Baltimore honors 150 women veterans with new support program

Baltimore City marked Women Veterans Recognition Day by doing more than handing out praise. More than 150 women veterans were honored Friday at the Baltimore City War Memorial at 101 N. Gay Street, where the city paired the celebration with a resource fair aimed at benefits help, housing support, mental health care, job placement and other services women veterans often need after service ends.

The program ran from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with check-in beginning at 9:00 a.m. It carried the theme “Honoring, Empowering, and Connecting Our Women Veterans” and brought together the Maryland Department of Veterans and Military Families, the Governor’s Office of Small, Minority & Women Business Affairs, the Baltimore City Office of Equity and Civil Rights, the Baltimore City Women’s Commission and the Baltimore City Veterans Commission. Alongside the recognition, officials launched the Women Veterans Ambassador Program, a new effort meant to expand outreach, advocacy and leadership development for women veterans across Maryland.

Roslyn Jones, a women veterans program manager, said the event was about recognizing women veterans for “their achievements and accomplishments,” a reminder that the state still sees a need to make women’s service more visible. That need is tied to changing demographics: women veterans make up about 18 percent of the U.S. armed forces and are the fastest-growing group in the military, even though their support systems have often lagged behind the realities of military life and transition.

Friday’s observance also aligned with National Women Veterans Recognition Day, which marks the June 12, 1948 signing of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act. Signed by President Harry S. Truman, the law made women permanent, regular members of the U.S. military. More than seven decades later, state and city officials are still building the infrastructure needed to turn recognition into practical support.

Maryland’s Women Veterans and Inclusion Program says it focuses on outreach, education, service navigation and connections to state and federal resources that reduce barriers to care and support. The Baltimore City Veterans Commission says its work includes educational training, health and rehabilitation access, employment and reemployment services, and information on rights and privileges under federal, state and local law.

The broader federal picture shows why the effort matters. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says its Center for Women Veterans was created by Congress in November 1994 to improve access to VA benefits, services and opportunities for women veterans. The VA says women veterans were just 4 percent of the veteran population in 2000, more than 2 million women veterans live in the United States today, and they are projected to account for 18 percent of all veterans by 2040.