Special Reports

Homeless Heroes: Veterans Have A Rough Road Ahead

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Men and women who serve our country in times of war return home as heroes. But increasingly for these brave service members, there is no home to return to.

As CBS 2's Rob Johnson reports, here in Illinois it is an embarrassing situation as state leaders and religious organizations try to come to the aid of our homeless heroes.

At 5:30 on a recent Monday morning, workers from Catholic Charities are combing lower Wacker Drive looking to help the homeless – especially homeless vets.

"They come home and they don't have any benefits, they don't have anywhere to go, and then they're homeless on the streets," said Darlene Rivers of Catholic Charities.

In fact, on any given night, 23 percent of all of Illinois' homeless are veterans, like Gulf War veteran Darrell.

"And what happened was I couldn't afford no rent because I wasn't working, so the only place I had to come was to live on the streets," Darrell said.

The state has a homeless veterans' facility in Manteno, and has helped fund a shelter in Wheaton. But the challenge remains steep.

"It's one of two things, they have emotional or health problems, and it affects their ability to hold jobs," said Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who heads the Illinois Dept. of Veterans Affairs.

Duckworth is referring to traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress disorder.

Former Army Specialist Martin Binion suffers from PTSD after his tour of duty in Iraq.

"We came across a lot of dead bodies, and needless to say I came across one soldier and part, the whole bottom half of his body was gone," Binion said.

He says that kind of stress was commonplace, and caused him huge problems when he returned home. He became obsessive compulsive, driving his wife and young daughter away.

"I would give everything to have my family back, the way things used to be," Binion said. "But I know things will never be the same."

But Binion has found a refuge at St. Leo's, a South Side shelter for homeless veterans run by Catholic Charities.

So has Angela Tyler, a Gulf War veteran and unfortunately part of a growing number of homeless female veterans. She injured her knee in 1998, and by 2003 it was too unbearable for her to work.

Tyler said she has no disability benefits because "everything was pending."

"I did the proper procedures I needed to do and everything was pending sometimes, most of the time I was denied," she said.

To this day Tyler is still waiting, fortunate to have St. Leo's to count on but frustrated and weary nevertheless.

"I was very outraged because I felt like if I gave you 20 years of my life in the service and when I needed some help I can't get it," she said.

And Duckworth says if you don't think homelessness among veterans is an issue you have to deal with, think again.

"This is not just a problem of war, a problem for the military to worry about, this is a problem for all of us to worry about," Duckworth said.

So just how is the state trying to help returning veterans, in the way of jobs and housing, to ensure they are not out on the street?

Illinois employers are given $600 for every veteran that is hired, and the Heroes Mortgage program assists veterans in securing affordable housing.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

---