New Guide Helps Communities Aid Homeless Women Vets
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 20, 2011 – The Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor has released an online publication that will help community service providers aid homeless women veterans, Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis said today.
Solis addressed an audience of several hundred at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Theater on the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery.
“Where we’re falling short in meeting the challenge of service women is when they come home,” Solis said.
“Too many women who once wore our uniform now go to sleep in our streets,” she added. “It breaks my heart to see that because many of them are sick [and] in need of help, and many are hungry. And it isn’t just them -- some of them have children.”
The publication, called Trauma-Informed Care for Women Veterans Experiencing Homelessness: A Guide for Service Providers, also known as the Trauma Guide, is the result of nationwide listening sessions with women veterans and service providers about the challenges of homelessness.
Women now make up 20 percent of new recruits, 14 percent of the military and 18 percent of the National Guard and Reserve.
Women represent only 8 percent of veterans, according to the guide, but they are at a four-times-greater risk of homelessness than their nonveteran male counterparts.
read more here
New Guide Helps Communities Aid Homeless Women Vets
Showing posts with label female homeless veterans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label female homeless veterans. Show all posts
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Homeless female veteran on the streets after 4th suicide attempt
Female veterans struggle with homelessness
by Brad Woodard / KHOU 11 News
khou.com
Posted on June 29, 2011
HOUSTON -- Some female veterans are struggling and homeless, and it's a problem that is becoming increasingly common.
A group of female veterans are taking a life skills class at the Santa Maria Hostel – the group of women are on the verge of being homeless.
“I could go anywhere and no one would know that I'm homeless,” said Army veteran Jacqueline Wright. “The recession hit. I was unable to find work, and that just led to a downward spiral.”
Some of the women said they’ve spent half their lives on the streets.
“I've slept in bushes, in parks, the backs of people's yards, abandoned cars,” said Navy veteran Cheryl Jett.
Their reasons for being here are as varied as their stories.
“My addiction was pain pills -- Xanax and sleeping pills. I tried committing suicide four times,” said Aimee Dewolfe, a homeless Navy veteran.
read more here
Female veterans struggle with homelessness
by Brad Woodard / KHOU 11 News
khou.com
Posted on June 29, 2011
HOUSTON -- Some female veterans are struggling and homeless, and it's a problem that is becoming increasingly common.
A group of female veterans are taking a life skills class at the Santa Maria Hostel – the group of women are on the verge of being homeless.
“I could go anywhere and no one would know that I'm homeless,” said Army veteran Jacqueline Wright. “The recession hit. I was unable to find work, and that just led to a downward spiral.”
Some of the women said they’ve spent half their lives on the streets.
“I've slept in bushes, in parks, the backs of people's yards, abandoned cars,” said Navy veteran Cheryl Jett.
Their reasons for being here are as varied as their stories.
“My addiction was pain pills -- Xanax and sleeping pills. I tried committing suicide four times,” said Aimee Dewolfe, a homeless Navy veteran.
read more here
Female veterans struggle with homelessness
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Local Group Seeing More Female Veterans In Need
When I made the trip to Washington DC for Memorial Day weekend ride to the Wall with the Nam Knights, I visited Walter Reed as soon as I got off the plane. Time was limited for this trip, as well as finances, so I used my points and flew into Washington to meet my husband there. I prearranged a tour of Walter Reed so that I could visit the men and women wounded doing what we ask of them.
Honestly, I needed this visit. It has become increasingly difficult to do this work. I've been getting burnt out more often and struggling to find reasons to keep going. I thought meeting them would give me some inspiration to carry on since that is what they do everyday no matter what they face. I was not disappointed.
Totally exhausted, I was greeted by the VIP Ambassador, Rosa Benella. She explained that many of the patients would be heading out of the facility for weekend passes but there were several of them willing to be visited by a stranger like me. One by one, my energy went into overdrive just by shaking their hands and spending a few moments talking to them. Young men and a woman my daughter's age, severely wounded but managed to have such an inspirational outlook for their futures, thinking about any hardship on me seemed pretty petty.
The young woman I met lost a leg due to an RPG. As I listened to what happened to her, with her Mom standing there near tears, she told me how blessed she was that it did not hit her higher. She was an MP. This young woman faces the rest of her life without a leg but does not face it without hope. She has no regrets for doing what she felt compelled to do. Serving her country was worth any price she had to pay.
If you ever feel sorry for yourself, you need to know these men and women and then, then you will understand what the human spirit is capable of. For us to allow any of them to end up homeless, end up without jobs, or become so hopeless they think about ending their lives, it not only becomes a disgrace upon this nation, it is a loss for all of us.
Honestly, I needed this visit. It has become increasingly difficult to do this work. I've been getting burnt out more often and struggling to find reasons to keep going. I thought meeting them would give me some inspiration to carry on since that is what they do everyday no matter what they face. I was not disappointed.
