CalVet Announces New Coalition to Support CA Women Vets

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CalVet Announces New Coalition to Support California Women Veterans

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet), California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, and California State Library have formed a coalition to help women veterans connect to their state and federal benefits and the local veterans services available to them. A recent survey of the needs of California women veterans found that many programs available to veterans are unfamiliar to women and as a consequence go underutilized.

The statewide survey of more than 900 women veterans, conducted by the California Research Bureau (CRB) of the State Library, is believed to be the first of its kind by any state. The survey was requested by CalVet and the Commission.

Five briefs, highlighting data from the survey, are being released this week by CRB and indicate that California’s women veterans experience levels of unemployment, military sexual trauma and mental health concerns at rates higher than reported by national sources. Yet, despite a wide range of available services, many women veterans are unaware of the services or unsure how to tap into them.

“The formation of this coalition represents a solid commitment to California women veterans,” said CalVet Deputy Secretary for Women Veterans Affairs Lindsey Sin. “By using our collective offices and resources, we will continue to identify the most pressing issues women veterans and their families face, create effective solutions for those issues and increase awareness and outreach to women across the state.”

“When the Governor created the Interagency Council on Veterans, this was the kind of intergovernmental collaboration he was seeking to develop,” said CalVet Secretary Peter J. Gravett. “Women veterans have served this nation and state honorably and without hesitation so we must all work together to ensure they receive the services and assistance they need to successfully return to their families, their homes and their civilian lives. This new coalition will help us achieve that goal.”

The members of the coalition are committed to taking concrete steps in the coming year to improve the lives of women veterans. Each partner will focus on strategies to help build leadership and empowerment in the women veteran community.

The Commission on the Status of Women and Girls is announcing an outreach and education campaign designed specifically to target women veterans. This effort will coordinate voluntary initiatives involving business, non-profit and community-based organizations, community colleges and local government. The initiatives will be designed to secure commitments from different sectors of our community to provide direct information about the services available to our women veterans.

CRB and the State Library will continue to support CalVet’s efforts with substantive research about women veterans and the key issues they face. “Our survey breaks new ground by asking women veterans about their needs and experiences.” said Brian R. Sala, Acting Director of CRB. “The partnership is a great opportunity for us to share this information with other agencies.”

CRB and the California State Library have made the following briefs available on-line:

California’s Women Veterans and Military Sexual Trauma: http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/12/S-12-004.pdf

California Women Veterans and Mental Health: http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/12/S-12-005.pdf

California Women Veterans and Employment: http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/12/S-12-007.pdf

California Women Veterans’ Benefit Utilization: http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/12/S-12-008.pdf

California Women Veterans At A Glance: http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/12/S-12-009.pdf