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Connecting Veterans to Services

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How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!
~Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou is right in calling for a celebration of our she-roes, but she would surely agree that females in the service and after, as veterans of war, face particular problems-problems that negatively impact their life and sometimes result in severe illness and homelessness. On November 13th, appropriately near Veteran's Day 2008, the Washington State Department of Veteran Affairs (WDVA) and Building Changes hosted a panel discussion, which was attended by Washington Families Fund grantees and other members of the housing and service provider community. One goal the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs shares with both county and federal veterans service programs is to educate shelter providers, community mental health providers, outreach workers, and veterans' family members about available programs, resulting in increased referrals to the VA for covered services. Many female veterans remain unaware of these services-services that can help them get their lives back on track.

One of our panelists, Kathy Gerard of the federal Homeless Women Veterans Program, had a lively discussion with audience members, many of whom happened to be female veterans. She noted that recent research shows a large majority of homeless women veterans having significant psychosocial stressors, including mental health and substance abuse issues. Gerard noted, "Many of these women have had multiple traumatic experiences, like military sexual trauma or sexual harassment. Some have experienced domestic violence or sexual assault. Many of them have medical or mental health problems that may have begun while they were on active duty. Many of them did not seek treatment for these problems at the time for a variety of reasons."

Gerard said many of the women she talked to had not even considered coming to the VA for services. Some women reported that they never considered themselves veterans because of their gender, age or because they never served in a war zone. Some women veterans reported that they didn't know about the VA, or called the VA only as a last resort after exhausting all of their other resources. The Homeless Women Veterans Program helps women access VA homeless program residential beds, such as the Compensated Work Therapy Transitional Residence Program and the Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans Program. Both of these programs are designed as back-to-work programs and require mental health stability and abstinence.

Building Changes believes everyone deserves the opportunity for a home, healthy life, and a good job, including our veterans of war. By bringing together experts and service providers through training programs and panels, Building Changes broadens horizons of learning for diverse segments of our community. Our work, as Ms. Angelou notes, "liberates the soul"-engendering hope for the hopeless and homes for the homeless.

For more information on our partnership with Washington State Department of Veteran Affairs and upcoming panel presentations, please contact Erin Chambers, Training Coordinator.

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