Totally exhausted, I was greeted by the VIP Ambassador, Rosa Benella. She explained that many of the patients would be heading out of the facility for weekend passes but there were several of them willing to be visited by a stranger like me. One by one, my energy went into overdrive just by shaking their hands and spending a few moments talking to them. Young men and a woman my daughter's age, severely wounded but managed to have such an inspirational outlook for their futures, thinking about any hardship on me seemed pretty petty.
The young woman I met lost a leg due to an RPG. As I listened to what happened to her, with her Mom standing there near tears, she told me how blessed she was that it did not hit her higher. She was an MP. This young woman faces the rest of her life without a leg but does not face it without hope. She has no regrets for doing what she felt compelled to do. Serving her country was worth any price she had to pay.
If you ever feel sorry for yourself, you need to know these men and women and then, then you will understand what the human spirit is capable of. For us to allow any of them to end up homeless, end up without jobs, or become so hopeless they think about ending their lives, it not only becomes a disgrace upon this nation, it is a loss for all of us.
Local Group Seeing More Female Veterans In Need
Veterans Village Of San Diego's Stand Down Event Begins July 16; Clothing Drive Starts Friday
POSTED: 5:04 pm PDT June 16, 2010
SAN DIEGO -- As a local group gears up for an annual event which helps homeless veterans, 10News learned the group is seeing a rise in female veterans in need of assistance.
Darcy Pavich, a counselor at Veterans Village of San Diego, is sorting clothes for an upcoming three-day event known as Stand Down -- an event that is in its 23rd year.
Pavich said, "They're [women] driving through combat zones. They're being attacked with IEDs just like the men."
read more here
http://www.10news.com/news/23927074/detail.html
Monday, February 22, 2010
For Women Veterans, Battles Go On at Home
For Women Veterans, Battles Go On at Home
Female Vets Face Lower Pay, Higher Incidence of Homelessness and Fewer Services than Their Male Counterparts
By Russ Mitchell
(CBS) More than 212,000 female service members have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan - 11 percent of the total force. One hundred twenty have been killed in action and more than 600 wounded, but the losses don't end there. CBS News correspondent Russ Mitchell reports on the battles these female warriors face after they return home.
Angela Peacock is just 30 years old, a veteran of the Iraq war who was discharged from the Army for health reasons and became homeless.
"Why does it have to be so hard," she sobs, "to just have a home and to just have a normal life?"
Peacock says she was living "from couch to couch" and "cleaning people's houses so I could stay with them."
read more here
For Women Veterans Battles Go On at Home
Female Vets Face Lower Pay, Higher Incidence of Homelessness and Fewer Services than Their Male Counterparts
By Russ Mitchell
(CBS) More than 212,000 female service members have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan - 11 percent of the total force. One hundred twenty have been killed in action and more than 600 wounded, but the losses don't end there. CBS News correspondent Russ Mitchell reports on the battles these female warriors face after they return home.
Angela Peacock is just 30 years old, a veteran of the Iraq war who was discharged from the Army for health reasons and became homeless.
"Why does it have to be so hard," she sobs, "to just have a home and to just have a normal life?"
Peacock says she was living "from couch to couch" and "cleaning people's houses so I could stay with them."
read more here
For Women Veterans Battles Go On at Home
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Cocoa shelter for homeless women vets important step
Our views: Comrades in arms (Jan. 26)
Cocoa shelter for homeless women vets important step
January 26, 2010
A few weeks ago in this space, we drew attention to the rising number of homeless veterans returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to what we called a “perfect storm” of trouble.
Trouble with the ravaging effects of post-traumatic stress disorder from repeated combat tours, trouble finding a job in the recession and trouble putting food on the table for themselves and their families.
Among their ranks nationally and in our community are an alarming number of women veterans winding up on the streets with their children.
We said the situation demands more attention and we’re happy to report that’s happening along the Space Coast.
The Center for Drug Free Living broke ground Friday in Cocoa for the first local shelter dedicated to homeless women veterans and their kids. It’s an important, compassionate step that will help fight this unseen crisis.
The center will include seven, two-bedroom units with common living and dining areas along with housing, substance abuse and mental health services for 28 women.
The $1.6 million project was largely funded through the Department of Veterans Affairs, part of its ramped-up, $3.2 billion plan to help returning veterans, including the homeless.
Other money came locally, including $250,000 from an unnamed Brevard County donor who deserves a special thanks.
read more here
Cocoa shelter for homeless women vets important step
Cocoa shelter for homeless women vets important step
January 26, 2010
A few weeks ago in this space, we drew attention to the rising number of homeless veterans returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to what we called a “perfect storm” of trouble.
Trouble with the ravaging effects of post-traumatic stress disorder from repeated combat tours, trouble finding a job in the recession and trouble putting food on the table for themselves and their families.
Among their ranks nationally and in our community are an alarming number of women veterans winding up on the streets with their children.
We said the situation demands more attention and we’re happy to report that’s happening along the Space Coast.
The Center for Drug Free Living broke ground Friday in Cocoa for the first local shelter dedicated to homeless women veterans and their kids. It’s an important, compassionate step that will help fight this unseen crisis.
The center will include seven, two-bedroom units with common living and dining areas along with housing, substance abuse and mental health services for 28 women.
