July 13, 2011 - Women are a rapidly growing part of the military — and are becoming an ever-larger part of the homeless veteran population, as well.
This Friday, hundreds of those women will gain access to the resources and support they need to survive here in Long Beach.
California’s first-ever Female Veteran Stand Down will take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, July 15, at the Rainbow Lagoon Park off Shoreline Drive and Linden Avenue. U.S. VETS and the U.S. Department of Labor — Women’s Bureau developed the plan for the stand down (a military term indicating time to stop fighting and recover) to assist female veterans living without proper shelter, or looking to regain order in their new civilian lives.
“The purpose of the stand down is to give female veterans a break,” said U.S. VETS Homeless Female Veteran Career Counselor Jennifer Grigoriou, Psy.D. “The unfortunate thing is, homelessness among female veterans is growing.”
Some women in the service, who may have left to get away from a difficult situation, return to their prior lives only to find themselves back where they started, she said.
Returning to civilian life is not as easy as some women expect it to be, Grigoriou said, especially if they relied on someone to take care of them prior to their leave of duty. Others may have experienced sexual trauma, or had their children taken away from them. Experiencing these adversities make it difficult for women to deal with the disorganization in their lives — which can lead to homelessness, she said.
According to the United States Department of Veteran Affairs, female veterans are twice as likely to become homeless after they serve their duty. The VA estimates that 6,500 female veterans sleep on the streets, in cars or shelters each night. read more>>>
Thursday, July 14, 2011
"Stand Down" for Female Veterans
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