Homeless U.S. military veterans
stand in line to receive free clothing and medical care during a "Stand
Down" event hosted by the Department of Veterans Affairs on November 3,
2011 in Denver, Colorado. A week ahead of Veterans Day, more than 500
homeless veterans were expected to attend the event, held at the
Colorado Army National Guard armory. Event organizers say the homeless
veterans population has surged in recent years with the high national
unemployment rate. Stand Down is a military term that means a temporary
stop of offensive military action. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
He spent
30 years in the U.S. military, earned three graduate degrees and
eventually worked his way to the Pentagon before retiring — but today,
former Air Force Col. Robert Freniere, 59, is living out of his van,
filling out job applications on public computers in libraries.
Freniere's
story stands in stark contrast to common beliefs about unemployed,
homeless veterans being made up of former soldiers from the
rank-and-file. But an in-depth profile of Freniere by The Philadelphia Inquirer shows that problems affecting veterans don't discriminate based on chain of command; they go up to the top brass.
How
could this have happened? The answer is complex and representative of
what veterans face when they attempt to re-enter civilian life.
After
retiring, it took Freniere a year to get a job with a defense
contractor. When that work dried up, it was hard to find a civilian job
that complemented his background in intelligence. A divorce, the costs
of two kids' college expenses and struggles with dyslexia left Freniere
calling his van his home.
According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans,
some 58,000 vets face life on the street each day, and "over the course
of a year, approximately twice that many experience homelessness," the
organization says. "Only 7% of the general population can claim veteran
status, but nearly 13% of the homeless adult population are veterans."
Unemployment
is an even bigger problem. The rate among veterans who have served
since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon stands at 10 percent, or 246,000 out of work. For those under age 25, the rate increases dramatically to 30 percent.
But Freniere isn't giving up.
"I'm
a military guy. I'm mission-oriented," he told the Inquirer. "I've got a
lot of good experience. I've got two beautiful sons. I've got a van. I
don't know how long it's going to hold up, but I've got it. I've got a
lot of things to be thankful for."
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