When Johnny comes home...less

Correction: Because of a miscalculation by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, an editorial Monday cited an incorrect estimate of the number of US veterans who were homeless at some point during 2006. The proper estimate is 337,000.

AS AMERICANS finishing their service in Iraq or Afghanistan are now seeing, the journey home after military service can be grueling. While the majority end up rejoining civilian life successfully, the burden of injuries, mental illness or economic disruption proves too great for many others. And as a new report details, a disturbingly high number of veterans end up homeless.

On any given night in 2006, an estimated 196,000 veterans were homeless in America, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, a Washington nonprofit. Over the course of the year, nearly a half-million veterans were homeless.

Veterans are at risk. Many grapple with traumatic brain injuries, the loss of limbs, posttraumatic stress disorder, and mental illness. Some need to find jobs and housing. Others lack social ties to family and friends, especially after having served on long tours of duty. According to the alliance, as many as 467,000 veterans may be at risk of losing their homes because they are poor and spending more than half of their income on rent.

Fortunately, the news about veterans comes at the same time as an encouraging announcement from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, which says that from 2005 to 2006, the number of chronically homeless people dropped by more than 20,000, an 11.5 percent decline. One reason for the welcome change is so-called supportive housing: programs that provide both homes and social services.

This is a small but meaningful victory, because it shows that supportive housing works - and that expanding these programs would help veterans. That's a leap from the days when help meant little more than a blanket and hot soup.

In addition to supportive housing, the government should invest heavily in prevention. The alliance calls for creating pilot programs - including one in a rural area - that would look at the needs of military personnel during the first 30 days after their discharge. Such programs could provide short-term financial help to stave off evictions or help with security deposits.

The alliance also recommends creating 25,000 units of supportive housing for chronically homeless veterans - those who are homeless repeatedly or continuously for long periods of time. This would create communities where veterans could support one another. The estimated construction costs would be $3 billion, and another $1.2 billion would cover five years of operating costs. Such an investment could also help future generations of veterans, if the housing is well maintained.

Vulnerable veterans shouldn't be left on the streets. They deserve the nation's gratitude as well as its protection.

(Correction: Because of a miscalculation by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, an editorial Monday cited an incorrect estimate of the number of US veterans who were homeless at some point during 2006. The proper estimate is 337,000.<)