A recent study concluded that one in four homeless people in the United Kingdom are ex service personnel. This result is made more disturbing when it is set alongside the facts that there are 2,500 ex-servicemen in prison at the current time and it is estimated that about one in ten prisoners has served in the Armed Forces.
Such a high proportion of ex-servicemen among the homeless and prison population is a clear indication that the Military Covenant, that those who have fought for their country should receive the best possible health and welfare support for the sacrifices they have made, is not being met.
I wrote the following poem to in an attempt to describe what ex-servicemen might feel like when they find themselves in this situation.
Abandoned
Saddened by loss
He lived out his days writing
Gone were the races
Gone were the family
Gone the faculties
Gone the camaraderie
Where used to be so strong
All is now gone
The heart – a stone
John Carré Buchanan
14 May 2011
a scene to often seen......
ReplyDeleteRegrettably yes, I wish there was a better way of reintegrating these people into society, it really is a walk out of the door into the wide blue yonder and with more redundancies due the situation is going to get worse.
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