VetXL: Women Together – live Q&A with the VA in Support of Women Veterans. Ask questions below!

On June 30th at 3PM, we will be here to answer questions around critical topics for Women Veterans. These topics include health, benefits, appeals, employment efforts, caregiver support, mental health, suicide prevention, memorial services and survivors assistance. Ask questions to:
Patty Hayes, Ph.D., Chief Officer, Women's Health Service
Maj Jaquie Hayes-Byrd, Executive Director, Center for Women Veterans
Sara Eichstaedt, Clinical Social Worker, Military National Sexual Trauma Program
LtCol Brad Lanto, Director of Partnerships for Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
SGT Shurhonda Love, Community Relations Specialist for Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
2LT (Join to see), Office of Engagement and Memorial Innovations (OEMI)
CPT Cheryl Rawls, VBA, ADUS Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement
The Honorable Cheryl Mason, Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals
CSM Alfie (Lourdes) Alvarado Ramos, Director of Washington State Veterans Affairs
Col Dennis May, Deputy, Center for Minority Veterans
SGT Bryce Carpenter, NCA, Educational Outreach Programs Officer
Lisa Pape, Deputy Chief PCS Officer for Care Management and Social Work (caregiver support)
RDML Ann Duff, Executive Director, Office of Survivors Assistance
Nicole Clapp, National President at American Legion Auxiliary
Jennifer Strauss National Women's Mental Health Program Manager
Kathy Hedrick, PhD, Lead, Field Implementation Team, Office of Patient Centered Care & Cultural Transformation

Did you know that women are the fastest growing group within the Veteran population? Learn more about the changing face of women Veterans and what VA is doing to meet their health care needs. Ask questions to the following groups:

Women Veterans Health Care-
https://rly.pt/WomensHealth

Center for Women Veterans-
https://rly.pt/CenterForWomenVeterans
The CWV advises VA Secretary and leadership on issues impacting women Veterans to empower you, to ensure that you are aware of and have access to the benefits and services that Women Veterans deserve because we have earned them. We work hand in hand with VHA, VBA and NCA and staff offices to create the environment where women Veterans’ needs are recognized and met. We are the portal for all things women Veterans – to help create a positive Veterans experience. We integrate, advocate, and connect with open exchange of information and to serve as a resource hub to connect with local, state, and federal resources.

Women’s Mental Health, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention:
https://rly.pt/MentalHealth
VA offers a full continuum of gender-sensitive, evidence-informed mental health services for women Veterans, including general and specialty outpatient services, residential and inpatient care. VA mental health providers have the knowledge, skills and expertise to address women Veterans’ diverse treatment needs and preferences across the course of their lives. Reproductive mental health is an area of focus, including premenstrual mood problems, depression and anxiety during pregnancy and postpartum, depression during the transition to menopause, and mental health challenges faced by women with chronic pelvic pain, breast cancer or ovarian cancer.

VBA-
https://rly.pt/VAbenefits
The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) delivers a wide array of benefits and services to eligible Veterans, Servicemembers, their families, and survivors. Our benefits can include; providing compensation for an injury or loss sustained or aggravated while serving in the military, assisting Veterans with home purchase or educational needs, and providing access to career training, to name a few. VBA has Women Veteran Coordinators assigned to every regional office and they assist women Veterans with connecting to their benefits.

Appeals-
https://rly.pt/VAdecisionreviews
The Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) is an agency within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Its mission is to conduct hearings and issue timely decisions for Veterans and other appellants in compliance with the law, 38 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 7101(a). The Board is responsible for making final decisions on behalf of the Secretary regarding appeals for Veterans’ benefits and services from all three administrations - Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), and National Cemetery Administration (NCA)—as well as the Office of General Counsel (OGC)that are presented to the Board for appellate review. The Board’s jurisdiction extends to all questions in a matter involving a decision by the Secretary under the law that affects a provision of benefits by the Secretary to Veterans, their dependents, or their survivors. 38 U.S.C. §§ 511(a); 7104(a). Final decisions on appeals are made by the Board based on the entire record in the proceeding and all applicable provisions of law and regulation. 38 U.S.C. § 7104(a).

