In 1980 the Department of Veterans Affairs had no grasp of how many women veterans there were in the United States, so it put out a questionnaire, according to Linda Schwartz, assistance secretary of veterans affairs for policy and planning.
“More than 2 million answered that they had served in the military, Schwartz told those attending an evening in support of women veterans hosted Wednesday by Webb House, a veterans’ assistance organization.
Schwartz said the VA wondered who and where these women veterans were and why they weren’t using its services.
“It’s because the VA’s would always ask where their husbands are,” said Schwartz, who served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.
Schwartz and former prisoner of war Jessica Lynch, were among several women who served in different branches of the military and in different times who spoke of their own experiences and challenges during the event, which took place at the Dean and Barbara White Community Center in Merrillville.
While not part of the program, Robert Christopher, executive for business development for the Jesse Brown VA Center in Chicago, provided some positive news for Northwest Indiana veterans.
He said a VA asset infrastructure review of its centers has recommended that the current Adam Benjamin VA Center in Crown Point be replaced with a new, larger building to be constructed elsewhere in Crown Point and a second center be built in LaPorte.
“Congress has a year to vote on the recommendations,” Christopher said. “We believe they will be approved.”
Robert Farmer, founder of Webb House, said he hosted the event because he wanted to raise awareness of the plight of female veterans.
Farmer has been working to have a house/training center for female veterans and their children built in Merrillville. The center would provide temporary housing for up to 10 female veterans and two children while the women obtain training from local unions so they can obtain good jobs.
Farmer said many women veterans end up homeless, unable to find good employment.
Some panelists told of their own hardships they had endured during and after their service, and how the VA helped them get an education, medical help and other aid, putting them on an upward path.
Kris Bertrand-Glomski, a Navy veteran, said she had hurt her back after her stint in the Navy and ended up in a homeless program in St. Louis.
“They were not prepared for a female at all. I worked three jobs so I didn’t have to go back,” said Bertrand-Glomski, who went to school under a VA program and now works for the City of Indianapolis’ Veterans Affairs.
Jennifer Green, a 2005 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and Crown Point resident, told how she had a difficult time trying to fit in.
“Combat is one of the hardest things you have to do and war is the ugliest,” said Green, who said she had mental health issues received treatment at the Crown Point VA center.
Tamara Atwood-Calvert and Mary Saegesser, with Indiana Women’s Prison, presented Lynch with a quilt made by inmates at the prison and provided another one for auction to raise money for the women who will be using the Merrillville women’s home/training center, also made by the inmates.
Atwood-Calvert said she met Farmer at a veterans reception in Indianapolis and asked what she could do to help him.
“I hope to continue our support. We made some blankets for the children (who’ll be staying at the house)” she said.
Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
