SEATTLE — During the height of debate over Syrian refugees, attention briefly turned to homeless veterans, making former Army Spc. and current refrigerator box tenant Micheal Schmidt "super happy that people finally cared about [him]."

"I've been homeless on the streets and begging for money for about a year and a half now," says Schmidt. "But it really felt great for a couple weeks to think 'all that is about to change.'"

At the peak of the refugee crisis in Europe and the debate within the United States over granting displaced Syrians asylum, outcry against such asylum exploded on social media, led by people who suddenly discovered there are homeless veterans.