Center for Minority Veterans-
https://rly.pt/VAcmv
The Center for Minority Veterans (CMV) was established by Public Law 103-446, in 1994. CMV serves as an advocate for minority Veterans by conducting outreach activities to promote the awareness and use of VA benefits and services. The Center’s activities include:
 Promote the use of benefits authorized by this title by Veterans who are minorities and the conduct of outreach activities to Veterans who are minorities;
 Disseminate information and serve as a resource center for the exchange of information regarding innovative and successful programs which improve the services available to Veterans who are minorities
 
For more information, contact the CMV Staff at [login to see] or visit the CMV website:https://rly.pt/VAcmv

MST-
Unfortunately, some Veterans experience sexual assault or sexual harassment during their service, and these experiences can have a lasting impact on health, even many years later. Recovery from military sexual trauma (MST) is possible, however, and VA is here to help. VA provides free care for both mental and physical health conditions related to Veterans’ experiences of MST and Veterans may be able to receive this care, even if they are not eligible for other VA care. You do not need to have reported your experiences at the time or have any documentation they occurred, and do not need to have a VA disability rating. Visit http://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/msthome.asp to learn more.

NCA-
https://rly.pt/VAnca
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) national cemeteries will resume committal services starting June 9 in all but two VA national cemeteries. VA national cemeteries will contact families who were unable to hold a committal service due to the COVID-19 pandemic to arrange memorial services for their loved ones beginning in July. Veterans Legacy Memorial will allows online visitors to leave a “tribute” text at http://www.va.gov/remember

Caregiver-
https://rly.pt/VACaregiver
Veterans Affairs (VA) Caregiver Support Program (CSP) offers a wide array of services to family members and friends who care for Veterans, including on-line courses, face-to-face classes, telephone support, and peer support. These services are offered in addition to the support provided to families and caregivers across VA by clinicians as part of a Veteran’s care. Every VA medical center has a Caregiver Support Coordinator (CSC) who assists with information and referrals to these programs. For help, contact your local Caregiver Support Coordinator using the Caregiver Support Program CSC Locator Page or call the VA Caregiver Support Line at [login to see] (toll free 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET). You can also visit http://www.caregiver.va.gov.

Survivors Assistance-
https://rly.pt/SurvivorsAssistance
The Office of Survivors Assistance serves as an expert resource regarding all benefits and services furnished by the VA to Survivors and Dependents of deceased Veterans and members of the Armed Forces. We can help you navigate the myriad of benefits and services available, and direct you to your best options. Additionally, we work closely with veteran service organizations, other departments, state and local veteran groups and community leaders to educate everyone about available services and benefits.

American Legion Auxiliary-
Veterans, servicemen and women, and their families are the American Legion Auxiliary’s heroes. The ALA especially focuses on women veterans to bring to light the daunting challenges and issues they face: homelessness, suicide, lack of adequate childcare, and military sexual trauma. ALA members and volunteers help by advocating for the needs of women veterans. Locally, we work to establish strong connections between women veterans in need and the services that best fill those needs, whether through federal, state, or local agencies, or by offering a strong volunteer base to provide “boots on the ground with a warm touch” through meals, childcare, clothing donations, welcome baskets designed specifically for females to include items such as female hygiene products, baby supplies, toys, and gamebooks for school-aged children. Our work is never finished. Learn more about the ALA’s century of service and its ongoing mission of serving veterans, military, and their families at https://rly.pt/alaVeterans

Whole Health-
https://rly.pt/WholeHealth
Whole Health is VA’s cutting-edge holistic approach to care that supports your health and well-being. Whole Health is an approach to health care that empowers and equips Veterans to take charge of their health and well-being and to live their life to the fullest. Whole Health centers around what matters to you, not what is the matter with you. This means your health team will get to know you as a person, before working with you to develop a personalized health plan based on your values, needs, and goals. The Whole Health System includes conventional treatment, but also focuses on self-empowerment, self-healing, and self-care. The Whole Health System moves VA forward from focusing on episodic care to a more continuous engagement with you through your life. The Whole Health System is the current vision for complementary and integrative health (CIH) integration in VA and includes three components:

The Pathway: Veteran peers partnering with you and your family, exploring your mission/purpose/aspirations and beginning your overarching personal health plan.
Well-being Programs: Skill building and support; proactive, integrative health approaches such as stress reduction, yoga, tai chi, mindfulness, nutrition, acupuncture, health coaching
Whole Health Clinical Care: VA or community providers, or both, trained in Whole Health; focusing on relationships, complementary and integrative health approaches, and personal health planning

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