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Many Americans are, at this point, well aware that there is something of an epidemic in this country when it comes to homeless veterans. However, not as much is being done about it by state legislators as probably could be.

As a result, one retired Army specialist and his dog recently spent 24 hours outside the Massachusetts State House in Boston to raise awareness among average Americans and lawmakers alike, according to a report from Boston television station WBZ. The veteran, Stephen Bohn, and his dog, Minnie, did this to raise awareness of the fact that there are an estimated 50,000 homeless veterans nationwide, and sat through some bitter New England winter weather to do it.

"It was rough," Bohn said. "I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to play some macho, 'I was military,' it was rough. [But] I decided, hey, why not go and support them, see if we can make a buzz around here to change that and get these men and women off the streets."

Bohn was injured by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan but is not homeless himself, living in nearby Salem, Massachusetts, the report said. He further added that he got the idea by walking around the city of Boston and seeing numerous homeless veterans who had to brave the cold every night.

Fortunately, more lawmakers, at least on a local level, are starting to look for solutions to the veteran homelessness crisis, and a number of organizations have sprung up in recent years to put in their own efforts on this front. Consequently, while this is still a major problem nationwide, it is at least one that is now being confronted on a far more regular basis than it once was.