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Women Veterans Speak Out: I’d like my own Social Security Number Back Please

Posted by YWM on May 14, 2012

Read the latest article in BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces feature that brings us the voices of women veterans telling their stories.

Returning guest blogger, Elizabeth McLean, an Air Force Academy graduate who has transitioned into the civilian world in search of fulfillment after serving on active duty for four and a half years tells her personal story.

The transition from the military world to civilian culture is undoubtedly a difficult one for a female; everything from fashion to finding your proper place in a community seems challenging. You are peeled away from the rigid military environment and asked to flourish on your own in a society that fails to understand the path that you have chosen. The trials and tribulations of opening your eyes to a new chapter are difficult, but what compounds it even more is when you leave the military and are still connected to a spouse who serves. The question is how do you find a balance of being a veteran and a military spouse at the same time?  How do you come to terms with the fact that you are now identified by your husband’s social security number?

One obstacle can be the already formed spouse club that you are asked to join in order to support your husband.  Here we need to get around stereotypes by both groups.  It is often perceived that military spouses do not particularly enjoy the company of female service members. Spouses may view the military women as a threat and not respect the fact that the woman is serving in such close proximity to their husbands is just about business.  Military woman conversely may unfairly assume that the spouses are women who have decided to live through their husband’s careers and restrict themselves from exerting their own independence. When these stereotypic worlds collide female veterans can feel ostracized and lonely and guilty about not supporting her husband.  As  an ambitious woman adjusting to her new civilian work day, she cannot stand at the bake sale in the middle of the day. This leaves her alone, looking aloof and not supportive of both her husband and her fellow spouses. Just one more barrier to building new relationships.

Additional barriers are the new base restrictions and “dependent policies” the veteran must follow. Suddenly the reality hits that when you have medical or personal affairs that you are no longer “allowed” to take care of without the authorization of your husband. The irony has been laced with frustration when a woman who once led hundreds overseas, is no longer permitted to be responsible for her own dental records or make a doctor’s appointment for her sprained ankle. Those who have

Photograph by Collin Krauthamer

been military spouses for a while are accustomed to this way of life, but for the woman veteran the word ‘dependent’ has never really been in her vocabulary. Bottom-line, in the mind of the veteran is…if Rosie the Riveter can be a cultural American icon and flex her abilities, so can prior service women.

Being that the military still defines the husband and it is a fine line of trying to not shun the military husband from his squadron with your standoffishness, is the answer to bake the cookies and send them with your husband to show you still care about his career? Reach out to the spouse club and offer your words of wisdom on what a deployment is truly like? Let down your own defenses and judgments and ask the civilian spouses what it is that fuels them in life?? Perhaps the answer is to truly define your new self with your civilian pedigree and let pride roll off of your shoulder with what you have done in the past? Perhaps it all boils down to communication and learning from each other.

Regardless the answer, the women veterans must realize that just because you don’t salute the 4 star anymore…doesn’t mean you stop being motivated or that you love your husband any less.  You’ve bridged gaps with logistical nightmares in foreign countries….is it that difficult to bridge a gap amongst the world of spouses? Having pride in independence is perhaps a trait you can help others to appreciate in your new social circle…


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Employment and Career Issues Confronting Military Spouses

Posted by YWM on May 11, 2012

May is Military Appreciation Month and May 12 is Military Spouse Day.  These are truly our unsung heroes.

The success of our nation’s all-volunteer military force depends to a large extent on the unwavering support of our nation’s military spouses. More than 2.2 million service members comprise our nation’s active duty, National Guard and Reserve forces. According to the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), more than 55% of military members are married — meaning there are more than 1.2 million military spouses who are often left behind during deployments to manage their households, families and careers. According to the Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) nearly 1.15 million, or 95% of those military spouses are women, an overwhelming majority of whom want and/or need to work. Unfortunately, 26% of military spouses are unemployed. This is three times the unemployment rate of their civilian counterparts.

Surveys of military spouses indicate that satisfaction with employment and career development significantly affects their well-being. The military community is predominantly a family-oriented environment and family life issues play a strong role in a service member’s decisions to remain in the military.  For more than a decade, operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have challenged retention and reenlistment in the military. Reenlistment is such a concern, that the Department of Defense (DoD) increased their budget for reenlistment bonuses from $864 million in 2000 to $1.4 billion in 2008. While this financial compensation is can be a significant reason for reenlisting, a DoD and Treasury report found that “a spouse’s employment [also] plays a key role in the financial and personal well-being of military families, and their job satisfaction is an important component of the retention of service members. Without adequate support for military spouses and their career objectives, the military could have trouble retaining service members.” In fact, “when the spouse is supportive, reenlistment is more likely than if the spouse is not supportive” (Scarville, 1990). This brings us right back to spousal employment, the second ranked issue of concern for military families (Blue Star Families, 2010).

