Drafter
Clerk 04/07/2005
Title
A MOTION requesting the King County veterans' program advisory board and the executive to evaluate veterans' relief program needs for the brave men and women returning home from military service, making recommendations for veterans' relief program needs to the council and identifying opportunities to link veterans' relief services with the broader human service needs of King County.
Body
WHEREAS, the laws of the state of Washington, chapter 73.08 RCW, "Veterans' Relief," assigns significant responsibility for veterans' aid to county government, and
WHEREAS, approximately one hundred eighty thousand nine hundred veterans live in King County, which is twenty-seven percent of the state's veterans, and
WHEREAS, many veterans have needs for essential human services as a result of their military experience, with eighty-five thousand six hundred thirteen people receiving health care and ninety-four thousand one hundred sixty-three veterans and survivors receiving disability compensation or pension payments from the Veterans Administration ("VA") in Washington last year, and
WHEREAS, VA facilities in Washington state had twelve thousand fifty-eight inpatient admissions and supported another one million twenty thousand nine hundred seventy-two outpatient visits at community facilities last year, and
WHEREAS, the VA's Northwest Health Network, which includes Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, reported the highest percentage of homeless veterans hospitalized for mental health reasons, which was nearly fifty percent, compared with the VA's national average of twenty-eight percent, and the region ranked fifth in the nation for the percentage of homeless veterans with acute psychiatric disorders, which was twenty-eight percent, and fourth in the nation for admissions of homeless veterans with substance abuse problems, and
WHEREAS, the Puget Sound region has a growing homeless population, estimated to be close to six thousand...

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