The $1.6 million project was largely funded through the Department of Veterans Affairs, part of its ramped-up, $3.2 billion plan to help returning veterans, including the homeless.
Other money came locally, including $250,000 from an unnamed Brevard County donor who deserves a special thanks.
read more here
Cocoa shelter for homeless women vets important step
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Homeless female vets find few services
Homeless female vets find few services
By Kimberly Hefling
The Associated Press
Updated: 12/18/2009
Long Beach, Calif.
The $15,000 that former Army Pvt. Margaret Ortiz had in the bank when she left Iraq is long gone, spent on alcohol and cocaine.
By the time she found her way to a program run by the nonprofit U.S. Vets for homeless female veterans in this Southern California city, she had slept in San Diego on the beach or anywhere she could find after a night of partying. One morning, she woke up behind a trash bin, her pants torn, with no memory of what happened.
Instead of helping her forget her six months in Iraq, where she said she faced attacks on her compound and sexual harassment from fellow soldiers, the alcohol and drugs brought flashbacks and raging blackouts. She said she tried to kill herself.
"You knew something was wrong with you, but you didn't know what was wrong with you. Nobody knew, and so you couldn't really handle it," said Ortiz, 27, from atop her twin bed in a plain dorm-style room, a black 4th Infantry Division ball cap on her head.
Ortiz is one of the new faces among America's homeless veterans.
They're younger than homeless male veterans and more likely to bring children. Their number has doubled in the past decade, and there are an estimated 6,500 homeless female veterans on any given night -- about 5 percent of the total homeless veterans population.
read more here
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14030471
By Kimberly Hefling
The Associated Press
Updated: 12/18/2009
Long Beach, Calif.
The $15,000 that former Army Pvt. Margaret Ortiz had in the bank when she left Iraq is long gone, spent on alcohol and cocaine.
By the time she found her way to a program run by the nonprofit U.S. Vets for homeless female veterans in this Southern California city, she had slept in San Diego on the beach or anywhere she could find after a night of partying. One morning, she woke up behind a trash bin, her pants torn, with no memory of what happened.
Instead of helping her forget her six months in Iraq, where she said she faced attacks on her compound and sexual harassment from fellow soldiers, the alcohol and drugs brought flashbacks and raging blackouts. She said she tried to kill herself.
"You knew something was wrong with you, but you didn't know what was wrong with you. Nobody knew, and so you couldn't really handle it," said Ortiz, 27, from atop her twin bed in a plain dorm-style room, a black 4th Infantry Division ball cap on her head.
Ortiz is one of the new faces among America's homeless veterans.
They're younger than homeless male veterans and more likely to bring children. Their number has doubled in the past decade, and there are an estimated 6,500 homeless female veterans on any given night -- about 5 percent of the total homeless veterans population.
read more here
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14030471
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Homeless Veterans? Something's Wrong With That Phrase
Homeless Veterans? Something's Wrong With That Phrase
Susan Campbell
November 11, 2009
There it was, anchoring the tail end of Hartford's Veterans Day parade — a homeless-veterans float.
What do you say to that?
As the float rolled along the parade route — a flatbed truck decorated with benches, American flags, high-tech sleeping bags, and two orange buckets of candy to throw — parade-goers looked a little stunned before they burst into cheers.
It was a stark reminder of the men and women we're leaving behind. The Department of Veterans Affairs says there are roughly 131,000 homeless veterans in the U.S. About 5,000 of those are in Connecticut, says the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. Overall, homeless veterans make up about a quarter of the homeless population.
Yes, there are female homeless vets out there. The staff at the Hartford homeless shelter South Park Inn just helped one. The woman served two tours in Iraq, and came home with serious post-traumatic stress disorder. She was sleeping on her mother's couch with her 4-year-old.
"And what's coming?" asks Brian Baker, the tireless assistant director at South Park. How are we going to help the veterans churned out by our current wars? South Park has 10 beds set aside for veterans, and already, those beds are always full. The Hartford shelter's veterans' drop-in center, which opened a year and a half ago, has had 500 visits.
Those numbers don't begin to count the veterans — like the young woman — who couch-surf, or bounce from family member to friend, bumming a corner. Nor does that count the hard-cores, the homeless veterans who hide under the bridges and refuse all efforts to be brought inside for services.
go here for more
Homeless Veterans
Susan Campbell
November 11, 2009
There it was, anchoring the tail end of Hartford's Veterans Day parade — a homeless-veterans float.
What do you say to that?
As the float rolled along the parade route — a flatbed truck decorated with benches, American flags, high-tech sleeping bags, and two orange buckets of candy to throw — parade-goers looked a little stunned before they burst into cheers.
It was a stark reminder of the men and women we're leaving behind. The Department of Veterans Affairs says there are roughly 131,000 homeless veterans in the U.S. About 5,000 of those are in Connecticut, says the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. Overall, homeless veterans make up about a quarter of the homeless population.