Blue Star Families, an organization committed to supporting, connecting and empowering military families and known for constantly capturing real-time feedback, surveyed military spouses and found that half of the respondents said that being a military spouse had a negative effect on their ability to pursue a career. This is not simply a perception. A 2010 RAND report cited nine studies, spanning 30 years, that conclude military wives work and earn less in the U.S. labor market than their civilian counterparts — despite being on average, better educated. The DMDC concludes, “the majority of military spouses believe that the military lifestyle — including frequent moves, deployments and long hours that keep service members from assisting with parenting, and living in areas with poor local labor market conditions — has negatively affected their employment opportunities.” For example, as a result of frequent moves, spouses working in professions requiring state licenses or certification bear a higher financial and administrative burden since credentials often do not transfer across states. In addition, more than 13% of those spouses whose careers have been impacted negatively by their military lifestyle have experienced some type of discrimination due to their status as a military spouse (Blue Star Families, 2010).

Military spouses are increasingly recognized for their stellar abilities to juggle work, school and children, household finances, military and civilian networks and expectations, frequent moves, emotional stressors of a spouse who may not be consistently present, and a host of other events which are part of their “normal” day. Military spouses are well educated: 84 percent have some college; 25 percent have a bachelor’s degree; and 10 percent have an advanced degree (MSEP, 2012). More than two-thirds have work experience (DMDC, 2008), and 38 percent have high levels of education for their current jobs (RAND, 2010). Furthermore, spouses volunteer three times more than civilians, and tend to take on a the more demanding leadership roles in their volunteer organizations (Blue Star Families, 2010). It is only fitting that these skills be viewed by potential employers as adaptable, resilient, persistent and dedicated. Unfortunately, this is not yet the case.

Over the past few years, Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation has championed women veterans and military spouses in their efforts to succeed in civilian careers. BPW Foundation’s work is based on nearly a decade of research on the challenges facing military women as they endeavor to find civilian employment. In 2005, BPW Foundation made a commitment to better understand the employment transition of women veterans. The research highlighted translation and portability of skills as major obstacles and underscored an overwhelming gap in career and employment support among the growing population of military women upon their return to civilian life. Armed with this learning, BPW Foundation initiated studies and engaged private and public sector partners to outline employment access strategies.

You can support military spouses by becoming a mentor though Business and Professional Women’s Foundation’s Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™. This free program provides training and resources for mentors so you can share your life and work experiences with a military spouse.  This effort builds on BPW Foundation’s long legacy of working women helping women work.

This blog is excerpted from Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™, Military Spouses: Employment and Careers Issue Brief, May 2021

Posted in Families, Joining Forces, Joining Forces for Women Veterans, Mentoring, Military Families, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

The Families of Our Fallen Military: Rebuilding Lives After Loss

Posted by YWM on May 2, 2012

Bonnie Carroll
Founder and president of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)
This article first appeared on the Huffington Post, April 17, 2012

It starts with a knock at the door. Two uniformed officers are standing outside, and they ask to come in. Before they speak, the family knows what will be said. They are just hoping it’s not true. Then they hear the words, “We regret to inform you…” and the life of a military family is changed forever.

The death of a loved one in service to America starts a military family down a new path — one of grief and loss. We embrace and support hundreds of these families through the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). It is a unique journey that requires specialized care and support.

Several factors make military loss unusual.

Death while in service to country can happen in many ways. Service members die from many causes — they die in combat, training accidents, suicides, homicides or illness, both in war zones and elsewhere.

From 2001 to 2011, about 16,700 American service members died worldwide. Less than 30 percent of these deaths (about 5,000), even with two wars raging in Iraq and Afghanistan, happened in combat or by hostile act. Currently more service members are dying by suicide than in combat in Afghanistan.

Public meaning is associated with the death. It is a death in service to country. Language like “paid the ultimate sacrifice” assigns greater meaning by society to the death. One survivor said, “It felt like he belonged to so many more people than just our family. He belonged to the community too.”

In the rocky days following the worst moments of their lives, surviving military families organize funerals, speak in sound bytes, are photographed by the news media, and lead the community in mourning. If the death carries stigma, such as a suicide, the family often carries additional emotional scars.

Death impacts many people in a family. On average, at least 10 people are significantly impacted by the death of a service member. They are wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, and a wide range of relatives.

We intake on average seven new people a day at TAPS, who are grieving the death of someone who served in the military. At least one to two of them will be grieving a death by suicide. For many of them, calling TAPS may be the first time they have ever talked with someone else who understands what military loss is like.

