SWAN 2nd Annual Summit – Mental Wellness – Nov 13 & 14
In SWAN’s 2016 annual survey 35 percent of women veterans identified mental wellness as their top personal challenge. The Summit will examine mental wellness along the continuum of active duty to veteran status. Besides the expected daily stressors of military life and deployments, service women often deal with a culture of bias, harassment and sometimes assault. These stressors can have long-term mental wellness impacts that must be acknowledged and addressed while on active duty and when service women become veterans.
Women veterans are 250% more likely than civilian women to commit suicide, and recent research on veteran homelessness revealed that while women veterans do not fit the traditional definition of homeless, they are disproportionately categorized as “housing insecure”, which is at least partially attributable to unaddressed mental health issues.
This is a research Summit with two goals. First, it is to better understand the mental wellness needs of military women by examining existing research and new data through a series of presentations and focus group discussions. Second, it is to develop and recommend solutions to fill gaps in research and care for military women. This will be done on the second day during a series of working group sessions. Focus and working groups sessions will be recorded for research purposes. After the Summit the data will be analyzed and published in a series of post Summit reports and articles. Focus and Working group participants will be asked to sign a research participant consent form at the Summit. Participants will not be identified by name in any post event research documents.
The first portion of the Summit, Nov. 13 from 0830 to 1215 is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC:
Day 1: Examining the Data
0830-0900 Registration and Breakfast
0900-0930 Introduction and Keynote:
Introduction: Lydia Watts—CEO Service Women’s Action Network-
Keynote Speaker: Kayla Williams—VA Center for Women Veterans
0945-1045 America’s Health Rankings Report-Health of Women Who Have Served 2017
United Health Foundation-Dr. Patricia Horoho (Army retired)
Military Officers Association of America-Rene Campos (Navy retired)
1045-1100 Break
1100-1130 SWAN Survey Findings-Dr. Kate Thomas (USMC veteran)
1130-1215 Gap Analysis
Active Duty Service Women-Dr. Nancy Steele (Army retired)
Women Veterans-Dr. Lori Trego (Army retired)
PUBLIC PORTION OF SUMMIT ENDS: FOR 2-DAY SUMMIT PARTICIPANTS ONLY
1215-1300 Lunch Speakers
Dr. Amy Street—VA MST Survivor App Development
Women Veterans Network—Peer leaders
1300-1630: Break Away Sessions for Focus Group Discussions
Day 2: Finding Solutions & Filling Gaps
FOR 2-DAY SUMMIT PARTICIPANTS ONLY
0830-0900 Registration and Breakfast
0900-0930 Day 1 Recap
0930-0945 Day 2 Instructions
1000-1230 Finding Solutions & Filling the Gaps Working Groups
1230-1330 Lunch Speakers
1330-1600 Plenary-Working Group Reports
1600-1630 Way Ahead & Closing Remarks
For additional information and to register, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/swan-2nd-annual-summit-tickets-38875728350