Women Veteren

Issues and Information
They are often the silent victims of the street, cloaking their past, distrusting of services and linking up with people who frequently take advantage of them. As more and more women join the military, complete their stint of service and return home, many are struggling with problems previously mostly seen in their male counterparts: post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and homelessness. In years past, women held largely female positions in the military such as nursing and clerical work. Now, more and more women are on the front lines in combat roles. Due to the nature of the war going on in Afghanistan and Iraq, women are being exposed to situations that bring on a lot of trauma. As they return home to their husbands and family, there will be strife. Those who work to help veterans, expect that the strife, coupled with other challenges posed by the transition to civilian life, will result in an increase in the homeless population of female veterans. Homeless women often dive into poor relationships that mask the need for help. Instead of getting them the right services to bring them out of the downward spiral, they fall into a bad relationship. Some transitional programs serving homeless vets have dormitory-style accommodations that may deter women who are seeking assistance. They don t like blending with the men. They ve been mistreated, haven t been accepted; the last thing they want is to be thrown into a dormitory with a bunch of guys. A variety of factors lead those who deal with vets to describe the issue of women joining the homeless, the invisible problems. A licensed clinical social worker, heads up the Veterans Administration s Community Residential Care Program which places veterans in sponsor homes, a sort of adult foster care program. Willing sponsors commit to arranging meals, transportation and other services for the veterans, who often suffer from a wide range of problems. Help Lags for Homeless Female Veterans With the likelihood of more women veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan with a need for housing, it s going to be a major issue for homeless veterans, noting that there isn t enough housing to meet even current demands. The VA is trying to gear up services for women, but frankly it s not enough, given what we are dealing with. Dept. of Veterans Affairs report existing programs for women are probably not yet sufficient. There s not even one in every state. Recently, the VA announced $12 million in new grants for programs for female, mentally disabled, and elderly veterans double the current funding for these special needs programs. The VA will also fund about 80 additional beds for female veterans in shelters in five states. For female veterans who find themselves on the streets, the problem of finding an adequate shelter is often compounded by fear of sexual abuse. Only a handful of veterans services around the US have special buildings or floors for women, despite the fact that social workers say separate facilities for homeless female vets are crucial for their recovery. When you talk to women veterans, you ll hear them clearly say, We want a place of our own . They don t feel safe, reports the director of a homeless veterans services in Philadelphia. Many women who served in the military don t perceive themselves as veterans; the VA needs to undertake a board-based campaign to educate veterans about their benefits. A single mother veteran states she had a hard time getting help from the VA to find housing when she returned from Iraq, she thinks the department should institute a buddy system to pair up female veterans with others like them in their area. The VA has no permanent housing program for veterans; it only funds temporary transitional housing programs around the country. The problem, experts say, is there are not enough affordable housing vouchers for all who need them. One veteran states your family can t' relate to what you and your soldiers had, and it s just really hard. I feel lost. I don t know what to do with my time . Someone has to venture out and say we know there is a need and yes, we are putting this facility up for you trust us, we re here for you. What would be ideal is the local development of women-only programs, a sanctuary of sorts, designed exclusively to counter problems of being a woman, homeless and a veteran (gender specific, thus the development of The Bogan Quarters). Health Issues: The war zone s stress is the reason experts believe women experience stronger forms of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). VA s women s health care service grew by $43.5 million in 2006, a $22.5 million increase since 2000. (VA improvement since 1992 are not enough) VA launched a $6 million study to focus on female veterans in 2005. Its findings revealed that female GIs are more likely than males to have been exposed to trauma, including physical assault, sexual abuse or rape. PTSD is the leading factor in female vet s psychological problems; another prime contributor is sexual trauma, verbal harassment, physical assault or rape A study released early this year found that of more than 220,000 Iraq veterans 23.6% of women had a mental health concern compared with 18.6% for men. Studies conducted by the VA health system vary, but generally about 20% of women report a physical assault during their service. The VA found 29% of the women veterans if evaluated returned with genital or urinary system problems, 33% had digestive illness and 42% had back troubles, arthritis and other muscular ailments. Statistics: In 1973 women made up 2.5% of the military by 2004 that number had risen to 15%. With 1.7 million female veterans of all eras today, VA predicts that by 2010, 10% of all veterans will be women, a jump from 2% in 1997. Nearly 15% of the military is female, which partly explains the increase in female veterans and their homelessness. But of the 260 programs in the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans network that gives counseling, shelter, and other services to homeless veterans, only 8 have special programs for women. From the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan alone 155,000 women deployed with more females exposed to roadside bombs, ambushes and other deadly hazards than any post conflict. An estimated 8,000 female veterans are homeless in the US the most in the nation s history and a number that is expected to increase as more women return from the war in Iraq. At the same time, services to help these women stay off the streets are lagging behind, say several experts who work with veterans issues. A 61-bed transition housing program for homeless veterans in Salt Lake County suspects on any given night there are between 90 and 120 female veterans who are homeless. The environments where many of them are, there is domestic violence and other problems. Nationally, the Veteran Affairs Administration has 7,600 beds available for homeless veterans---1,700 available for women in coed programs and 206 in women only facilities. A woman who served in the military is up to 4 times more likely to be homeless than a non veteran woman. www.BoganQuarters.org
Sources: (The American Journal of Public Health -July, 2003) (The American of Journal Orthopsychiatry-July, 2005) (New York Times Magazine-May,2006) (Journal of American Medical Association-March, 2006) (Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease-October, 2004)

