After Kevin returned from Iraq, he spent most nights lying awake in his Army barracks in Hawaii, clutching a 9mm handgun under his pillow, bracing for an attack that never came. His fits of sleep brought nightmares of the wounded and dying troops whom Kevin, a combat medic, had treated over 16 months after suicide attacks and roadside bombings. Less than two years after he returned, Kevin became homeless. His tailspin encapsulates a consequence of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As more troops return from deployments, social workers and advocates expect the number of homeless to increase, flooding the nation's veterans' shelters, which are already overwhelmed by homeless veterans from other wars.
