Female veterans are the fasted growing segment of the homeless population in the US and have been failed by an impotent Department of Veteran’s Affairs.
US Air Force veteran Lurae Horse was a 19-year-old B-29 bomber mechanic when she was raped by an anonymous member of her squadron. She never reported the brutal sexual assault. "I just pulled up my pants and went back to work." Just a few years later she left the military and before long, found herself jobless and homeless.
Female veterans are the fasted growing segment of the homeless population in the United States and are four times more likely to become homeless than civilian women.
US Air Force veteran, Marguerite Brousseau-Sawyer, survived a brutal rape by her drill sergeant while in boot-camp. Now homeless, she is staying in transitional housing at the Mary Walker House in Coatesville, Pa.
Although the Pentagon recently paved the way for women to serve in combat positions, the US Military has a long way to go. Women are under-represented in the upper ranks and many who signed up for a military career are getting out due to dashed hopes of career advancement and high levels of harassment and sexual assault. Women who courageously served their country in Iraq and Afghanistan have arrived home with healthcare issues including post-traumatic stress disorder, to scattered families, jobs that no longer exist, an impotent Department of Veteran’s Affairs and to a nation who favors their male counterparts.
The challenges for female veterans are unique and difficult to address, especially when programs for vets seldom meet the needs of mothers and many homeless women vets happen to be single parents.
Women have to leave their children in the care of family members or friends when they deploy and many face custody battles when the stress of deployment tears their families apart. Many of these women escaped a difficult situation by joining the military and when they get out find them unable to cope with the stresses of unemployment and a weak economy. In addition, a good deal of homeless shelters cannot accommodate children and those that can often won’t allow a male child over the age of 12.
Melissa A. Ramon spent nine years in the US Air Force where she survived several sexual assaults and has been homeless off and on since her discharge. Women's shelters will not admit a young man over the age of twelve, so she and her 13-year-old son live in a drug ridden motel in Pomona, Ca.
Homeless veteran and military sexual trauma survivor Darlene Matthews joined the military to escape a chaotic abusive home life and was forced back into it when she was discharged. She has been fighting with the VA for benefits including housing vouchers but has been living in her car in the parking lot of a mortuary next to a graveyard. "It's like being in a fun house and every door gets slammed in your face every time you try to leave. I feel like giving up sometimes, and nobody would care."