Wounded Warrior Project CPO Joins Congressional Virtual Forum on Women Veterans’ Health
WASHINGTON (May 26, 2020) — Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) Chief Program Officer Jennifer Silva shared during a virtual forum that WWP survey data shows a need for expanded mental health support for women veterans. The forum on women veterans’ mental health was hosted by the House Committee on Veterans Affairs’ Women Veterans Task Force. Silva explained that veteran service organizations like WWP can work with Congress to fill in gaps in care.
“Throughout the coming year, Wounded Warrior Project will convene women warriors for a series of roundtable discussions, diving deeper into the major concerns our research has illuminated,” Silva said. “These engagements will begin virtually, allowing our team to reach a diverse group of women veterans from all corners of the nation and hope to share our finding with Members of Congress.”
Silva identified how data is being used to improve treatments for mental health and military sexual trauma (MST), and how the need still exists for increased access to VA health care and peer support. WWP directly serves over 140,000 warriors, 23,000 of which are women warriors.
“Each wounded warrior faces a unique journey; there is no single definition of wellness, and no single path to achieving it,” Silva said. “Our programs and services are centered on the idea of holistic, integrated health. Using this ideology as our guiding principle, we can identify and tailor paths within our programs that are specific to women veterans. Doing so helps Wounded Warrior Project fight isolation among women veterans, increase peer connection opportunities, provide compassionate and comprehensive care to the high number of women veterans who experience MST, improve access to quality mental health care, and activate a community-based model of outreach and support for women veterans.”
Learn more about how WWP works with our nation’s leaders to improve the lives of wounded veterans and their families and read the warrior stories here.
Contact: Mattison Brooks — Communications Specialist, Government & Community Relations mbrooks@woundedwarriorproject.org, 202.969.1120
About Wounded Warrior Project
Since 2003, Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) has been meeting the growing needs of warriors, their families, and caregivers — helping them achieve their highest ambition. Learn more.