The grief journey can be complicated and last for years. More than 80 percent of our families are grieving a death that was unexpected, traumatic and often violent. These circumstances leave surviving families more vulnerable to anxiety, depression, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other issues. It takes five to seven years, on average, for people to reach a new normal, following the sudden death of a loved one.

The military family loses its identity and can struggle. The spouse and children left behind after a military death also lose their identity as a military family. They lose the supportive and structured lifestyle of a military family. And may move to a new community where they know few people, or return to a “hometown” they have not lived in for many years.

Their military identification cards are changed, and they are forever labeled as survivors of someone who served and died — literally stamped “deceased.” Children may lose the last home they lived in with the person who died, as well as their friends from school, teachers and other community support, at a time when they need these touchstones the most.

One young widow who lost her husband in combat in Iraq while she was in her twenties told us, “I always thought that the military would tell us where we would live. After my husband died, I had to figure out where to go for myself, and define what our lives would become. On top of that, I was coping with his death and taking care of our infant daughter. The decisions felt overwhelming, and even paralyzing.”

Thankfully, they don’t have to make this journey alone. At TAPS, our 24/7 resource and information helpline fields 21,000 calls annually. We offer regional seminars for adults and good grief camps for children around the country and throughout the year. Our online chat room, message boards and email support groups buzz with activity daily. TAPS care groups link survivors in communities across America and our peer mentoring program pairs up newly-bereaved survivors with others who have experienced a similar loss.

They’re people like Elizabeth Church, who was eight months pregnant when her husband died by suicide. She found a supportive companion in Carla Stumpf Patton, who years earlier, had also lost her Marine husband to suicide when she was eight months pregnant. Carla understood what Beth was going through, in a way that few other people could. With care and support, Beth is building today a new life for herself and her daughter.

With care and support, surviving military families are able to work through their pain and remember the love that they shared with their service member. They can even celebrate the life that they shared with that person who died and share their journey to help others.

Bonnie Carroll is the founder and president of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). She is the widow of Army Brigadier General Tom Carroll, who died in a military aviation accident in 1992 and she founded TAPS in 1994 alongside other military families. TAPS offers comfort and care to anyone grieving a loved one who died while serving in the military. More information about TAPS is available at www.taps.org. Bonnie is also a member of  the Joining Forces Mentoring Advisory Council.

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Working Women Helping Women Work

Posted by YWM on March 28, 2012

by Barbara Henton, Chair, Business and Professional Women’s Foundation Board of Trustees

For nearly one hundred years, the women of the BPW/USA and Business and Professional Women’s Foundation (BPW Foundation) have been dedicated to advancing the cause of our nation’s working women.  As Women’s History Month comes to a close, it provides us an opportunity to reflect on our accomplishments, as well as an opportunity to reconcile our mission with our goals moving forward.

We began in 1919 as BPW/USA, on the heels of World War I, with a mission from the government to “coordinate identification of women’s available skills and experience.”  Since then, we have consistently provided education, outreach, and opportunity for advocacy on issues that affect working women.  In 1956, we strengthened our efforts by establishing BPW Foundation, the first non-profit research and education institution of national scope solely dedicated to the cause of working women.  In 2009, BPW/USA and BPW Foundation merged to become one powerhouse organization of working women helping women work.

I joined BPW/USA in 1984,  because it was more than just an organization where women could come together to network and have fun…it was an organization that focused on advocacy issues related to working families.  I have been proud to be a part of our efforts ever since. I began my career as a schoolteacher, but gave up that job to be with my husband as he was called to duty in the US Army. I was a military spouse for two years…just enough time to know what it is like to live on a military base, find a job in an area where you don’t know anyone, and the need to start over once the military service is completed.  As a result of these experiences, I have much admiration for the women and men who serve our country and their families. I am very proud of our organization’s outreach to help both veterans and military spouses.

My personal experiences have provided me with first-hand knowledge of the significant impact an organization like BPW Foundation can have on the lives of working women.  We are effective because we reach out to working women, identify the issues that matter, conduct the data-driven research to back up our positions, and provide opportunities for working women to self-advocate in ways that make a difference.  We continue to succeed because we are not stagnant – we are consistent in our outreach efforts, but always evolving to achieve maximum impact.

Over the past several years, BPW Foundation has been working to champion women veterans in their efforts to succeed in civilian careers.  This year, we launched a new program, Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Mentoring Plus™, to facilitate the career development of those women who have given so much of their lives and their loves to protect our freedom: women veterans and military wives.

BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ was conceived and developed to address the critical ongoing need for informed, committed mentors to position and assist women veterans and military spouses as they search for new employment, hone their career goals, and package their military skills and experiences to put them on the road to successful careers.  First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden acknowledged this “mentorship gap” when they recognized BPW Foundation’s mentoring initiative as part of the White House’s national Joining Forces effort.