Yes, there are female homeless vets out there. The staff at the Hartford homeless shelter South Park Inn just helped one. The woman served two tours in Iraq, and came home with serious post-traumatic stress disorder. She was sleeping on her mother's couch with her 4-year-old.
"And what's coming?" asks Brian Baker, the tireless assistant director at South Park. How are we going to help the veterans churned out by our current wars? South Park has 10 beds set aside for veterans, and already, those beds are always full. The Hartford shelter's veterans' drop-in center, which opened a year and a half ago, has had 500 visits.
Those numbers don't begin to count the veterans — like the young woman — who couch-surf, or bounce from family member to friend, bumming a corner. Nor does that count the hard-cores, the homeless veterans who hide under the bridges and refuse all efforts to be brought inside for services.
go here for more
Homeless Veterans
Posted to Great Americans by NamGuardianAngel on September 10, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
For these women veterans, a home to call their own
Gulf War veteran Tinamarie Polverari greeted a fellow resident at Jackie K's House for homeless women veterans. (Gretchen Ertl for The Boston Globe)
For these women veterans, a home to call their own
By Brian MacQuarrie
Globe Staff / October 31, 2009
NORTHAMPTON - An oversized stuffed tiger lies across a bedspread in a brightly colored room where Tinamarie Polverari has draped a New York Yankees cap on a lampshade.
She feels safe here.
Polverari, a 38-year-old Army veteran, lives in a duplex cottage run by the nonprofit group Soldier On. A victim of repeated rapes during the Gulf War, she returned in 1993 to an unhinged civilian life of heroin, crack cocaine, and desperate homelessness.
She is among a growing legion of female veterans who have turned to the street after a failed transition from military to civilian life. At a time when women are assuming an ever-expanding role in the armed forces, the number of homeless female veterans is rising.
Women last year accounted for an estimated 5 percent of all homeless veterans, or 6,500 former servicewomen, a figure that is 67 percent higher than the number reported in 2004, according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs. By contrast, the total number of homeless veterans decreased by 33 percent in the same period, to 131,000 from 195,000.
read more here
For these women veterans, a home to call their own
Friday, September 25, 2009
U.S. seeing more female homeless veterans
Sgt. Angela Peacock is seen in 2004, after she returned to the United States from duty in Iraq.
U.S. seeing more female homeless veterans
Story Highlights
VA: Percentage of homeless female veterans growing faster than male veterans
Female Iraq war vet blames wartime trauma for her PTSD and near-homelessness
Unemployment among post-9/11 vets has nearly doubled, to 11.3 percent
VA secretary vows to end homelessness among vets in five years
By Thom Patterson
CNN
(CNN) -- When Iraq war veteran Angela Peacock is in the shower, she sometimes closes her eyes and can't help reliving the day in Baghdad in 2003 that pushed her closer to the edge.
While pulling security detail for an Army convoy stuck in gridlocked traffic, Peacock's vehicle came alongside a van full of Iraqi men who "began shouting that they were going to kill us," she said.
One man in the vehicle was particularly threatening. "I can remember his eyes looking at me," she said. "I put my finger on the trigger and aimed my weapon at the guy, and my driver is screaming at me to stop."
"I was really close to shooting at them, but I didn't."
Now back home in Missouri, Peacock, 30, is unemployed -- squatting without a lease in a tiny house in a North St. Louis County neighborhood.
She points to the Baghdad confrontation as a major contributor to her struggles with drug abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. She says she's one step away from living on the street.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/09/25/homeless.veterans/index.html
This is one of the videos I made on female veterans. I have a DVD with five videos on it for female veterans. As always, the videos are free online from my blog here and on my website at
http://www.namguardianangel.com/ but I do ask for a donation if you want a DVD sent to you. If you are having a hard time getting people to understand what PTSD is, or why women have it at higher rates than males do, these videos can help you explain it to them. Suggested donation for this DVD set is $30.00. You can email me at namguardianangel@aol.com or use the paypal button on the sidebar.
Posted to Great Americans by NamGuardianAngel on September 10, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Saratoga event raises thousands toward aiding homeless women vets
N.Y.'s first lady backs vets site
Saratoga event raises thousands toward aiding homeless women vets
By LEIGH HORNBECK, Staff writer
First published in print: Sunday, August 16, 2009
SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Judy Boyce, a Virginia native who served in the Army between 1969 and 1971 at Fort McClellan, Al., found the transition to civilian life seamless. But Sunday, she came out in support of women who leave the military only to struggle and sometimes become homeless.
Boyce was one of 200 people who gathered under a pavilion at the Fraternal Order of Eagles on Crescent Avenue to support the creation of Guardian House, a safe haven for homeless female veterans to help them transition into civilian life and the workforce. Boyce designed and produced a special pin for the cause. First lady Michelle Paterson made an appearance at the fundraiser.
read more here
NY first lady backs vets site
Saratoga event raises thousands toward aiding homeless women vets
By LEIGH HORNBECK, Staff writer
First published in print: Sunday, August 16, 2009
SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Judy Boyce, a Virginia native who served in the Army between 1969 and 1971 at Fort McClellan, Al., found the transition to civilian life seamless. But Sunday, she came out in support of women who leave the military only to struggle and sometimes become homeless.
