Page 18 - Desert Oracle Feburary 2019

After Action Report 24 & 25 Jan 2019 - Women Vet & Family Services

There were around 2000 total male and female veterans who registered over the two day event. Of
that number, 120 were seen by the Women Veteran Section on Thursday and 84 signed in Friday,
so it appears that women veterans remain about 10% of the total served. Of the 204 women who
came in for services, 41 reported they were not housed (20% of all our guests were homeless).

SAFE ZONE CONCEPTS: Women veterans have a
separate entry into StandDown so they are able to avoid
standing in long lines with male vets. Eligibility,
Registration, & Bag Check services were also available
to women vets in this secured area Thursday and
Friday. When other services outside of the women's
area were needed (such as a haircut or social security),
a female guest guide was available to accompany her.
The Women Vet section provides a safe place for
women veterans who could be overwhelmed by
presence of so many men and the noise inside the
cavernous space.

SERVICES INSIDE THE WOMEN VETERANS SECTION: Mary
Kay representatives provided mini-makeovers for the 9th year in a
row and provided one-on-one service this year. Jazzy Z's
Catering Services provided around 140 meals Thursday and
Friday, allowing our women
vets to stay in the safe zone
and not go into the male-
dominated space to eat.

Women vets were provided a
week supply of underwear
and socks along with
hygiene items, and hand-
knitted hats and scarves.
Paralyzed Veterans of America provided this cabana to provide
nursing mothers privacy when feeding their babies or pumping.
Women were able to have around 200 chair massages by licensed therapists (coordinated by
Cortiva Institute).

Another woman was able to have her teeth pulled so that she could get dentures, which would help
her find employment. One amazing story was a women veteran who had been homeless for many
years. Because she had no address or bank
account, Social Security was unable to provide
her benefits. When she came in, she learned
that she was receiving $62,000.

Major donors: Paralyzed Veterans of
America has provided storage space in a
climate controlled environment for all of the
donations received since last February again
this year. In addition; they provided nearly all
of the hygiene kits that we handed out, 30 bus