Photo courtesy of http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Before you start thinking homelessness is just the curse of drunks, druggies and runaways, worn-out vets plagued with PTSD and schizophrenics who should be in a mental hospital, read just a couple of the many articles I found on the increasing number of homeless FEMALE veterans.

The number of female veterans has soared since 1990, from 4 percent of all veterans to 8 percent today, or about 1.8 million. How many are homeless is unknown, though a report by the Government Accountability Office in December found that the number who had contact with the V.A. rose to 3,328 in 2010 from 1,380 in 2006.

via Homelessness Among Female Veterans – NYTimes.com.

“I wasn’t a loser,” McLamb, 32, says. “Everybody who’s homeless doesn’t necessarily have to have something very mentally wrong with them. Some people just have bad circumstances with no resources.”

via Homeless Female Vets: Numbers Spike, But Housing Scarce (What You Can Do).

Mickiela Montoya served her country for seven years. A military policewoman in Iraq, she faced mortar attacks and gunfire But when she came home, her bravery and her skills were useless.

A single mother without a college degree, she found herself on the streets.

via Homeless Female Veterans on America’s Streets – ABC News.