I am confident about this program’s success; because, like everything else we do at BPW Foundation, we have done our homework.  Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ builds upon the research and experience of effective mentoring programs that have successfully impacted the lives of many.  Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ is focusing on helping thousands of women veterans and military wives by connecting them with volunteer working women mentors over a sustained period of time.  Veteran and civilian mentors of all ages across the country will provide insight, advice, and encouragement to help women veterans and military wives steer an individualized course of action in the civilian workplace.

The structure of Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ will enable mentors and mentees to work together to design and develop the goals and benchmarks for mentee employment plans.  A rich library of online resources along with a cadre of subject matter experts will assist mentees in areas that affect workplace attainment, adjustment, retention, and/or supplier chain participation for small businesses.  With this capacity to guide women veterans in their job searches and career development, we will initially pair 1,800 mentees with mentors with a goal of 10,000 mentoring relationships in the next three years.  Ultimately, we will engage partners toward a widening target of 100,000 mentoring relationships, recognizing that more than 150,000 women are projected to leave the military over the next five years and join the more than 1.8 million existing women veterans who have proudly served our nation.

BPW Foundation’s long history of women helping women allows us to leverage the experience, expertise and resources of women in the workplace, to benefit those who have made so many personal and family sacrifices to protect our freedom: women veterans and military wives.  And so, BPW Foundation is carrying on in the tradition of nearly one hundred years of history: working women helping women work.

Meet two of our Joining Forces Mentoring Plus mentees and one of our mentors in this piece that appeared on the NBC Nightly News.

Learn how to become a mentee, mentor or subject matter expert.

Posted in Joining Forces, Joining Forces for Women Veterans, Mentoring, Military Families, Uncategorized, Women Veterans, Women's History Month | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Meeting the Needs of Women Veterans Where They Are

Posted by sherrysaunders on March 16, 2012

Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation announced that Women Veterans Interactive (WVI), a Maryland based organization meeting the needs of DC Metro Area women veterans and their families, has been designated a Community Partner in Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Mentoring Plus™.

WVI brings a fresh interactive approach to supporting women veterans through diligent advocacy efforts, research, policy engagement, networking, collaborations, community support, and peer to peer interaction. WVI is dedicated to addressing the needs of women veterans.

Founder and CEO, Ginger Miller said, “Our goal is to serve the whole women veteran by meeting her at her point of need, while providing her with housing options, support services and interaction.”

“BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ will fill a critical need by matching women mentors with women veterans who are receiving assistance from Women Veterans Interactive.  Working together, Women Veterans Interactive and Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ will help these veterans face employment and career challenges so they can move toward successful civilian careers” said BPW Foundation CEO Deborah L. Frett.

Ginger Miller, herself a veteran and formerly homeless said, “We believe in giving women veterans the respect they have earned and we are dedicated to working alongside these women to facilitate their path to independence. We also are working to help eradicate homelessness among women veterans and seek ways to prevent it.”

Studies have shown that many factors make transition harder for woman veterans, including, lack of awareness and/or unavailability of veteran’s benefits, legal issues, military sexual trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, service disabilities, divorce/separation, domestic violence, lack of family or social support networks, and substance abuse.

The 1st Annual Empowerment and Unification Brunch Cruise for women veterans sponsored by WVI will sail from National Harbor, MD on March 18 and will celebrate women veterans during Women’s History Month.  The cruise is a community outreach tool for 150+ women veterans who will engage in peer to peer interaction and obtain information on services and support available through the VA and nonprofit organizations. In addition to being a Cruise sponsor, BPW Foundation is providing funds to sponsor 20 women veterans to attend the cruise at no cost, and will be on board providing mentoring information.

The goal of the cruise is to strengthen and enlighten women veterans as they learn about some of the essential components needed for self sufficiency and economic stability which will help bridge the women veteran unemployment gap.

“Being able to tap into the Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ network of women mentors and subject matter experts will be invaluable for these women veterans and offer them important resources. We are excited to join BPW Foundation as a Community Partner in Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ and we know that this partnership will support women veterans, which is our organizations’ mutual goal.”

“Joining Forces Mentoring Plus™ is connecting women veterans of all eras with volunteer working women mentors across the U.S. whose personal and professional training has prepared them to provide insights, advice, and encouragement to women veterans,” Deborah Frett said. “Working together, volunteer mentors will help steer their mentees on individualized courses of action to succeed in the civilian workplace. Women Veterans Interactive’s commitment to women veterans and their families is an extraordinary example of serving those who have served. This is an ideal partnership, and we look forward to helping to meet the needs of women veterans together.”

BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Mentoring Plus™ was developed following the October, 2010 Joining Forces for Women Veterans Summit, which found the need for informed, committed mentors to position and assist women veterans as they search for new employment, hone their career goals, and package their military skills and experience to gain access to meaningful civilian jobs.  First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden highlighted this “mentorship gap” when they applauded BPW Foundation’s mentoring initiative as part of the White House’s national Joining Forces effort.

 

Women Veterans Interactive was created last year to meet all women veterans at their specific point of need, with a concerted focus on wellness and empowerment and homelessness. A division of John 14:2, Inc., Women Veterans Interactive (WVI) brings a pioneering, interactive approach to supporting women veterans and their families through policy engagement, community support, mentoring, and advocacy.  http://www.john142vets.org/womenveterans/womenveteransinteractive.html

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Posted in Career Advancement, Joining Forces, Joining Forces for Women Veterans, Mentoring, Uncategorized, Women Veterans | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Joining Forces: Women Veterans Speak Out – Cheryle’s Letter from Kabul

Posted by serenity order simplicity on March 12, 2012

Read the latest article of BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces feature that brings us the voices of women veterans telling their stories.

I am the division chief for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE); Afghan Engineer District – North; Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Division.  We manage a contract that provides minor maintenance and repair for about 3,000 buildings at 302 sites across 350,000 square kilometers in eastern and northern Afghanistan. These are buildings that Coalition Forces built for the Afghan National Army (ANA) and Afghan National Police (ANP).  We are maintaining them until we turn them over to the Afghans.  80% of the contractor employees are Afghans, which helps build worker skills and stabilize the population.  Bottom line- if a man can support his family with a job, he doesn’t need to take money from insurgents and do their bidding – like shoot rockets/guns at Coalition Forces (CF).  Seems like it is worth the $300-$400 a month salary we pay them (which is enough for them to live on). My mission in the next year is to start turning over facilities for the Afghans to maintain.

There is certainly a tendency to want Americans to take care of them, too. It reminds me of the Eastern Europeans, both before and right after the Iron Curtain came down – “I don’t have it, you have lots, so you should just give it to poor little me.”  When it is life, safety and health projects, like a septic field, I’m all for helping them improve their lives.  When they like the guard tower that is being built on a neighboring compound better than the guard tower they have, I’m not building them a new guard tower. Forget it.

Afghans are widely acknowledged as great in masonry.  They are also respected in woodworking & carpentry.  However they are really weak in master planning, design, waste water treatment and ESPECIALLY electricity. The biggest challenge we have here is the unsafe electrical practices.  I visited an ANA barracks yesterday and the building’s circuit breaker box was located inside the bathroom, over by the showers.  The wall above the box was black from the sparks. Yes, we put a work order in to relocate the electrical box outside the bathroom.  Duh!

One challenge in turning facilities over to the Afghans is that the early construction projects by the CF assumed we could build state of the art facilities and help them catch up to the Western world.  Good idea to skip over already obsolete technology – except this is a country with 80%-90% illiteracy (males and females).  We can’t turn over any facility with a microprocessor in it; the Afghans don’t have trained workers to fix microprocessors.

So my job is developing/implementing a smart transition plan in a way that the Afghans can be successful.  The first step has already started – delivering training.  The craftsmen training we deliver starts with about 2 months of literacy training, to get the Afghans to about a second/third grade literacy level.  Then we teach them the work skills.

Meanwhile, CF have shifted to building what we call austere facilities–buildings that the Afghans are comfortable with and can easily maintain.  Air conditioners go into hospitals, but barracks get ceiling fans.  Kitchens might need to be separate from the dining room (like in Colonial days) if the burners are gas or wood fueled – Afghans like to cook over REALLY BIG flames.  Almost bonfires.

I’m learning a lot and focusing on what’s really important – helping out neighbors (world neighbors).  One of my guys was mobbed at the local ANA hospital by the Afghan Soldier amputees that found out he was American and wanted to thank him for everything he and America was doing to help Afghanistan.  He was amazed by the outpouring of gratitude from these Wounded Warriors.  He thanked them for their service to their country.

The stakes of the CF turning over security, O&M, everything to the Afghanis are high.  If we succeed, then Afghanistan is a stable country and stable countries are not a threat to the rest of the world.  If we fail and the Taliban and al Qaida come back, we’ll be fighting our way back into this country in a few short years.

Thanks for your support and for giving me the freedom to serve here in Afghanistan.