They are often the silent victims of the street, cloaking their past, distrusting of services and linking up with people who frequently take advantage of them.
As more and more women join the military, complete their stint of service and return home, many are struggling with problems previously mostly seen in their male counterparts: post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and homelessness.
In years past, women held largely female positions in the military such as nursing and clerical work. Now, more and more women are on the front lines in combat roles.
Due to the nature of the war going on in Afghanistan and Iraq, women are being exposed to situations that bring on a lot of trauma. As they return home to their husbands and family, there will be strife.
Those who work to help veterans, expect that the strife, coupled with other challenges posed by the transition to civilian life, will result in an increase in the homeless population of female veterans.
Homeless women often dive into poor relationships that mask the need for help. Instead of getting them the right services to bring them out of the downward spiral, they fall into a bad relationship.
Some transitional programs serving homeless vets have dormitory-style accommodations that may deter women who are seeking assistance. They don t like blending with the men. They ve been mistreated, haven t been accepted; the last thing they want is to be thrown into a dormitory with a bunch of guys.
A variety of factors lead those who deal with vets to describe the issue of women joining the homeless, the invisible problems.
A licensed clinical social worker, heads up the Veterans Administration s Community Residential Care Program which places veterans in sponsor homes, a sort of adult foster care program. Willing sponsors commit to arranging meals, transportation and other services for the veterans, who often suffer from a wide range of problems.

Help Lags for Homeless Female Veterans
With the likelihood of more women veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan with a need for housing, it s going to be a major issue for homeless veterans, noting that there isn t enough housing to meet even current demands. The VA is trying to gear up services for women, but frankly it s not enough, given what we are dealing with.
Dept. of Veterans Affairs report existing programs for women are probably not yet sufficient. There s not even one in every state.
Recently, the VA announced $12 million in new grants for programs for female, mentally disabled, and elderly veterans double the current funding for these special needs programs. The VA will also fund about 80 additional beds for female veterans in shelters in five states.
For female veterans who find themselves on the streets, the problem of finding an adequate shelter is often compounded by fear of sexual abuse. Only a handful of veterans services around the US have special buildings or floors for women, despite the fact that social workers say separate facilities for homeless female vets are crucial for their recovery. When you talk to women veterans, you ll hear them clearly say, We want a place of our own . They don t feel safe, reports the director of a homeless veterans services in Philadelphia.
Many women who served in the military don t perceive themselves as veterans; the VA needs to undertake a board-based campaign to educate veterans about their benefits.
A single mother veteran states she had a hard time getting help from the VA to find housing when she returned from Iraq, she thinks the department should institute a buddy system to pair up female veterans with others like them in their area.
The VA has no permanent housing program for veterans; it only funds temporary transitional housing programs around the country. The problem, experts say, is there are not enough affordable housing vouchers for all who need them.
One veteran states your family can t' relate to what you and your soldiers had, and it s just really hard. I feel lost. I don t know what to do with my time .
Someone has to venture out and say we know there is a need and yes, we are putting this facility up for you trust us, we re here for you. What would be ideal is the local development of women-only programs, a sanctuary of sorts, designed exclusively to counter problems of being a woman, homeless and a veteran (gender specific, thus the development of The Bogan Quarters).

Health Issues:

The war zone s stress is the reason experts believe women experience stronger forms of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).
VA s women s health care service grew by $43.5 million in 2006, a $22.5 million increase since 2000. (VA improvement since 1992 are not enough)
VA launched a $6 million study to focus on female veterans in 2005. Its findings revealed that female GIs are more likely than males to have been exposed to trauma, including physical assault, sexual abuse or rape.
PTSD is the leading factor in female vet s psychological problems; another prime contributor is sexual trauma, verbal harassment, physical assault or rape
A study released early this year found that of more than 220,000 Iraq veterans 23.6% of women had a mental health concern compared with 18.6% for men.
Studies conducted by the VA health system vary, but generally about 20% of women report a physical assault during their service.
The VA found 29% of the women veterans if evaluated returned with genital or urinary system problems, 33% had digestive illness and 42% had back troubles, arthritis and other muscular ailments.

Statistics:

In 1973 women made up 2.5% of the military by 2004 that number had risen to 15%.
With 1.7 million female veterans of all eras today, VA predicts that by 2010, 10% of all veterans will be women, a jump from 2% in 1997.
Nearly 15% of the military is female, which partly explains the increase in female veterans and their homelessness. But of the 260 programs in the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans network that gives counseling, shelter, and other services to homeless veterans, only 8 have special programs for women.
From the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan alone 155,000 women deployed with more females exposed to roadside bombs, ambushes and other deadly hazards than any post conflict.
An estimated 8,000 female veterans are homeless in the US the most in the nation s history and a number that is expected to increase as more women return from the war in Iraq. At the same time, services to help these women stay off the streets are lagging behind, say several experts who work with veterans issues.
A 61-bed transition housing program for homeless veterans in Salt Lake County suspects on any given night there are between 90 and 120 female veterans who are homeless. The environments where many of them are, there is domestic violence and other problems.
Nationally, the Veteran Affairs Administration has 7,600 beds available for homeless veterans---1,700 available for women in coed programs and 206 in women only facilities.
A woman who served in the military is up to 4 times more likely to be homeless than a non veteran woman.

www.BoganQuarters.org