Women coming home from military service are joining the ranks of the homeless in the U.S.<\/p>\n
The male former service members who become homeless after returning to the States largely do so when battling mental illness and\/or substance abuse issues.\u00a0 Female vets come home with those issues as well as a tougher time finding gainful employment and housing. Even more often, these women come home with issues stemming from military sexual trauma, or MST, which can cause or exacerbate post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n
It is estimated that there were more than 140,000 homeless veterans in the U.S. as of 2011, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. That number is expected to rise as more troops come home this year. Of that 140,000, almost 10 percent are women, an increase from 7.9 percent as of 2009. Women service members now comprise 18 percent of the Army National Guard and the Reserves, and (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Women coming home from military service are joining the ranks of the homeless in the U.S. The male former service members who become homeless after returning to the States largely do so when battling mental illness and\/or substance abuse issues.\u00a0…<\/span><\/p>\n