VCC Spring 2021

V irginia C apitol C onnections , S pring 2021 23 V IRGINIA D EPARTMENT OF S MALL B USINESS AND S UPPLIER D IVERSITY M ore than 97% of Virginia’s businesses are small . We are your economic development agency , helping you grow and prosper through increased revenue and job creation . What we offer… • Virginia Small Business Financing Authority providing access to capital; • Business Development and Outreach providing education and outreach to assist small businesses with strategic growth and development; • Certifications to enhance procurement opportunities for SWaM and DBE qualified businesses. For further information about services offered, please visit us at www.sbsd.virginia.gov or call (804) 786-6585 Virginia Leads the Way in Services For Women Veterans By Delegate Kathleen Murphy and Lyla Kohistany Virginia is home to over 108,000 women veterans, the highest percentage of women veterans per population of any state in the nation. These women veterans often face personal battles when they transition from a uniform to civilian clothes. And, like their counterparts across the country, they have a higher suicide rate, divorce rate, and suffer alcoholism and homelessness in much larger percentages than their male counterparts. As members of Virginia’s Board of Veterans Services (BVS), we are proud to play a role in ensuring that our state government is delivering top-notch, tailored services to our women veterans. As a Commonwealth, we have recognized that they face different challenges than their male counterparts and need a strong support system to help address and overcome these issues.Women veterans have shown bravery and courage, they left family and friends behind when they deployed overseas, and they put their lives on the line for us. We need to ensure we serve and support them with the same dedication they have given in service to our country. Our Virginia Department of Veterans Services (VDVS) works in close partnership with a myriad of federal, state, and local government agencies; nonprofits; and business partners to offer a spectrum of programs and services for women veterans. In 2018, Virginia formally launched the Virginia Women Veterans Program(VWVP) as part of theVirginiaDepartment ofVeterans Services. VDVS hired Virginia’s first full-time Women Veteran Coordinator, and she was charged with expanding advocacy and enhancing the lives of Virginia’s women veterans by creating access to a wide array of veteran benefits specifically tailored to meet their needs. The VWVP has been such a success that a 2nd position was approved by Governor Northam and the 2021 General Assembly for state fiscal year 2022. In an ongoing tribute to women veterans, the third week in March is designated as Women Veterans Week, a week every year to honor and celebrate women veterans throughout the Commonwealth. Like so many other things right now, VirginiaWomen VeteransWeek 2021 was celebrated virtually. The VWVP partnered with the Virginia War Memorial to host a series of special programs in February and March 2021 dedicated to women service members and veterans, including a special program about the unsung heroes of the 6888th Postal Battalion in World War II. To view these and other Virginia War Memorial programs, go to https://vawarmemorial.org/learn/ resources/ and then “ Click for Links to all Livestream Recordings .” On June 23 & 24, 2021, VDVS will host the 7th Annual Virginia Women Veterans Summit. As with last year, the 2021 Summit will be virtual, enabling participation from women veterans from across the Commonwealth, and, indeed, from around the country and across the globe. The theme of the 2021 Summit is “ Empowered: Bold with a Purpose, Finding Clarity Beyond Crisis .” Admission is free of charge. To learn more, visit the VWVP webpage at https:// www.dvs.virginia.gov/virginia-women-veterans. Murphy Kohistany See Virginia Leads theWay in Services ForWomenVeterans, continued on page 26