05.22.18
Catholic Charities’ Women Veterans Program Joins the City of Houston June 12 In Celebrating the Inaugural Texas Women Veterans Day at Houston City Hall
Catholic Charities Women Veteran Services will join the City of Houston and other local nonprofits in recognizing June 12, 2018 at the inaugural Texas Women Veterans Day.
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston will join the City of Houston and several local nonprofits to celebrate June 12 as the inaugural Texas Women Veterans Day during a special event at Houston City Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
The event will recognize the 70th anniversary of the Women Armed Services Integration Act – signed into law June 12, 1948 – by President Harry S. Truman, to enable women to serve as permanent, regular members of the U.S. armed forces in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and recently formed Air Force.
Special guests at the upcoming event will include U.S. Marine Corps Major General (ret.) Angela Salinas, now CEO of the Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas, and Verna L. Jones, executive director of The American Legion’s Washington, D.C., national headquarters. The musical guest will be Earnest Pugh, U.S. Army (ret.). A number of women veterans – including several who are 90-plus years old – will be featured, representing more than 177,500 women veterans who live in Texas and roughly 1.9 million in the nation.
A proclamation recognizing the important day will be read at 1 p.m. in the City Hall Chambers, and the celebration and presentation will occur at 2 p.m. in the Legacy Room. Houston City Hall is located at 901 Bagby Street.
In addition to Catholic Charities and the city, entities involved in the June 12 event include Dress for Success-Houston, Kappa Epsilon Psi Military Sorority and Goodwill Houston – all organizations that support women veterans as they transition to civilian life after their service.
LaShondra C. Jones, Ph.D., Program Coordinator for Catholic Charities Women Veteran Services, and a U.S. Marine, played a significant role in organizing and coordinating the event. In addition, Catholic Charities has advocated with the State of Texas in recent years to recognize June 12 as Texas Women Veterans Day.
“We are so excited this special day has been set aside in Texas to honor women veterans,” Jones said. “Women veterans are the most underserved among the veteran population, and we want to change that. Catholic Charities has programs for women veterans in Harris County, Fort Bend County and Galveston County, and our goal is to help them successfully transition to civilian life.”
Catholic Charities offers women career guidance, counseling and peer-to-peer support; assists them in navigating the Veterans Administration and other services available to them; and provides housing/rental assistance and other basic needs to move them toward self-sufficiency.
“Our staff is dedicated to providing help and creating hope for women veterans and for all our clients,” said Cynthia N. Colbert, Catholic Charities president and CEO. “We assist roughly 85,000 individuals each year to live with dignity and become self-sufficient.”
To RSVP for the free June 12 event, go to https://bit.ly/txwomenvetsday. Learn more about about Catholic Charities’ Women Veteran Services.