When the Homeless Vet Is a Woman Warrior
Submitted by Dave the VSO on Tue, 01/31/2012 - 10:48am
But here’s something new: the number of homeless women vets more than doubled from 2006 to 2010 according to Mark Thompson, writing online for Time magazine.
The numbers don’t include women who are living in shelters, or women who are homeless but haven’t been asked if they’re vets, so that number could be even higher.
A GAO report says that by 2010, “homeless women veterans were commonly middle-aged, divorced, unemployed, or newly homeless. Many of these women also had disabilities.” Sound familiar?
And that middle-aged part? That was two years ago, pal. Think of the number of women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan who are just now coming home. A lotta young women are going to be re-entering civilian life, with the all the trials that men have along with some different ones all their own.
We’ve talked here about the VA recognizing that women’s medical issues are different from men’s (duh!) but there’s still a gap in care that misses many women vets out there. Sometimes the reasons are geography…no place close by. Sometimes, just like men, they find it difficult to ask for help. No, I don’t know why this is so, but I can tell you this: it’s time to start calling them out.
Do women suffer from PTSD, TBI? You bet they do.
Is their adjustment back to civilian life a piece of cake? Hardly.
How about jobs? You kiddin’ me?
First things first: get healthy. Here’s the place for women vets to start and a list of frequently asked questions to help you find answers sooner. About employment, check out my blog “Job Search for Vets” here.
Visit your local vet center. There’s a map on the home page to help you find the nearest one. You’ll meet people who are handling the same set of problems you are.
Also a resource for you, the vets at the NVF. Call them at 888.777.4443. That’s what I do.
Dave Culmer, Semper Fi
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