Warless & Homeless: Pt. II

Like most youngsters fresh out of high school, Matt was undecided on his life and career choice, so he decided to join the military. He had promised to serve, protect, and honor. He informed me that after his 4th year in the military, he decided to major in Psychology. He wanted to know what made people decide to do what they do. But not soon after he started his classes, he had to put his education on hold. His platoon had been called out to go fight the war in Kuwait, better known as Desert Storm. At some point in time during his stay, he was injured when an Army tank yards away took a huge hit. Shrapnel went flying through the air, hitting him in the head causing him to bleed out until he passed out. He eventually woke up in a Veterans hospital, no memory of what had happened to him. But he was a survivor and a proud U. S. Soldier at that. I hated to leave that day, but I promised Matt I would come back through so he could finish telling me his story. And I did… the next day.

Matt told me how he was discharged from the military due to his injuries. He was never able to go back to school either. He also told me he used to live in Veteran’s Housing right here in Baton Rouge, but that the housing unit he had been living in had closed up in 2012. Most others were full or the waiting lists were very long. He’s been homeless since 2012. Whenever I asked about his family, he would ignore the question. I have no idea why, but I stopped pressing. I began my research on homeless veterans shortly after my encounter with Matt. I still run into him at the McDonald’s whenever I go. I’ve tried to find him places he can go, but the facilities are based on a ‘first come first serve’ basis. The tenants are not allowed to stay there all day, therefore if they don’t get back in time, they lose their room for that night. The sad part is that Matt appears to feel comfortable in his current situation. I often wonder if it’s because he knows he cannot trust his country to look out for him the way he did for his country or if it’s simply because now he understands why people do what they do.

I’m angry because I can’t believe our country would allow our soldiers to live on the streets of a country they have protected. Over the course of the past 4 years, the Veteran’s Administration have closed up some of its housing facilities and did away with some VA benefits. There are many “Matt’s” across the country who are homeless. Many suffer from PTSD and other ailments which they developed from being in one war or another.

But Matt said it best: “The only war we truly need to be worried about is the one going on right here among ourselves. Now I know why people do what they do. It’s because they have no compassion, respect, or love. You don’t need a degree to figure that one out.”