IMPEACH BUSH

About homeless veterans

An estimated 154,000 veterans are homeless on any given night, a national number that represents about a quarter of the adult homeless population. The figure is a 21 percent decrease from 2006.

Homeless vets who served during the Vietnam War represent nearly half the overall total.

3 percent of homeless vets are women; 56 percent are black or Hispanic.

79 percent reside in central cities; 16 percent in the suburbs; 5 percent in rural areas.

89 percent received an honorable discharge.

About 45 percent suffer from mental illness, and slightly more than 70 percent have alcohol or drug abuse problems.

In Ohio, veterans represent about 10 percent of the state's estimated homeless population (in shelters), which was 11,264 in 2007. This number is the third-lowest percentage in the nation, behind Mississippi and South Dakota.

In Northeast Ohio, some 139 homeless veterans are served by social-service programs at 10 sites. Statewide, 289 beds are offered to homeless vets through 21 programs.

The Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in Brecksville provides shelter and supportive services for 75 homeless vets. A new 122-bed facility is planned to open within two years as part of the expansion of VA facilities at the Wade Park campus on East Boulevard.

SOURCES: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development