Boyce was one of 200 people who gathered under a pavilion at the Fraternal Order of Eagles on Crescent Avenue to support the creation of Guardian House, a safe haven for homeless female veterans to help them transition into civilian life and the workforce. Boyce designed and produced a special pin for the cause. First lady Michelle Paterson made an appearance at the fundraiser.
read more here
NY first lady backs vets site
Friday, July 17, 2009
Vietnam Vet Kathy Newton, battles cancer and lives in a tent
This is a terrible story about homeless people in this country when you really think about it, but it is also a wonderful story about people taking care of each other. Troy Renault and his family are taking care of other people at the campground they now call home, giving away what little they have. Remarkable people.
One of them, Kathy Newton, is a homeless Vietnam veteran with cancer. Why isn't she getting the treatment she needs? How many stories about homeless veterans do we really need to read before we go out and get all of them at least the medical care they need?
We need to care about all the homeless people in this country because it's the right thing to do. We also need to take care of our veterans because it's the honorable thing to do in return for the fact they served the rest of us.
One of them, Kathy Newton, is a homeless Vietnam veteran with cancer. Why isn't she getting the treatment she needs? How many stories about homeless veterans do we really need to read before we go out and get all of them at least the medical care they need?
We need to care about all the homeless people in this country because it's the right thing to do. We also need to take care of our veterans because it's the honorable thing to do in return for the fact they served the rest of us.
Homeless Families Flock to Campgrounds
July 15, 2009 - 2:41 PM by: Brooks Blanton
Troy Renault remembers the shocking statistic he heard earlier this year while watching the news. By the end of 2009, more than a million children will be homeless because of the recession, foreclosure crisis and skyrocketing unemployment rate.
"I was like how could that happen? In this country, how can that happen," Renault pondered that fact while sitting at a picnic table on a hot Tennessee afternoon. "And little did I think that my children would be part of the statistic."
He works in construction, helping build the suburban Nashville neighborhood that he, his wife Tammy and their four sons called home in until six weeks ago. When the housing industry collapsed, Troy was laid off and started his own handyman business. But even on his own, work was hard to find. The family struggled to make their bills.
"Do I keep the lights and water on so that we can at least get clean, wash clothes and do dishes? Or do we pay the rent and sit in the darkness?"
The lack of work finally caught up with the Renault family and they eventually lost their home. With nowhere to go, they packed their belongings and moved to Space 34 at the Timberline Campground in Lebanon, Tennessee. They now live in two tents, joined together to make up a tiny living room complete with a lamp and TV and three small rooms for the family of six to sleep. Their kitchen is a grill, stacks of plastic containers of food and a line of coolers just outside the tent. Running water, showers and toilets are a few steps away in a public restroom intended for campers to use on long weekends, vacations and holidays.
It's an attitude the Renault's live by at Timberline. They give away their own comfort items or lend a helping hand to those they feel are in more need. Even though they sweat out the hot days and humid nights in their tents, they refused to keep a donated air conditioner. Instead they gave it to Kathy Newton, a vietnam veteran who is battling cancer and lives in a tent just two spaces down from their makeshift home. Troy also gave a refrigerator to a couple at a neighboring campsite who couldn't afford to replace one that broke down and he recently helped an another woman by fixing the plumbing in her tiny camper, free of charge.
read more here
Homeless Families Flock to Campgrounds
Monday, July 6, 2009
More female veterans are winding up homeless
More female veterans are winding up homeless
VA resources strained; many are single parents
By Bryan Bender
Globe Staff / July 6, 2009
WASHINGTON - The number of female service members who have become homeless after leaving the military has jumped dramatically in recent years, according to new government estimates, presenting the Veterans Administration with a challenge as it struggles to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.
As more women serve in combat zones, the share of female veterans who end up homeless, while still relatively small at an estimated 6,500, has nearly doubled over the last decade, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
For younger veterans, it is even more pronounced: One out of every 10 homeless vets under the age of 45 is now a woman, the statistics show.
read more here
More female veterans are winding up homeless
VA resources strained; many are single parents
By Bryan Bender
Globe Staff / July 6, 2009
WASHINGTON - The number of female service members who have become homeless after leaving the military has jumped dramatically in recent years, according to new government estimates, presenting the Veterans Administration with a challenge as it struggles to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.
As more women serve in combat zones, the share of female veterans who end up homeless, while still relatively small at an estimated 6,500, has nearly doubled over the last decade, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
For younger veterans, it is even more pronounced: One out of every 10 homeless vets under the age of 45 is now a woman, the statistics show.
read more here
More female veterans are winding up homeless
Monday, April 13, 2009
Female vets struggling to get treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder
Female vets struggling to get treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder
NBC News
Updated: 4/13/2009
The war in Iraq has been now been raging for six years.
It's the first war where women in the U.S. military are in combat roles.
Even years after serving in Iraq, female veterans are still adjusting to civilian life.
At a women's veterans art show in San Francisco vets say the six year anniversary of the war brings back painful memories.
