WICHITA, Kansas, July 23, 2008 – Some of the troops who’ve come back from serving our country are now living on the streets. Veterans make up almost a quarter of Wichita’s homeless population.

When Kenny Green deployed to Korea in 1980, he never dreamt a routine vaccination would someday cost him his job and home. An allergic reaction to that shot slowly destroyed the cartilage in his hips and just recently, led to replacement surgery on both sides. Kenny can no longer work and is often in pain.

"Used to be able to provide, over 50,000 dollar a year income, and to go to zero, it was kind of not feeling good at all,” Kenny said.

Especially when he couldn’t pay the mortgage on his dream home in Colorado and for the past year, Kenny and his family have lived in a shelter or with relatives in Wichita.

“It was miserable,” he said. “It was really miserable.”

But now, they are looking for a home because of new federal funding awarded to Wichita’s Housing and Community Services. Kenny and other homeless veterans have qualified for a voucher to help them afford permanent housing.

“The veteran will pay no more than 30 percent of their income for rent, and the program will pay the balance,” explained Mary Vaughn, director of Housing and Community Services.

For Kenny, that means $700 per month.  

"Oh boy, it was a relief,” Kenny said.

Yet there are only 35 vouchers available and many more veterans are in need.

"In 2007, we identified 527 people who said they were homeless, and 22 percent said they had some military background,” Vaughn said. "If any population deserves some special attention, it's certainly that one."

To get back on his feet, Kenny needs time to heal and find a new line of work.

"Medically, my doctors are saying for the next year anyway, they don't want me to do anything,” he said.

But at least now, he’ll have a new place to call home and a fresh start for the future.