By Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO, Calif.—U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (D-San Diego) says the United States needs to create a national "stand down" program that runs 365-days a year to help an estimated 200,000 homeless veterans now walking the nation's streets.

"Stand down" is the name of a three-day summer program during which tents are pitched in San Diego's Balboa Park and services including  medical clinics, legal clinics, municipal courts, psychological counseling,  job counseling, barbers, showers, and new clothing  are provided for homeless veterans, who are encouraged to live on site.

"The Veterans Administration should do this for 365 days a year," said Filner, the second-ranking Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs Committee.  "Yes, it takes money, but the United States is spending $1 billion every 2 1/2 days on the War in Iraq..  There has to be some money made available for the kids we're sending to fight this war."

The Stand Down program is repeated every summer, but for many years now a permanent housing and services center has also been operated by the Vietnam Veterans of San Diego in an attempt to provide the homeless veterans shelter and a place to begin a narcotics- and alcohol-free transition back into civilian society.

Filner and Rep. Lane Evans (D-Ill.), ranking Democrat on the committee, held a forum in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington D.C. on Thursday to air the problems of homeless veterans, the majority of whom served in the Vietnam War.

Many of the male and female veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), unable to adjust to life back in the States, soon engaged in alcohol abuse, drug abuse, violence to themselves and violence to others, said Filner, who is a member of the Jewish community.

The U.S. did not deal with the PTSD problem adequately following the Vietnam War and now "we are having the same problems with the kids coming back from Iraq:  one in two of them suffer some post-traumatic stress disorder," he said.

"It's a national disgrace that we allow this to happen!" the congressman declared.

The service personnel must have full evaluations before they are discharged from the Armed Forces, and their families need to be counseled about the common symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder so they can seek help as soon as these symptoms appear, he said.

Filner related that a recent report indicated that doctors were more frequently diagnosing post traumatic stress disorder among veterans.  Rather than immediately devising a strategy to deal with the problem, he said, the first reaction of the Veterans Administration was to investigate the doctors, to see why they were writing so many  PTSD reports.  Subsequently, the VA recognized that the diagnoses were all too true.

He also recounted a story of  a wife and a husband who both were in the Army. After  the husband returned from overseas combat to Ft. Sill, Okla.,  "they started having marital problems and the kid killed himself after a few months," Filner said. "The wife wanted to make sure it didn't happened to anyone else, and alerted Ft. Sill.  Looking back, he had all the symptoms of PTSD.  They have a program there now, but it's one installation at a time."

The congressman said the Vietnam Veterans of San Diego operates a program for homeless veterans that should be a model for the nation.  Expanding from 80 housing units to 350 units, VVSD "brings together transitional housing, job counseling, substance abuse counseling, and have had an incredible success," he said.  "People around the country need to look at that."  

Additionally, "we have programs in the Labor Department and the Veterans administration that need to be expanded."

Evans did not seek reelection this year, meaning that Filner—who faces a June 6 primary election challenge from California Assemblyman Juan Vargas (D-San Diego)—is in line to serve next term either as the chairman or the ranking opposition member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, depending on which party controls the House of Representatives after the elections.