20 veterans will commit suicide today and over 38,000 will experience homelessness

Veterans Day is bittersweet to me because I love the fact that we set aside a day to honor the Veterans and we even close schools, banks and the Post Office. It’s bitter because at the same time we acknowledge and thank them we also ignore the hell that many of them are living in. On average 20 veterans will commit suicide today and over 38,000 veterans will experience homelessness tonight (according to a nationwide survey known as the point-in-time count, according to HUD). So I send my condolences to those families beforehand. Instead of trying to come together and figure out how to give back to the Veterans who risk their lives so we can have the freedoms that we enjoy today, I receive emails from stores about 30% off Veteran’s Day sales. Veterans have served us greatly and my question is, how can we give back to them or what can we sacrifice in order to get them help so they can stop committing suicide and get them off the streets? Maybe instead of merely saying “thank you for your service” maybe we should say “what can I do for you.”  Thank you Veteran's for all of your sacrifice and service.

Roosevelt Mitchell III is an Award winning Educator, Author, Scholar and Film-maker. Please visit https://rooseveltmitchell.com for more information.