News
Into the Gap: Women Veterans Describe Homelessness (Article 2 of 4-Part Series About Women Veteran Homelessness)
Tuesday, February 7, 2017 | Category: Housing/Experiencing Homelessness - National
This article is the second in a four-part series titled "Coming Out of the Shadows: Women Veterans and Homelessness." It explores why women veterans experiencing homelessness are under-represented in homeless person counts, published statistics, and related reports. It suggests they often remain "in the shadows" because they do not present in "typical" homeless settings, but instead, "couch surf/double up" with friends and family as long as they can (off-the-books kin network more common to women), stay in cars, and/or remain in relationships characterized by domestic violence amongst other arrangements. These unstable housing situations are not, by agency definition, necessarily considered as homelessness in federal agencies like the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Veterans Affairs, a result of the 1987 McKinley-Vento Act and a 2009 update. A lack of transparency in data, "catastrophically" impacts the availability of funding, and therefore, services. Of particular interest is the shared and posted survey results that include personal comments from women veterans who experienced homelessness. They represent all military service branches, differing lengths is service and age groups with all indicating similar experiences. Other related references are linked.
G.I. Jane Needs A Place to Sleep (Article 1 of 4-part Series About Women Veteran Homelessness)
Wednesday, February 1, 2017 | Category: Housing/Experiencing Homelessness - National
This article is the first in a four-part series titled "Coming Out of the Shadows: Women Veterans and Homelessness." It explores why women veterans experiencing homelessness are under-represented in homeless person counts, published statistics, and related reports. It suggests they often remain "in the shadows" because they do not present in "typical" homeless settings, but instead, "couch surf/double up" with friends and family as long as they can, stay in cars, and/or remain in relationships characterized by domestic violence amongst other arrangements. These unstable housing situations are not, by agency definition derived from law, necessarily considered as homelessness in federal agencies like the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Amongst root causes of their homelessness, military sexual trauma is considered a prevalent factor. In comparison with male homeless veterans, women veterans are more often single parents with children who do not want to lose custody of their children.
VA Report: The Past, Present and Future of Women Veterans (February 2017)
Tuesday, January 31, 2017 | Category: Advocacy/Outreach - National
The Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics released this February 2017 report: "The Past, Present and Future of Women Veterans."
Most Female Vets Feel Service Isn't Valued, Survey Finds
Monday, November 14, 2016 | Category: History/Heritage - National
A recent survey of 1000 enlisted and officer women veterans and servicewomen from 49 states was conducted by the Service Women's Action Network (SWAN) advocacy group. Article author Hope Hodge Seck noted: "Nearly three-quarters of respondents, 74 percent, said they believe their service isn't publicly recognized. They said they most wanted the public to know more about their leadership and contributions, their stories and experience, and the challenges they face. About two-thirds, or 68 percent, of respondents said the military was responsible for building this awareness, while more than half, or 57 percent, said they wanted veteran service organizations to tell their story. Among other dramatic findings was that 71 percent of those surveyed didn't belong to a veteran service organization, a possible symptom of a perceived disconnect between the male-focused community they offer and the needs of female veterans. One-third of survey respondents said that they actually didn't feel welcome in existing veteran service organizations, and more than half, 51 percent, said they hadn't been informed about membership opportunities for these organizations. But nearly all of those surveyed, or 97 percent, said they would welcome the opportunity to participate in an organization focused specifically on the issues facing female troops and women veterans. The survey also highlighted a broad perception among women who have served that the media and pop culture often got their story wrong." Judy Patterson, SWAN's CEO, said: "SWAN will be sharing the full data from this survey with a number of other veterans groups, and will be tailoring our efforts moving forward to ensure that the voices of all of these women are heard and heeded."
SWAN Releases 1st Annual Survey of Service Women & Women Veterans
Monday, November 14, 2016 | Category: Advocacy/Outreach - National
The Service Women's Action Network (SWAN) released its first annual "Survey of Service Women and Women Veterans" today. More than 1,200 people, including nearly 1,000 service women and women veterans of all ranks and services from all 50 states participated in the survey. Judy Patterson, the SWAN CEO, noted that they will be sharing the results with other veteran organizations. The survey will guide SWAN's future initiatives. The SWAN website notes: "The survey results were released during the first day of SWAN’s planning summit, which is bringing together a select group of service women, women veterans and subject matter experts to conduct deep dives into four categories that closely echo the survey: Service Women, Women Veterans, Public Education and Awareness, and Building a Sense of Community. The survey will be used to drive discussion and inform conclusions offered by the working groups during the planning summit." The survey broke out the top three 2016 personal and community challenges for service women and women veterans, provided additional insights regarding gender bias in the military, public awareness of service, media inclusion, and the need for stronger communities of women with military service.
The Facts That Matter Most This Veterans Day
Friday, November 11, 2016 | Category: History/Heritage - National
Today, Veterans Day will be remembered around the nation in a variety of venues...parades, speeches, retreats, business discounts, words of acknowledgement, and many other events. As gratitude and respect is offered, this Forbes article asks citizens to "ensure that we have a better understanding of the difficult mental and physical health issues that millions of our veterans face each day." Statistics are enumerated, giving a "better context about the battles these heroes fight when they get home."
VA Celebrates New Strategic Partnerships on Veterans Day (Video)
Friday, November 11, 2016 | Category: Department of Veterans Affairs - National
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced nine new strategic partnerships that will offer services to veterans and their families. This continuing effort to bring the public and private sectors together is one of their five MyVA strategies to better reach out to assist veterans within their communities.
Homeless Female Veterans To Get Additional Supportive Housing Option In Northern Virginia
Friday, September 30, 2016 | Category: Housing/Experiencing Homelessness - Virginia
Final Salute in Fairfax County offers formerly homeless and at-risk-of-homelessness female veterans and their children a safe place to live. Their residence will soon be renovated and upgraded through a collaboration between Final Salute and HomeAid Northern Virginia.
Taking Military Sexual Trauma Seriously
Tuesday, September 13, 2016 | Category: Sexual Harassment/Assault/Trauma - National
The Orange County Community Court, in 2015, saw 85 percent male and 15 percent female veterans in their "Veterans Treatment Court." Eileen Moore serves as a mentor, primarily with justice-involved women veterans. She shares her observations about the lifelong impact of military sexual trauma (MST), noting that 90-95% of the women veterans she mentored were MST survivors. The court, if for no other reason, is geared toward male veterans because they enter the system at a much higher rate and there is limited monies for the program. She notes that she believes that "the women’s needs are not completely different from the men’s."
Healing Retreats May Reduce PTSD Symptoms, Improve Relationships
Tuesday, September 13, 2016 | Category: Health Care - National
The Institute for the Health of Military Families released the findings of their study of four-day healing retreats. They found that: "Preliminary results indicate that therapeutic retreats can reduce post-traumatic stress symptoms in veterans and improve relationships for both veterans and their caregivers." Retreats include a variety of activities, including PTSD education, acupuncture, yoga and art therapy.