Russell looks to aid female veterans

State officials are taking a special interest in the concerns affecting the day-to-day lives of women veterans who fought for their country.

Assemblywoman Addie J. Russell, D-Theresa, held an informal round table several weeks ago to hear from veterans how she can help create or strengthen benefits, address issues that affect the veterans’ quality of life and address other concerns. Mrs. Russell said a dozen veterans and service providers attended the meeting. She plans to formulate a legislative platform for the upcoming year.

Raising morale and generating support within the demographic was one topic that was discussed, Mrs. Russell said.

“The round table has enabled me to focus on the issues that are in most need of addressing,” she said. “The major areas we discussed were how to engage the women veteran population. One of the issues we focused on was how to bring women veterans together in a social gathering. Women veterans don’t join other veteran organizations like the Legions in the numbers that men do.”

Mrs. Russell said she wants to encourage health-care providers to handle cases that involve women veterans. She said sexual trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder are two recurring health issues.

“I want to work with mental health organizations especially and emerging issues with women’s health,” she said. “I’ve been focusing on how we can help them provide the proper treatment for unique situations that affect these veterans.”

Mrs. Russell said she will continue to reach out to female veterans and help address their concerns through additional meetings and other venues.

“We are currently in the process of creating a Facebook page where the women will not only be able to reach out to me but reach out to each other as well,” she said.