Canadian Veterans Battle Homelessness After Discharge

Dependence on the military command structure and alcoholism are fueling homelessness in former soldiers, a study has found.

The study by the University of Western Ontario indicates that dozens of middle-aged veterans in southwestern Ontario are battling homelessness years after leaving the service. The study, believed to be the first of its kind, surveyed 32 homeless vets in London, ON and revealed that the median age for becoming homeless was 24 years after leaving the military. Many veterans said they learned to drink while in the armed forces and became alcoholics later in life, and that there was little help available to them after they left. Somewhat counterintuitively, most of the homeless veterans had not been deployed overseas. Researchers speculated that veterans became dependent on the organizational structure of the military and had trouble readjusting to civilian life. Nationwide, the number of homeless vets could number in the thousands.