“It’s a really exciting time for #womenveterans during the 116th Congress with WV legislation at the forefront of the discussion and the implementation of the Women Veterans Task Force in the House Veterans' Affairs Democrats House Committee on Veterans' Affairs by Mark Takano led by Congresswoman Julia Brownley.” -Joy Ilem

"Here I am, 78 years old, worried about how I will pay my bills ... How sad that the VA would let a veteran die with this burden looming over them." A #BlueWaterNavy veteran's widow was on Capitol Hill today fighting for her husband and others like him. bit.ly/2letU8x

From June 2007 to Nov. 30, 2018, the VA processed 11,581 disability compensation claims that included a burn pit component. Of those, 2,318 burn-pit related claims were approved. military.com/daily-news/201…

DAV’s Shane Liermann @ @VAChair: “[Bobby Daniels] is why today’s hearing on the future of presumptive decision-making is so important, so we can prevent these types of injustices from ever happening again.” #KeepThePromise #EndTheWait #BurnPits #AgentOrange

DAV’s Shane Liermann @ @VAChair: “In order to ensure we utilize all scientific analysis and research for #ToxicExposures, we recommend that any new presumptive processes have a requirement for new studies every 2 years.” #KeepThePromise #EndTheWait #BurnPits #AgentOrange

DAV’s Shane Liermann @ @VAChair: “#Veterans w/ terminal diseases... do not have the time to wait for Secretary Robert Wilkie to decide. Regardless of whether the Secretary decides to implement the diseases or not, veterans deserve timely action.” #KeepThePromise #EndTheWait #BurnPits

.Mark Takano, Andrea N. Goldstein and Joy Ilem are speaking in front of the DC veterans affairs hospital now, calling for the VA to implement more policies to stop sexual assault and harassment. Comes in response to an attack at that hospital Friday: nytimes.com/2019/09/26/us/…

Women veterans—ALL veterans—deserve better. It’s time to fix the culture at the Veterans Affairs. dav.org/learn-more/new…

DAV thanks House Veterans' Affairs Democrats for including our testimony for the record on today's important hearing looking at VA support for survivors of military sexual trauma (MST). #MST #veterans

The discussion on the issue of MST is critical as the health and well-being of far too many veterans—both male and female—has been negatively impacted because of this trauma. DAV members rely on VA care to recovery from their post deployment challenges. #MST #veterans

Sadly, the most recent report from the @DeptofDefense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO) confirms there is increased prevalence of sexual assaults among service members in the active force and at military service academies between 2014 and 2018. #MST #veterans

The impact of sexual assault or harassment can be long lasting, and many veterans turn to Veterans Health for treatment to address conditions such as #PTSD or depression related to #MST. VA has a screening policy for MST to help identify veterans who may require treatment.

DAV’s report, Women Veterans: The Journey Ahead, detailed the story of DAV member and Navy veteran, Leeia Isabelle, who did not report the crime against her claiming she wanted to “bury it and make it go away.” Leeia’s story is typical of many veterans with PTSD. #MST #PTSD

Adding to the complexity to the issue of MST is reported patient-to-patient harassment on VA grounds. This creates a significant barrier to care for many women veterans. A recent study of women veterans indicates that 1 in 5 women veterans seeking care report facing harassment.

While we recognize that progress has been made, and there are programs and supportive services offered by VA to assist #MST survivors — oversight is still necessary to ensure timely access to high quality care for MST-related conditions is available at all sites of care.

We cannot know how long this will persist, but we can’t forget how important our mission is. Wherever possible, we’re going to look to leverage technology to help us continue to serve and advocate. youtube.com/watch?v=zVsyuN…

Stay up to date with DAV (Disabled American Veterans) and how we're staying on top of #COVID19 at dav.org/covid/. We will continue to update as we get more information.

HAPPENING NOW: The #WomenVetsTaskForce is holding a virtual roundtable on women veterans' #MentalHealth. Watch here ⬇️ youtube.com/watch?v=e4UPpH…

HAPPENING NOW: I'm honored to be a part of the House Veterans' Affairs Democrats led virtual round table on #WomenVeterans and #MentalHealth #WomenVetsTaskForce youtube.com/watch?v=e4UPpH…

Thank you, The Ellen Show for supporting our #veterans and their families. EDbyEllenD