"The 6 year anniversary has me thinking about the friends that I lost. And the friends that I still have who have been forever scared by the war," said Iraq war veteran Lindsey Rousseau-Burnett.
Many of the women we talked to say they are getting psychiatric help from the Veteran's Administration.
But they say the agency is behind the times.
"Because women supposedly aren't in combat they have a higher burden of proof to try and prove they have PTSD," said vet Kayla Williams.
The veteran's service organization Swords to Plowshares says female Iraq war vets are the fastest growing population of homeless.
go here for the rest
Female vets struggling to get treatment for post-traumatic stress ...
WBIR-TV - Knoxville,TN,USA
NBC News
Updated: 4/13/2009
The war in Iraq has been now been raging for six years.
It's the first war where women in the U.S. military are in combat roles.
Even years after serving in Iraq, female veterans are still adjusting to civilian life.
At a women's veterans art show in San Francisco vets say the six year anniversary of the war brings back painful memories.
"The 6 year anniversary has me thinking about the friends that I lost. And the friends that I still have who have been forever scared by the war," said Iraq war veteran Lindsey Rousseau-Burnett.
Many of the women we talked to say they are getting psychiatric help from the Veteran's Administration.
But they say the agency is behind the times.
"Because women supposedly aren't in combat they have a higher burden of proof to try and prove they have PTSD," said vet Kayla Williams.
The veteran's service organization Swords to Plowshares says female Iraq war vets are the fastest growing population of homeless.
go here for the rest
Female vets struggling to get treatment for post-traumatic stress ...
WBIR-TV - Knoxville,TN,USA
Sunday, November 9, 2008
This Veteran's Day should come with remembering the homeless veterans
This Veteran's Day, as we honor our veterans, it would be really nice to stop and think about how many of them are homeless and how many of them are females as well. One thing that is often forgotten about with female homeless veterans, is a lot of them come with children!
Not enough housing for homeless female veterans
By James Hannah - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Nov 9, 2008 13:36:03 EST
DAYTON, Ohio — When Carisa Dogen looks back on her life of 38 years, it’s easy to see where she lost her way: She left her hometown of Dayton at 15 and moved to Kentucky, where she graduated from high school and enrolled in electronics school. But drugs beckoned, and she didn’t finish.
She joined the military, but fate intervened and she later found herself homeless — forced to sleep in parks on some nights when it was bitterly cold and rainy, and scavenge for food in trash cans.
“I got accosted a couple of times by males. Walking the streets and stuff, it’s hard and it’s scary,” she said in the comfort of The Other Place, a homeless shelter in Dayton that helped put her into new housing where she will receive treatment and job training.
Particularly bewildering for Dogen, she is an Army veteran. Her life should never have come to this.
Of the 1.8 million female military veterans, Dogen was among the 7,000 to 8,000 who are homeless, as estimated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. She is among the few who have benefited from new housing specifically for female veterans, an initiative homeless advocates say falls far short of what is needed.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_homeless_veterans_110908/
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
7,000 to 8,000 homeless veterans are female
New Housing Serves Homeless Female Vets
October 20, 2008
Associated Press
DAYTON, Ohio - Carisa Dogen is an Army veteran. She's also homeless, and has slept in parks and scavenged for food in trash cans.
"It's real tough, especially on nights when it's cold and rainy," Dogen, 38, said as she sat inside The Other Place, a homeless shelter. "I got accosted a couple of times by males. Walking the streets and stuff, it's hard and it's scary."
Dogen is among the 7,000 to 8,000 homeless female U.S. military veterans as estimated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. She is among the few who are hoping to benefit from new housing specifically for female veterans, an initiative homeless advocates say falls far short of what is needed.
A 27-unit renovated apartment building for female veterans on the Dayton Veterans Affairs Medical Center campus was completed in August. It is expected to be filled by mid-November.
The facility is one of the largest of about a dozen around the nation, said Peter Dougherty, director of homeless-veterans programs for Veterans Affairs. Run by a private housing agency, it will give veterans access to medical services, day care, job training, and drug and alcohol counseling.
The homeless female veteran is a relatively new phenomenon because only recently have so many women been in the military, said Todd DePastino, a historian at Waynesburg University in Pennsylvania who wrote a book on the history of homelessness.
Nearly 11 percent of U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are women. Women make up about 5 percent of homeless veterans, up from 3 percent 10 years ago, according to the VA.
"It's a national embarrassment," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
More women are showing up at the door of Swords to Plowshares, a San Francisco group that provides housing and other services to homeless veterans.
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October 20, 2008
Associated Press
DAYTON, Ohio - Carisa Dogen is an Army veteran. She's also homeless, and has slept in parks and scavenged for food in trash cans.
"It's real tough, especially on nights when it's cold and rainy," Dogen, 38, said as she sat inside The Other Place, a homeless shelter. "I got accosted a couple of times by males. Walking the streets and stuff, it's hard and it's scary."