Cheryle Hess is a retired Army officer. She was working in the Pentagon when she decided to take a 1 year assignment in Afghanistan with the Corps of Engineers starting in July 2011. Cheryle’s son, Tom, is a soldier who is currently stationed in Kandahar. This was one of the first letters that Cheryle wrote home to let family and friends know about her experiences in AFG.

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Mentoring and Housing Assistance Will Put Women Veterans on Road to Success

Posted by YWM on February 23, 2012

BPW Foundation and Final Salute Partner to Help Homeless Women Veterans

Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation today announced that Final Salute Inc, a Virginia based organization successfully meeting the unique needs of DC Metro Area homeless female veterans and their families, has been designated a Community Partner in Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Mentoring Plus®.

“BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces Mentoring Plus® will fill a critical void by matching mentors with homeless women veterans currently receiving housing assistance and services from Final Salute.  Working together, Final Salute and Joining Forces Mentoring Plus® will help these brave women who have returned from military service to face employment challenges that have forced them and their families into homelessness move toward self-sufficiency by finding civilian careers” said BPW Foundation CEO Deborah L. Frett.

There are an estimated 13,000 homeless women veterans in the United States, over half of whom are single mothers. According to HUD and VA statistics, women veterans are significantly more likely to become homeless than their male counterparts. Women veterans are four times more likely to become homeless than non-military women.

“Given the sacrifices they and their families have made, it is unacceptable for any woman veteran to be homeless and most Americans are not even aware that a homeless woman veteran population even exists,” said Final Salute Inc. President and Founder Jas Boothe.  “We believe in giving women veterans the respect due them and working alongside these women to facilitate their path to independence.”

Studies have shown that many factors can lead to homelessness for woman veterans, including unemployment, unawareness, and/or unavailability of veteran’s benefits, legal issues, military sexual trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, service disabilities, divorce/separation, domestic violence, lack of family or social support networks, and substance abuse.

“Through Final Salute’s Housing Outreach Mentorship Encouragement (H.O.M.E.) program, we are providing transitional housing and housing subsidy assistance to homeless women veterans and their children who live in DC, Maryland, or Virginia (DC Metro Area),” Jas Boothe added. “Being able to tap into the Joining Forces Mentoring Plus® network of women mentors and subject matter experts will be invaluable for these women veterans and offer them resources previously unavailable. We are very excited to join BPW Foundation as a Community Partner in Joining Forces Mentoring Plus® and we know that this partnership will support women veterans, our organizations’ mutual goal.”

“Joining Forces Mentoring Plus® is connecting women veterans of all eras with volunteer working women mentors across the U.S. whose personal and professional training has prepared them to provide insights, advice, and encouragement to help women veterans,” Deborah Frett said. “Working together, volunteer mentors will help steer their mentees on individualized courses of action to succeed in the civilian workplace. Final Salute’s commitment to women veterans and their families is an extraordinary example of serving those who have served, and the organization is uniquely positioned in the DC metro community to address homelessness among this growing population. This is an ideal partnership, and we look forward to helping the too-many homeless women veterans together.”

BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Mentoring Plus® was developed following the October, 2010 Joining Forces for Women Veterans Summit, which found the need for informed, committed mentors to position and assist women veterans as they search for new employment, hone their career goals, and package their military skills and experience to gain access to meaningful civilian jobs.  First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden highlighted this “mentorship gap” when they applauded BPW Foundation’s mentoring initiative as part of the White House’s national Joining Forces effort.

To join the mentoring program as either a mentor, subject matter expert or mentee sign up on the Joining Forces Mentoring Plus webpage.

Final Salute Inc. was founded in 2010 by Jas Boothe, a female veteran and cancer survivor who became aware of the large number of homeless female veterans and realized the need for an organization to meet and understand the unique needs of homeless female veterans and their children. Final Salute Inc. provides homeless female veterans with safe and suitable housing, financial counseling, and other assistance. Awareness. Assistance. Aspiration. For more information visit http://www.finalsaluteinc.org/

 

Posted in Homelessness, Joining Forces for Women Veterans, Mentoring, Uncategorized, Women Veterans | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Successfully transitioning veterans back home

Posted by egehl on February 22, 2012

Last week my organization, Habitat for Humanity International, held our annual policy conference in Washington, DC.  Among the many talented speakers who gave a keynote address, one in particular stood out from the crowd.  Colonel David Sutherland, Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Department of Defense, spoke to the Habitat audience about the importance of supporting veterans when they return home.  

Colonel Sutherland’s principal focus as a Special Assistant to the Chairman is on Warrior and Family Support.  In this role, he leads the efforts to improve the quality of life and work for returning warriors, their families, and the families of the fallen.  He advises and assists the Chairman by advocating for warriors and their families, and promoting successful family programs across a variety of services.

