She’s the Veteran offers support for active and retired military women

Guest Speaker for the Daniel Island Exchange Club’s March meeting was U.S. Army veteran Brooke Jackson Kahn. Kahn is the founder and executive director of She’s the Veteran. This nonprofit organization is the first in the Lowcountry focused on mental health and is open to active duty, reserves, National Guard, prior service and retired military women. 

 

Kahn explained there are 45,000 women veterans in South Carolina with approximately 15,000 women veterans living right here in the greater Charleston area. Many of these women veterans are interested in a support system providing them a place to discuss their experiences, share the joys and sorrows, socialize and bring awareness to resources available to them as they return to civilian life.  

 

As Kahn was completing research while becoming a physician assistant, she realized there was a lack of mental health resources for female veterans and opportunities to get together, share their experiences and become a support to each other.  

 

Female veterans began coming forward to this small group acknowledging feelings of isolation and the need to have a resource where experiences could be shared with others having gone through similar and varied experiences. Research shows that PTSD is both under-diagnosed and under-treated in female veterans.  

 

She’s the Veteran is an organization that allows women to share military experiences and form new friendships. It provides a place where women veterans can learn about resources that are available to them. Its main mission is to improve mental health, which is often overlooked for this under-served population.

 

Learn more about She’s the Veteran at shestheveteran.org.