55% of veterans believe they are not well prepared for a financial emergency. 77% of service members have financial worries, and 57% worry especially about losing income and job security due to defense cuts. These statistics present a grim reality for America Veterans, regardless of gender. Approximately 11% of our veteran population is female, many of whom are mothers. If you are a female veteran feeling financial strapped and worried about your family, we at Women’s Money® salute and honor your service to our country and want to help you achieve financial security.
Two-thirds of veterans report facing a health challenge resulting from their service. In recent disability claims of young veterans, 1/5 report Military Sexual Trauma (MST). If MST is something you struggle with and is impacting your life, go here. This resource is designed to support survivors in all areas of their life.
Struggling with MST can make it difficult to go to the VA, which has a primarily male medical staff. To help combat this issue, the Veteran’s Health Administration has added a women’s veteran coordinator, who guides women veterans through the process, to the staff of each VA medical facility. In Minnesota, the “Sister Assister” program has taken off in VA hospitals. Essentially, the Sister Assister is there to guide and support a female veteran through the process but isn’t involved in personal medical details.
Receiving quality health care is extremely important to anyone’s quality of life, but especially for veterans who face unique social and economic challenges upon reentering civilian life. The National Association of American Veterans and the U.S. Soldiers Foundation both provide financial and health care resources for all veterans, and Women Veteran’s Health Care focus on female veterans.
5% of homeless veterans are mothers, which compounds the difficulty of caring for children. If you are a homeless mother and veteran, please click on the above link. It will take you to a program designed specifically to help women in your situation.
If your concerns are primarily financial, the Veteran’s Plus Program is an excellent resource. It actually has two programs, but both were designed by and for veterans to provide real financial advice and solutions. USA Cares provides financial aid and aims to combat foreclosure and eviction of veterans. Although the Women’s Money mentoring program isn’t geared toward veterans, it does provide excellent resources to help build a solid financial foundation.
Finding work is a big concern for many veterans. Explaining how your military skills apply to a job can be tricky, and not everyone receives training on transition to the civilian workforce.
Here are some resources: USA Jobs, Hire Veterans, Veteran Employment Center, and the classic Craigslist. If you need resume building tips, try Monster, or ASME, and go here for examples, tips, and other resources.
The array of resources I’ve compiled here is by no means exhaustive. For more, follow this link, which provides a vast list of resources to support female veterans, everything from a suicide hotline to health care, from housing to legal resources, and from general social support to employment resources. If there are resources you’ve found helpful, please share them in the comments. If I overlooked an issue that has impacted your life, please let me know. I welcome your feedback and input. To all veterans and active service members, we thank and honor you for your service and sacrifice.
Written by Mckenzie Candalot, Staff Writer — Mckenzie Candalot is a recent graduate of the College of Idaho, with a B.A. for English Literature, and is currently working on a Masters in the Art of Teaching. When not studying for classes or blogging, she enjoys reading, walking her dog, and embroidery.
