On June 28th, women veterans traveled near and far to enjoy the 6th Annual Women Veterans Retreat at the beautiful Trinity Equestrian Center.
This retreat's theme "Connecting," is meant to reflect the need to connect women who served in the military with the benefits and services they potentially earned and most importantly to one another.
The retreat provided a day to disconnect from the demands of the busy world that we live in and explore the fifteen plus activities that were available to attendees. Women enjoyed having their military dog tags recreated, getting dirty in the garden area, cooling their toes in a pool- while sipping on fresh made lemonade and tea, and learning about equine therapy.
Veterans explored their inner creativity in an art studio, jumped into action in a self defense demonstration or they swung a racket in pickle ball to name a few of the activities. So much fun!
Thank you to all who attended!
For those that could not attend this year's retreat in Eau Claire, we look forward to meeting you at future Women Veterans Program events.
Check out the photos from the retreat on the WDVA Flickr page!
Calling all nonprofit organizations that offer assistance to veteran entrepreneurs!
Just over two weeks remain to apply for the WDVA Entrepreneurship Grant!
All applications are due by July 31st.
Visit here for more information and to apply today!
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, women veterans are the fastest growing group of homeless veterans.
To assist homeless veterans, the WDVA Veterans Outreach and Recovery Program (VORP) staff work closely with community providers and professionals to provide homeless or at risk veterans with assistance and connection to mental health services, substance use treatment, financial assistance, housing and utilities, and more.
According to an article by Abbie Bennett on ConnectingVets.Radio.com, homeless women veterans may not report their homelessness or seek help out of fear.
“They’re afraid,” said Jas Boothe, founder of Final Salute Inc., an Alexandria, VA.-based organization helping homeless women veterans. “They feel like ‘I can’t tell them I’m homeless because I’ll lose my child.’ So they’re afraid to come forward and have their children stripped from their arms.”
Boothe said changes need to be made so women veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless don’t live in fear “to have their children ripped away from them.”
If you are or know of a Wisconsin veteran that is homeless or at risk of being homeless visit our page to learn more about VORP.
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