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Homeless U.S. veterans focus of new report

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- A report said the homeless population in the United States is comprised of more than 25 percent war veterans and highlights the need for better veteran care.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness, a non-partisan advocacy group, issued a report Thursday noting that nearly 200,000 war veterans were homeless last year, CNN reported Thursday.

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"Veterans make up a disproportionate share of homeless people," the report said. "This is true despite the fact that veterans are better educated, more likely to be employed and have a lower poverty rate than the general population."

Nan Roman of the NAEH said the report highlights the lack of housing and supportive services veterans need to help them from becoming homeless.

The mortgage lender Fannie Mae released a Gallup poll indicated nearly 25 percent of war veterans are concerned about finding a place to live.

Sixty-one percent of the respondents said they believed veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan faced the same bleak prospects as homeless veterans of other wars.

A New York Times report said Thursday that more than 400 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are homeless and the Veteran Affairs Department is concerned that number will surge.

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The report in the Times said it takes several years for returning veterans to acclimate to civilian life, though aid groups said new veterans are turning up homeless quicker than veterans of other wars.

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