sidney H. Sanders

Bobby D. English

Rogers L. "Bo" Rabb

James L. Littlejohn

Dwight S. Kurtz

Ronnie Wannamaker

Kenneth Kingsmore

Jerry L. Lawson

Monroe Smith

Michael W. Bell

Charles M. Bettis

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