Colonel Sutherland has had an amazing career.  He served in the military for 28 years and in 2008 and 2009 was regional division chief in the J5 Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate, making him responsible for strategic planning and advising the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on issues relating to the Middle East.

I’ve listened to a lot of speeches in my time, but have to say that Colonel Sutherland’s was by far one of the most moving and powerful ones I’ve heard.  I was immediately struck by how passionate he is about supporting the men and women who serve this country, and their successful transition back home.

The main themes of his speech included that community leadership is key to the success of reintegrating and transitioning veterans, families, and families of our fallen; that community leaders are needed to connect with those who have served and to look for a way to assist those veterans who are returning; and returning veterans are great young people who will contribute to the community in the future.  They just need a little help with the transition to get them started.  

Over his years of service, Colonel Sutherland has met and encountered many strong, dedicated, and faithful young people who have had their lives changed because of joining the military.  He understands the mental and physical impact of war, and the potential that members of the military have to work through all of those obstacles through sheer determination, solid character, and a strong desire to continue giving back to people.  During his speech he gave specific examples of service members who have showed the large impact they can have on their communities if their talents are fully utilized and appreciated regardless of any setbacks they’ve encountered.

According to Sutherland, 40 percent of soldiers returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom have been diagnosed with a mental health issue, and returning military suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or depression are significantly more likely than their civilian counterparts to struggle with addiction, become homeless or commit suicide.  Therefore it’s vital that veterans not only get the mental health support they need, but also be given professional and personal opportunities to allow them to feel like an integral part of society.

Another important theme of his speech was how organizations and community resources can better aid returning military and veterans’ transition to civilian life.  Government can’t do it all so independent groups play a key role in helping veterans such as through mentorship programs and direct leadership involvement.

Colonel Sutherland believes that the key ways to support members of the military is increasing public awareness of their special needs, building community support, and promoting community services.  In addition he wants to make sure that the many community services that exist out there know about each other and aren’t operating in silos so that they can build on each other’s strengths.  As a result, this will improve the nation’s support network for returning military because the more that organizations and agencies can work together the better off the veteran community will be from this strong, diverse network.

One of the ways that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is promoting collaboration among services for veterans is through a project called the “Sea of Goodwill”.  The goal of the Sea of Goodwill is to link public, private, and governmental support for military, veterans and their families, through a common understanding of what is required to ensure a sustainable life in civilian society.  This includes education, secure employment, and quality health care, as the foundation upon which the Sea of Goodwill can build.

Because of the values and lessons service members learn during their time in the military, they stand out and can contribute in wonderful ways to our most pressing community problems.  All of us have a responsibility to make sure that happens, and what better way than by promoting and joining BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Mentoring Plus®.  It’s a great chance to get involved and connect with a service member in your community.  Sign up today!

Posted in Joining Forces for Women Veterans, Military, Uncategorized, Veterans, Women Veterans | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

State Action Need to Assist Military Spouses with Professional License Issues

Posted by sherrysaunders on February 16, 2012

I was pleased to represent BPW Foundation at the announcement of the new report on military spouse employment that First Lady Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden, Secretary Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey presented at the Pentagon on Wednesday, February 15th.  The report, “Supporting our Military Families: Best Practices for Streamlining Occupational Licensing Across State Lines,” explains the hardship military spouses face as they move from state to state with their service member. As a result of the many moves associated with military life, spouses working in professions that require state licenses or certification bear a higher high financial and administrative burden, since credentials often do not transfer from one state do to another state. This burden negatively impacts the chances for employment for more than 100,000 military spouses.

The First Lady urged states to pass legislation based on the best practices already in place in several states and said she personally would be urging governors and state legislators to move quickly to put in place rules that would assist military spouses.   She along with all of the other speakers noted the importance of the family in the success of our mission and said that cutting red tape on the portability of occupational licenses would be a big step in easing the burden on military families as they move from state to state.

Eleven of 50 states have already enacted legislation that supports portability of occupational licenses for military spouses including: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington. Thirteen states have proposed legislation that would assist military spouses if signed into law including: Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Among the nearly 50 professions that state licensure requirements affect are teachers, nurses, speech pathologists, dental hygienists, physical therapists, counselors, marriage and family therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, physician assistants, emergency medical technicians and dieticians, the release said, noting that 11 of 50 states have enacted legislation that supports portability for military spouses with occupational licenses

The report provides practical, real and concrete suggestions that states can use as they consider their own legislation.  The First Lady stressed that the report is a road map for states with ideas and suggestions and not an edict or decree.

The report is just one step in the Obama administration’s Joining Forces initiative, launched  by First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden to bring together the resources of many government agencies and private sector groups to support military members, veterans and their families. This report was a joint effort of the Departments of Defense and Treasury.