Dogen is among the 7,000 to 8,000 homeless female U.S. military veterans as estimated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. She is among the few who are hoping to benefit from new housing specifically for female veterans, an initiative homeless advocates say falls far short of what is needed.
A 27-unit renovated apartment building for female veterans on the Dayton Veterans Affairs Medical Center campus was completed in August. It is expected to be filled by mid-November.
The facility is one of the largest of about a dozen around the nation, said Peter Dougherty, director of homeless-veterans programs for Veterans Affairs. Run by a private housing agency, it will give veterans access to medical services, day care, job training, and drug and alcohol counseling.
The homeless female veteran is a relatively new phenomenon because only recently have so many women been in the military, said Todd DePastino, a historian at Waynesburg University in Pennsylvania who wrote a book on the history of homelessness.
Nearly 11 percent of U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are women. Women make up about 5 percent of homeless veterans, up from 3 percent 10 years ago, according to the VA.
"It's a national embarrassment," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
More women are showing up at the door of Swords to Plowshares, a San Francisco group that provides housing and other services to homeless veterans.
click post title for more
Friday, September 26, 2008
Several updates on homeless veterans
Homeless Veterans Stand Down Helps Local Vets
WJHG-TV - Panama City,FL,USA
It's a great place," said Glenn Folds, another homeless veteran. Murphy and Folds are not alone. The Homeless and Hunger Coalition of Northwest Florida
Grant for homeless veterans center
Worcester Telegram - Worcester,MA,USA
WORCESTER— Massachusetts Veterans Inc. has received a $1.5 million federal grant to build a center for homeless veterans.
Homeless vets' facility earns grantStockton Record - Stockton,CA,USA
By The Record Dignity's Alcove, not yet a year old and the Stockton area's first transitional home for homeless veterans, will receive a $377000
Shelter for homeless vets to receive $2 million
Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
Patty Murray says that a new $2 million grant from the Department of Veteran Affairs will provide money for a new shelter that will serve homeless veterans
Female vets' shelter proposed for Ballston Spa
The Saratogian - Saratoga,NY,USA
Funding sources include the Homeless Veterans Reintegration program.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Angel House taking care of female homeless veterans
This Side Up - August 13, 2008
Mitzie leads the way to help vets
By Pat Eudy
(Published August 13, 2008)
One of Mitzie's favorite things is her job as advancement associate with Lutheran Family Services. She is working on a great project in partnership with the Veterans Administration. The project is a transitional home for homeless female veterans. It's called Angel House.
Angel house will serve six female veterans at a time. The goal of this project is by the time they leave this home they will be self sufficient, have a job, bank account and a house or apartment. There are 300 female homeless veterans in South Carolina and 71 percent of them have suffered sexual assault while in the military, according to some statistics.
go here for more
http://www.fortmilltimes.com/187/story/254765.html
Mitzie leads the way to help vets
By Pat Eudy
(Published August 13, 2008)
One of Mitzie's favorite things is her job as advancement associate with Lutheran Family Services. She is working on a great project in partnership with the Veterans Administration. The project is a transitional home for homeless female veterans. It's called Angel House.
Angel house will serve six female veterans at a time. The goal of this project is by the time they leave this home they will be self sufficient, have a job, bank account and a house or apartment. There are 300 female homeless veterans in South Carolina and 71 percent of them have suffered sexual assault while in the military, according to some statistics.
go here for more
http://www.fortmilltimes.com/187/story/254765.html
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Women, too, getting help at Stand Down
Women, too, getting help at Stand Down
By Robert Jordan
Valley Times
Article Last Updated: 08/08/2008 10:59:53 PM PDT
PLEASANTON — Renee Lyles-Creech's work is impossible to see. But the 51-year-old El Sobrante woman's marks are scattered throughout the Bay Area, buried under concrete, blocked by glass windows and covered up with paint.
A welder, Lyles-Creech's eyes light up when she talks about the trade she learned in the Navy and continued to use when she got out up until she suffered a shoulder injury in 2000.
That injury resulted in her losing full-time work; a series of traffic tickets hampered her from finding steady employment or a place to live.
She served in the service from 1974 to 1978 and patched up Sea King helicopters. After her service ended, she helped retrofit San Francisco City Hall and worked on the Bay Bridge.
Lyles-Creech is one of a growing number of woman participants at the East Bay Stand Down, hoping to find the assistance to get back on their feet.
"I just haven't been able to keep up with rent," said Lyles-Creech, who is staying with a friend in El Sobrante. "I'm in parking ticket hell. I just have surmounted so many."
This year's Stand Down drew 32 women veterans, the most since it started in 1999. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, about 1.7 million women are among this nation's 23.5 million veterans.
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By Robert Jordan
Valley Times
Article Last Updated: 08/08/2008 10:59:53 PM PDT
PLEASANTON — Renee Lyles-Creech's work is impossible to see. But the 51-year-old El Sobrante woman's marks are scattered throughout the Bay Area, buried under concrete, blocked by glass windows and covered up with paint.
A welder, Lyles-Creech's eyes light up when she talks about the trade she learned in the Navy and continued to use when she got out up until she suffered a shoulder injury in 2000.
