Democrats announce goal to end veterans' homelessness

President Obama and the Democratic Party have the lofty goal of ending homelessness among veterans.

In the Democratic platform released Monday evening, the party said it would try to stop all homelessness among veterans by 2015.

“That’s why we have committed to ending veterans’ homelessness by 2015, and have launched new partnerships with the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and with veterans’ organizations to do just that,” the platform stated.

Homelessness among vets has been an issue for generations, mostly caused by mental health issues or a lack of jobs for service members returning home.

The platform also stated that Democrats would work to help more veterans get jobs and increase mental health benefits. 

Obama proposed a new Veterans Jobs Corps to put veterans to work as first-responders, according to the platform. When the Senate returns to Washington, D.C., later this month, it is expected to proceed to the Veterans Job Corps Act. 

S. 3457 would create new job-training programs to help veterans find jobs in national park conservation and historic preservation projects and as police officers and firefighters.

---