 Good afternoon everyone try that again All right As you know, DAV has had a reputation for leading the pack when it comes to women veterans issues We have led the charge on women veteran issues, and we'll continue to do so Our report the long journey home is but one example of Our dedication and pushing legislation to equalize women veterans treatment to that of men Our report a long journey home highlights gaps That are seeing across the federal landscape It makes 27 recommendations To educate lawmakers and the public in an effort to remove these gaps for women veterans Much of this legislation that we discussed today will be a direct result of what's covered in the report This report is online and Can be accessed through the DAV? Website so let's talk about pending legislation. I Know you I'll remember that schoolhouse rock They should never gotten rid of that So let's look at s 471 and HR 1356 there currently 10 women veterans bills pending these bills seek 1556 and HR I mean s 471 these bills seek to improve women veteran health care by ensuring that proper staffing and privacy and the safety of women veterans is at the forefront and when making plans involving infrastructure that are a part of Initial plans and not an afterthought HR 1575 This bill seeks to make permanent the pilot program for newly separate women veterans transitioning back into their communities women veterans participating in the pilot will receive counseling on employment family community reintegration stress reduction and conflict resolution in a retreat setting HR 1948 and 1496 This bill deals with stipends to pay for child care It makes direct provisions of child care at VA facilities provides payments to private child care Facilities in the community and a collaboration with other federal agencies and providers in the community HR 2054 deals with gender specific care and It makes sure that gender specific care is continuously Available at the VA medical centers and the community outpatient community-based outpatient centers as 2487 and HR 2915 These bills seek to provide tools for suicide prevention By addressing the treatment of women veterans who served on classified missions by making it easier for them relative to the disclosure of classified information It also makes it also provides instructions for providers and staff when interacting with these veterans It identifies what's good about the program and also seeks veteran satisfaction HR 46 I mean HR 3365 and s469 This bill this bill calls for both DOD and the VA to use best practices regarding fertility issues of Ill and injured veterans that was incurred in the line of duty It also provides fertility counseling and also has a provision for adoption assistance So how can you help? You can meet with your elected officials here and at home Always use your talking tips And also use the DAV website to stay on top of current bills that we are tracking You can also follow the DAV on social media on Facebook and Twitter Listed you have my Twitter handle the headquarters Keep the promise and one I added for DAV women veterans So please tweet if you're busy tweet tweet tweet tweet so I can't talk about all of the topics that I would like to talk About but here are a few hot topics SR for 2487 and HR 2915 These are bills as I stated before that aid and suicide prevention Women veterans between the ages of 18 and 29 have the highest rates of suicide In comparison to women who have not served Women veterans also commit suicide at a rate that is six times higher than those who have not served One veteran suicide is too many Let's talk about homelessness There's no bill currently directed at women veterans homelessness. However, we are tracking several The rate of homelessness among women veterans is expected to come to rise Commensurate with the number of women serving homelessness among women Veterans is at least twice as high as those of non veterans on any given night You can find forty seven thousand seven hundred twenty five women sleeping on the streets and About one point four million are in danger of being homeless This means that they may be having difficulty maintaining a home and 1708 or with families on the street This number does not make a difference between male or female. However, it does say that those are families that are on the street on any given night Let's talk about gender specific issues Gender specific I hear a lot of things out there women just want the good stuff. It's not about that Gender specific care does not mean preferential care for women Women veterans are not asking for special treatment. Just equal treatment gender specific care Gender specific care means the ability to provide specialized care Based on gender a pap smear for a woman and the prostate exam for a man. I Know that feeling It means women's specific needs are met at the same level of males One size does not fit all With the recent integration of women into all military occupations VA must be ready to meet these women as they transition into their communities as veterans a Rising group of veterans in this group are between the ages of 18 and 44 Representing 42 percent of women veterans These women are within childbearing ages and Another interesting note to number 57 percent of women are service connected Which will mean that VA will have to be ready to service their needs On an average women VHA users are younger than males More and more women are as more and more women are exposed to combat It will be necessary for VA to be ready To service their needs and to be able to provide reproductive care gender specific screening breast care prenatal ob gyn and others identification Many women still do not identify As veterans in september of 2015 VA launched its i'm one Campaign to try to address this issue Women veterans still continue to feel isolation and left out They feel as if their service is devalued when compared to men This veterans day Make it your mission to thank her The dav entering women veterans committee of 2015 worked hard on the development of a toolkit for the department women veterans advisory committee chairs This toolkit should be used as a guide to enhance your program or start your program It provides instructions links and valuable information on women veterans issues dav the department and depart chapter commanders should familiarize themselves themselves with the valuable tool The dav women's veterans landing page This is another resource that is at your fingertips to guide you to current legislation on dav's position Specific bills issue briefs. It has a link for the toolkit and more At this time, I would like to take time to recognize the 2015 2016 dav interim women veterans committee The chair adela's more quest joanne martinis greg remas And evangeline shows Thank you, and this concludes my presentation I would like to encourage you to be active use your talking tips. If you have any questions, please stop by and see us Get involved. Thank you