Female Vets and Homelessness

Female Veterans Struggle To Stay Off Streets

Dr. Diane West (center), who runs a program for women at U.S. Vets, a nonprofit in Long Beach, Calif., with transitional housing residents Margaret Ortiz (left) and Andrea Guara.

July 11, 2010 More than 240,000 female service members have been deployed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but for many, reintegrating into civilian life and trying to find employment is not within their reach.

The Department of Veteran Affairs has acknowledged that women are nearly four times as likely as men to end up homeless.

In Los Angeles, outreach efforts are under way to get them off the streets and into the VA's transition assistance program.

Margaret Ortiz's Story Continued

 

New Regulations May Ease Vets With PTSD

July 11, 2010 On Monday, the Department of Veterans Affairs will announce new regulations that will make it easier for military veterans to claim disabilities from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The current rules have been criticized for being unnecessarily time-consuming and even discriminatory. Host Liane Hansen talks with Dr. Jim Dwyer, a psychiatrist with the VA of Greater Los Angeles.