An investigation by CBS News has uncovered an epidemic in suicides among U.S. military veterans — 120 per week in 2005:

One study found that 120 veterans per week have committed suicide. Another found that veterans make up one in four homeless people in the United States, though they are only 11 percent of the general adult population.

That’s 6,256 veteran suicides in one year, in 45 states – a rate twice that of other Americans, CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian reports…

During a five-month investigation, the CBS News investigative team uncovered what amounts to a hidden “epidemic” of suicide among the men and women who have served their country …

Among the CBS News findings:

• Veterans aged 20-24, who are those most likely to have served during the war on terror, are killing themselves when they return home at rates estimated to be between two-and-a-half and almost four times higher than non-vets in the same age group. (The suicide rate for non-veterans is 8.3 per 100,000, while the rate for veterans was found to be between 22.9 and 31.9 per 100,000.)
• Overall, those who have served in the military were more than twice as likely to take their own life in 2005, than Americans who never served. (Veterans committed suicide at the rate of between 18.7 to 20.8 per 100,000, compared to other Americans, who did so at the rate of 8.9 per 100,000.)

The high rate of hopelessness revealed by the high suicide rates among veterans may be reflected in results of another study — this one by the National Alliance to End Homelessness:

Veterans make up one in four homeless people in the United States, though they are only 11 percent of the general adult population, according to a report to be released Thursday.

And homelessness is not just a problem among middle-age and elderly veterans. Younger veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are trickling into shelters and soup kitchens seeking services, treatment or help with finding a job.

The Veterans Affairs Department has identified 1,500 homeless veterans from the current wars and says 400 of them have participated in its programs specifically targeting homelessness.

Based on 2005 data, on any given night, 194,254 homeless people out of 744,313 are veterans, according to the study by the National Alliance to End Homelessness.