This issue has been a priority for the Pentagon for sometime, having set up a Facebook page during summer to encourage military spouses to advocate for states to change their licensing rules.

BPW Foundation strongly supports this effort by the Administration to help our military families and urges you to find out what your state requirements are on portability of licenses for military spouses and if they are working to  make it easier for a military spouse transferred to your state.  Check with your state legislators.

You can also help our women veterans and military spouses by becoming a mentor.  BPW Foundations Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Mentoring Plus®is built on our long history of women helping women.  Join us in this effort to give back to those who have given so much.

Posted in Families, Joining Forces, Joining Forces for Women Veterans, Successful Workplaces | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Mentoring Program for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Launched

Posted by YWM on February 13, 2012

BPW Foundation Builds on History of Women Helping Women

 During January, National Mentoring Month, Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation deployed Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses (JFWVMS) Mentoring Plus®. This ground-breaking program connects women veterans and military spouses with working women mentors and subject matter experts (SMEs).  Participants receive career development support and guidance that will enable them to find and keep meaningful employment.

“BPW Foundation’s long history of women helping women allows us to leverage the experience, expertise and resources of women in the workplace, to benefit those who have made so many personal and family sacrifices to protect our freedom: women veterans and military wives,” said BPW Foundation CEO, Deborah L. Frett.

Joining Forces Mentoring Plus enables mentors and mentees to work together to design and develop individualized and quantifiable goals and benchmarks for mentee employment plans.  Online resources and subject matter experts will assist mentees in areas that affect workplace attainment, adjustment, retention and/or supplier chain participation for small businesses.  This deployment of the program will focus on an initial group of 1,000 mentees, and then broaden to benefit a larger group of 10,000 women veterans and military spouses. Ultimately, additional public and private workforce partners will be engaged to achieve a target of 100,000 mentoring relationships. More than 150,000 women are projected to leave the military over the next five years joining the more than 1.8 million existing women veterans.

“We are determined and honored to help our women veterans meet their post-military service employment goals by applying their exceptional skills and military achievements to their future success in the civilian work world.” said Dr. Lynda Davis, Chair of the Joining Forces Mentoring Plus Advisory Council. “The program will also help overcome the challenges of base living and frequent moves that military wives often face by connecting them to training and employment opportunities that match their abilities, interests and education level.”

Joining Forces Mentoring Plus builds upon the research and experience of proven mentoring programs that have measurably impacted many individuals’ lives. The BPW Foundation initiative is connecting women veterans of all eras and military wives with volunteer working women mentors across the U.S., whose personal and professional training has prepared them to provide insights, advice and encouragement to help women veterans and military wives. Working in tandem, volunteer mentors will help steer their mentees on individualized courses of action to succeed in the civilian workplace.  While the national program has just been launched, a USO grant funded a successful six-month pilot effort for women veterans in Virginia during the second half of 2011.

“This program really does work. I don’t know where I would be without the help of my dedicated BPW mentor,” said Carolyn Allen, a veteran who retired from the Army after 20 years of service. I am now looking forward to passing the torch and stepping up as a mentor for other women veterans.”

As the first organization to conduct research about working women, BPW Foundation attributes much of its success to programs built upon evidenced-based research.  Joining Forces Mentoring Plus is the result of a commitment BPW Foundation made in 2005 to better understand the employment transition of women veterans.  Research identified unique challenges that hinder the successful re-entry of women veterans upon their return home, including limited access to benefits and services they have earned and deserve. BPW Foundation’s research highlighted translation and portability of skills as major obstacles and underscored an overwhelming gap in career and employment support that this growing population of military women need upon their return to civilian life.  Mentoring Plus was developed following the October, 2010 Joining Forces for Women Veterans Summit, which brought together government, nonprofit and business leaders, and women veterans to examine and seek solutions for the challenges facing our women veterans. The group recognized a broad-based need for informed, committed mentors to position and assist women veterans as they search for new employment, hone their career goals and package their military skills and experience to gain access to meaningful civilian jobs.  First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden highlighted this “mentorship gap” when they applauded BPW Foundation’s mentoring initiative as part of the White House’s national Joining Forces effort.

“Mentoring is a two way street,” Frett said.  “The benefits to mentees are easy to see, but recent research shows that mentors reap rewards, as well. They not only find great personal reward in helping others succeed, they also improve their leadership skills, expand their own networks and keep more current with industry trends.”

To join Mentoring Plus as a mentee, mentor or subject matter expert, please visit www.bpwfoundation.org.

Posted in Joining Forces, Joining Forces for Women Veterans, Mentoring, Military Families, Misbehavin' Notification, Uncategorized, Women Veterans | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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