Crisco, state Dems go to bat for returning women vets

HARTFORD - State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr., D-Woodbridge, and Senate Democrats led passage this week of Senate Bill 904, An Act Establishing the Connecticut Women Veterans’ Program.  

Joseph J. Crisco

“The support system that currently exists for our returning military personnel is not adequately meeting the needs of our women veterans,” Crisco said. 
“This bill calls for a common sense review of the services we currently provide and will help us to identify those areas that need improvement. It’s time for us to take action.”

S.B. 904 requires the state Department of Veterans’ Affairs to establish, within available resources, a program that will reach out to women veterans to improve their awareness of federal and state veterans’ benefits and services eligibility. 

Additionally the bill calls for an assessment of women veterans’ needs for benefits and services and a review of programs, research projects and other initiatives designed to address or meet Connecticut women veterans’ needs.

The results of the assessments and reviews will be incorporated into the strategic planning for benefits and services offered to women veterans.

“As our military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down and end, members of the armed forces are returning home and readjusting to civilian life,” said Senate President Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven. “More than in past military conflicts, many of these returning veterans are women, who will need support just like the men they served alongside. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 16,545 women veterans live in Connecticut. Female veterans struggle with issues ranging from unemployment, homelessness, mental health and other issues.

State Sen. Mae Flexer, D-Killingly, who is Senate Chair of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said the number of women veterans in Connecticut and America is increasing and is now the fastest-growing segment of the veteran community.

“More and more women are veterans, and we have to ensure that the programs we have in place actually meet the needs of women veterans, understanding their needs are different from men,” Flexer said. “We cannot assume that a program that works for male veterans will work exactly the same for female veterans.”

“I was one of those veterans who didn’t realize that I was a veteran until 20 years after leaving the military when I needed services,” said Jackie Evonsion, Department Historian and Women Veterans’ Outreach Coordinator for the American Legion, Department of Connecticut. 
“Now, working with female veterans, I have realized that we really need to reach out to inform them of the benefits that they are eligible for and that the facilities that we do have are safe and female-friendly. I am happy that this legislation helps to create a dialogue about female veterans’ needs and shows that they are important to Connecticut policymakers.”

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the average age of a female veteran (in 2009) was 48 years old, compared to 63 years old for men. 
In 2010, PTSD, hypertension and depression were the top three diagnostic categories for women veterans, and about one in five women veterans seen by the Veterans Health Administration respond ‘yes’ when screened for military sexual trauma. 

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, women veterans are at least as likely as non-veteran women to have young children. 

Nearly 84 percent of female veterans are of working age (17-64 years old) compared to 55 percent of male veterans, and a greater share of women veterans work in management and professional occupations compared to male veterans or non-veterans of either gender.


This is a press release from Crisco's office.