FIRST LADY TAKES PART IN SUMMIT TO END HOMELESSNESS AMONG VETERANS

Colorado First Lady Jeannie Ritter spoke at a national summit to end homelessness among veterans last week in Washington , D.C. Mrs. Ritter was invited to share her insights on preventing veterans from becoming homeless by U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki, who announced a $3.2 billion nationwide initiative to combat homelessness among veterans.

“Homelessness is being felt more rapidly by veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars than veterans from other conflicts. No one who has served our country should be living on the streets,” said First Lady Jeannie Ritter. “Safe, stable housing will allow veterans to concentrate on other needs like education, employment and health care. This is the least we can do for those who sacrifice so much.”

Prior to last week’s summit, Mrs. Ritter visited several homeless sites in New York City , where she saw first-hand the benefits of providing housing for veterans. New York City has sharply curbed the number of homeless veterans thanks to aggressive outreach programs.

About one-third of the adult homeless population has served in the military. Current estimates suggest that about 131,000 veterans are homeless on any given night and perhaps twice as many experience homelessness at some point during the course of a year. The VA's new commitment adds $400 million more to its current homelessness prevention efforts.

Other speakers at the summit included Ray Jefferson, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment and Training, and Ron Sims, Deputy Secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Last week, Mrs. Ritter also joined 200 national health policy experts and mental health leaders at the Carter Center 's 25th Annual Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy in Atlanta to explore key issues regarding health care reform.


The Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy is a part of the Carter Center 's Mental Health Program, which works to decrease stigma and discrimination against people with mental illnesses as well as to promote positive policy change on mental health topics.