That injury resulted in her losing full-time work; a series of traffic tickets hampered her from finding steady employment or a place to live.
She served in the service from 1974 to 1978 and patched up Sea King helicopters. After her service ended, she helped retrofit San Francisco City Hall and worked on the Bay Bridge.
Lyles-Creech is one of a growing number of woman participants at the East Bay Stand Down, hoping to find the assistance to get back on their feet.
"I just haven't been able to keep up with rent," said Lyles-Creech, who is staying with a friend in El Sobrante. "I'm in parking ticket hell. I just have surmounted so many."
This year's Stand Down drew 32 women veterans, the most since it started in 1999. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, about 1.7 million women are among this nation's 23.5 million veterans.
click post title for more
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
300 to 400 homeless female veterans in Tampa area
'Faces Of Athena' Show To Benefit Homeless Female War Veterans
The Tampa Tribune
Published: July 30, 2008
A group of about 30 artists will offer works for sale at a benefit Saturday to aid homeless female war veterans.
Called "Faces of Athena," the free exhibition opens to the public at 6 p.m. Saturday at Romeo's Art Gallery, 1515 Seventh Ave. in Ybor City.
"These are people who are having trouble fitting back into society and getting on their feet. Some are withdrawn and depressed," said Rich Frederick, an artist and U.S. Air Force veteran who co-chairs the event with Sara Romeo, co owner of the gallery and executive director of Tampa Crossroads, the beneficiary of the exhibit.
Tampa Crossroads, a nonprofit agency begun in 1977, provides a wide range of rehabilitative skills to adults. Through its Athena Program, it will provide housing and a variety of support services for 16 female veterans by November.
Toward that goal, the group has renovated a two-story red brick building in the Ybor Historic District that once housed returning World War II veterans.
click post title for more
The Tampa Tribune
Published: July 30, 2008
A group of about 30 artists will offer works for sale at a benefit Saturday to aid homeless female war veterans.
Called "Faces of Athena," the free exhibition opens to the public at 6 p.m. Saturday at Romeo's Art Gallery, 1515 Seventh Ave. in Ybor City.
"These are people who are having trouble fitting back into society and getting on their feet. Some are withdrawn and depressed," said Rich Frederick, an artist and U.S. Air Force veteran who co-chairs the event with Sara Romeo, co owner of the gallery and executive director of Tampa Crossroads, the beneficiary of the exhibit.
Tampa Crossroads, a nonprofit agency begun in 1977, provides a wide range of rehabilitative skills to adults. Through its Athena Program, it will provide housing and a variety of support services for 16 female veterans by November.
Toward that goal, the group has renovated a two-story red brick building in the Ybor Historic District that once housed returning World War II veterans.
"The building is 100 percent renovated, but we need to add some safety features to meet code," said Romeo, who wishes she could offer the services sooner than November. "We know there are about 300 to 400 homeless female vets in our community right now,"
click post title for more
Monday, July 28, 2008
Advocates Seek Aid For Homeless Female Veterans
Advocates Seek Aid For Homeless Female Veterans
By ANN MARIE SOMMA Courant Staff Writer
Caroline Contreras says a rape at Fort Dix, N.J., 20 years ago derailed her military career and sent her on an inexorable path of addiction and homelessness.
But what the 48-year-old veteran says she remembers most painfully is how her government let her down when she finally sought help.
Last year, Contreras showed up at the U.S. Veterans Administration facility in West Haven homeless and ready to sober up and deal with the trauma of the sexual assault by fellow servicemen.
She completed the VA's substance abuse treatment program, restored her self-worth after working with a therapist and shed her destructive coping skills. When she was ready to leave the program to rebuild her life, the VA had no place to send her.
Women-only shelter beds in the state were full. Transitional housing wasn't available. The best the VA could offer her was a bus ticket to a shelter in Massachusetts.
"It brought me back to the way I felt when I was raped," Contreras said. "I was insignificant. I wasn't worthy. No matter what I did, I couldn't get the respect of a male veteran."
go here for more
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfJUL08/nf072808-7.htm
By ANN MARIE SOMMA Courant Staff Writer
Caroline Contreras says a rape at Fort Dix, N.J., 20 years ago derailed her military career and sent her on an inexorable path of addiction and homelessness.
But what the 48-year-old veteran says she remembers most painfully is how her government let her down when she finally sought help.
Last year, Contreras showed up at the U.S. Veterans Administration facility in West Haven homeless and ready to sober up and deal with the trauma of the sexual assault by fellow servicemen.
She completed the VA's substance abuse treatment program, restored her self-worth after working with a therapist and shed her destructive coping skills. When she was ready to leave the program to rebuild her life, the VA had no place to send her.
Women-only shelter beds in the state were full. Transitional housing wasn't available. The best the VA could offer her was a bus ticket to a shelter in Massachusetts.
"It brought me back to the way I felt when I was raped," Contreras said. "I was insignificant. I wasn't worthy. No matter what I did, I couldn't get the respect of a male veteran."
go here for more
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfJUL08/nf072808-7.htm
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