MILITARY WOMEN IN NEED HOLDS
SCREENING OF BRAVE NEW FOUNDATION'S
"IN THEIR BOOTS"

Board Members Art J. Swerdloff, Meredith Brenalvirez and Robert Wrede

Military Women In Need held a Reception & Screening featuring In Their Boots on Wednesday, June 24, 2009. The evening allowed MWIN’s key contributors and collaborators to gather to discuss issues facing female veterans and widows of veterans.

The event featured a screening of "Homecoming," an episode of the In Their Boots series that follows the life of Kim Roy, a mother of two whose husband is deployed to Afghanistan. In Their Boots, produced by Brave New Foundation, is an online documentary series that reveals the impact the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are having on our military service people and their families here at home. Nathan Havey, of In Their Boots, shared how his work connected with MWIN’s mission. Nathan believes that we as a nation make a promise to the men and women who choose to wear the uniform of the United States armed services—we promise that in exchange for their service, we will care for them when they come home. While ITB seeks to shed light on the issues affecting those military servicemen and women who serve us today, MWIN is dedicated to serving those who far too often fall through the cracks—female veterans and widows of veterans aged 55 or older.

MWIN Executive Director Ranlyn Hill gives a presentation on the issues facing female veterans and women of veterans today.

In 2008 there were 25 million U.S. military veterans in the United States. However, only 11% of the veterans receiving services from the Veterans Administration were female. MWIN Executive Director Ranlyn Hill attributes this low number to the fact that older female veterans are more reluctant than their male counterparts to embrace their identity as veterans. Widows of veterans were not tracked by the VA until recent years. "The women we serve face additional hardships," Ms. Hill stated, "The poverty rate of elderly women is two times that of elderly men. Female veterans are 30 times more likely to become homeless than non-female veterans. Our women often do not know what services they qualify for and how to access these services."

MWIN serves as a voice for those without a voice, bridging the gap between social security, VA benefits, and the real world by providing emergency services, housing assistance, and additional support to women at risk for homelessness and hunger.

Col. Joseph Smith and Commissioner Jaclyn Tilley Hill, MWIN Advisory Board Member

The issues confronting our veterans, young and old, are too great for any one agency or government sector to address independently. Military Women In Need was pleased to partner with In Their Boots for this event, and is continually grateful for the partnership and support of US Vets, New Directions, the Ladies of Westchester Elks, and all other MWIN collaborators.

Key sponsors included Supervisor Michael Antonovich, Supervisor Don Knabe, Boyden Rohner, Pat De Mond, Jaclyn Tilley Hill, Sherry Hunt, Art Swerdloff & Phyllis Klein, Robert Wrede & Ranlyn Hill, and Colonel Joseph Smith & Belén Smith.

MWIN would like to thank Lisa Schwab, of Cantalini’s Salerno Beach Restaurant, for donating food for the event, Joe Petty, of Koji's Sushi and Shabu Shabu Restaurant, for donating wine and beer, and to Lisa Garvey, of Culver Studios, for donating her time and efforts to securing the event space.