VA held two “WOMEN together: Veterans Experience Live” virtual events June 30. The first was on Facebook, followed by a chat discussion on RallyPoint. The panels of Women Veterans, VA staff and community partners discussed pressing issues, health concerns, resources and more.

A video of the Facebook Live virtual event is above. The session is just over 28 minutes long. Chief Veterans Experience Officer and Army Veteran Dr. Lynda Davis opened the session. The panel featured Army Veteran Jill Baker, Army Veteran Michele Jones, Marine Corps Veteran Queta Rodriguez and Air Force and National Guard Veteran Wanda Wright.

Women are the fastest growing demographic of Veterans in the United States. VA is committed to understanding what is most important to women who have served.

Top 5 Topics from today’s sessions

  1. Military Sexual Trauma
  2. Recognizing women as a Veteran
  3. Infertility
  4. Employment
  5. Chronic Pain Management and Alternative Therapies (Whole Health)

Panel members and VA employees have posted responses and will continue to respond and reach out following the conversations.

Where can I find contacts for VA and other resources?

You can call, chat or text the VA Women Veterans Call Center. All the representatives at the Women Veterans Call Center are women, and many are Veterans themselves. In addition to linking women Veterans to information, the Women Veterans Call Center makes direct referrals to Women Veteran Program Managers (WVPM) located at every VA medical center. The Women Veteran Program Manager helps the woman Veteran coordinate services.The call is free and hours are Monday through Friday 8 a.m.-10 p.m. ET, and on Saturdays from 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. ET.

Each VA Benefits Regional office has a Women Veterans coordinator to help female Veterans access VA benefits. Find the closest VA locations here.

VA’s VetResources is another option to receive weekly updates about free community resources and information on VA benefits and services. Last week’s edition was dedicated completely to Women Veterans. For more editions and to sign up to receive VetResources visit: https://www.va.gov/VetResources/.

More Links:

VA Health Care for Women Veterans

VA’s Center for Women Veterans 

Military Sexual Trauma

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7 Comments

  1. Kimberly Robinson July 2, 2020 at 11:00

    Thanks for the info. My company offers products that help build damaged immune systems. I am a woman veteran. Is there any program available where I can demonstrate our explain the proven benefits of these products?

  2. SW July 2, 2020 at 09:29

    Great. Wish you people would use a different venue for these events. Some of us do not have facebook and will never have facebook, so how do we get all this “valuable” information and get involved? Also, I don’t understand rallypoint. I thought I had signed up for rallypoint but was not able to sign in at all, so where did my information go??? who took it?

    My response to GgGarett: you are female, forget about getting a va home loan, you won’t get one because as a woman you aren’t a real vet. I had to go with a conventional home loan with the initial bank I went with because they made it so difficult for me. When I refinanced and changed banking institutions, I was denied. I have now paid off my home in under 7 years without the benefit of $0 down and low interest. Thank you va for the loan. (facetiousness added)

    From the top 5 topics from this event numbers 2 and 5 are are my biggest issues. I intentionally wear a t-shirt that lets the world know I’m a veteran. As to pain, well I went through IOP at my local va hospital then after that those people wouldn’t help me but a male vet was seeing both the psychologist and social worker weekly in the pain clinic (both are women by the way). I guess he had something really special for them. Wonder if all their spouses know what’s been going on.
    Also from the top 5 topics number 4 is a big issue for me. Despite being VRA eligible and eminently more qualified then the other candidates for two positions at my va, I wasn’t hired. I was forced to go through competitive interviewing and then was discriminated against because of my age. I also got nothing when I took my complaint to mediation.

  3. Grace July 2, 2020 at 01:12

    I like such an effort from our legends

    • Kimberly Robinson July 2, 2020 at 11:02

      Did you receive my previous message?

  4. GgGarett July 1, 2020 at 22:05

    Awesome please keep us informed. Anything to help 64 year old female vets to get a cal vet home loan. I already have the certificate for va 0$ down. Need land in southern California. Thanks.

  5. Marta Merlo July 1, 2020 at 20:00

    Where are the responses posted for the Top 5 Topics from today’s questions posted? I am not sure where to look for them.

    • Beth Lamb July 2, 2020 at 10:48

      Marta, you can find some responses in the string of comments on the Facebook video and RallyPoint discussions, which i would encourage you to look through if you have the time, there’s a lot of info in there.

      Some questions are very specific to one Veteran and others are sensitive and being responded to privately. There are links in the blog above for MST and health care. If you would like more specific information, I recommend contacting the VA Women Veterans Call Center, the number and link are also above in the blog.

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