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Women Veterans COMMITTEE REPORT
BY MARSHA FOUR, CHAIR
I was re-appointed Chair of the Women Veterans Committee
by VVA President John Rowan after the Springfield Convention.
I thank him for his continued confidence. I am in the process
of inviting members to be appointed to the committee, including
liaisons. This will be accomplished before the next Board
of Directors meeting so the work of the committee can begin
without delay.
The Women Veterans Breakfast at the Convention
was fortunate to have as its speaker Pamela Luce. Luce
is a Field Operations Manager for the Kentucky Department
of Veterans Affairs; she is also the Kentucky Women Veterans
Coordinator. Luce sits on the Executive Committee of the
National Association of State Women Veterans Coordinators.
Her presentation was interesting and profitable. She offered
suggestions on how to help women veterans returning to
their home states from the War on Terror. She provided
a list of all State Directors of Veterans Affairs and their
State Women Veterans Coordinators. I have contacted her
about receiving key items of her presentation and the contact
lists. They will be posted on our web page.
Since the last
Board meeting, I contributed input on women veterans to the
VVA testimony presented to the House Veterans’ Affairs
Committee on July 12. It included the delivery of services
to women veterans in VA clinics; integrated primary care
and mental health care with concurrence of the revision of
VHA Services for Women Veterans Handbook 1330.1; the time
allotted to Women Veterans Program Managers; and an increase
in gender-specific residential treatment programs. I helped
the Chair of VVA’s PTSD Committee, Tom Berger, with
a letter to VA Secretary Nicholson about women veterans health
care. It contained the items discussed in our testimony.
Another item of great concern is the ability and capacity
of the VA to provide gender-specific residential care programs,
especially those that address the increasing need for combat-related
PTSD care, including for those who have concurrent sexual
trauma and PTSD.
In July, I took part in several radio broadcasts
on women veterans, including a local Springfield, Ill., station
during the Convention and National Public Radio’s “Talk
of the Nation.”
I hope to see many of you at the tenth
anniversary celebration of the dedication of the WIMSA Memorial.
The activities begin with a gala on Thursday evening, November
1, and conclude with a candlelight march on Saturday evening.
WIMSA was not able to set aside a block of rooms. However,
WIMSA will have information on its web site, at www.womensmemorial.org You can also try www.dcaccommodations.com
Many of you will
be at the 25th anniversary ceremonies of the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial in November. Those of you not marching with another
group are welcome to join us behind the VVA women veterans’ banner.
November
2008 will be the 15th anniversary of the Vietnam Women Veterans
Memorial. Mark the date.
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