Here are some excerpts from news sources around the country offering an explanation:

From the New York Times:

An interesting observation also in this Times article concerns sexual abuse in the military, which I wrote about earlier this week. The article noted sexual abuse is a risk factor for homelessness.

“I cut myself off from my family and went from being a pleasant guy to wanting to rip your head off if you looked at me wrong,” Mr. Johnson said.

On the street for a year, he finally checked in at a V.A. clinic in Maryland and has struggled with PTSD, depression, and drug and alcohol abuse. The V.A. has provided temporary housing as he starts a new job.

From the Associated Press:

From the Kansas City Star:

Kelley said he couldn’t find a job because he didn’t have an apartment, and he couldn’t get an apartment because he didn’t have a job. He stayed in a $300-a-week motel until his money ran out, then moved into a shelter run by the group U.S. VETS in Inglewood, Calif. He’s since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, he said.

“The only training I have is infantry training and there’s not really a need for that in the civilian world,” Kelley said in a phone interview. He has enrolled in college and hopes to move out of the shelter soon.

Over at the Huffington Post Jon Soltz of VotVets.org has an editorial on the whole issue. He’s tired of the alarm blaring that goes along with the report’s release, and says the real problem lies with the VA and government:

He earned 18 medals, ribbons and awards in Iraq, and was honorably discharged. He wants strangers to know he’s a veteran. He says he doesn’t drink or use illegal drugs. He calls everyone “sir” or “ma’am.”

But something about him isn’t right.

His eyes dart, scanning for an unknown assailant. His hands shake. His moods swing wildly. He can’t hold a job. For the last two years, Vitale, 40, has traveled in and out of homelessness.

Sexual abuse, PTSD, funding, support, facilities, VA competency – it seems all aspects of veterans issues can converge and lead to a vet becoming homeless.