It was only last October when Reverend (Dr.) Helen Fleming realized that many women veterans were homeless. The pastor of the Douglas Memorial United Methodist Church since 2005, Rev Fleming was busy restoring her church and developing spiritual leadership among its congregation. But when she heard about the plight of homeless female veterans, she knew she had received another calling.

Rev Fleming felt an immediate connection with these women. “I was in shock,” she recalled. “I said, ‘What are we doing as a church? We’ve got to do something. That’s part of our responsibility.’” Within weeks Rev Fleming developed a plan and contacted the pastors of the Urban Connection of Greater Washington, a cluster of 13 urban Methodist churches. Most signed on, and less than two months later, the Women Veteran Resource Center held their first open house at her church. By then Rev Fleming had garnered the support of the Washington, DC’s Executive Office of The Mayor/Office of Veteran Affairs and the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Leadership, ministry and multi-tasking are routine for Rev Fleming. The walls of her office inside Douglas Memorial United Methodist Church showcase a few of her certificates, awards and plaques. Dozens more spill out of storage boxes. The copier doesn’t work. The phone rings throughout our interview and Rev Fleming fluidly transitions from interview to ministry and back to interview. Passersbyers stop in to say hello. Rev Fleming is unflappable. She has had, after all, quite a career. Ordained in 1984, she completed her Doctor of Ministry at the California Graduate School of Theology in 2010. While performing various ministries and serving as pastor in several Philadelphia churches, she also encouraged one million minority people to vote during her six years as the international field director for Project Vote. She trained and placed 4,000 welfare recipients into government careers through the business school she created. In1989, the United Nations and the African country of Namibia invited her to assist in their one-person-one-vote transition to independence from the apartheid regime, and later she served as a chaperone to African and Korean-American youth on a cultural exchange in Seoul, South Korea. Her accomplishments caught the attention of none other than President George W. Bush, who invited her to attend his 2004 State of the Union address.



All this attention is understandable. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, nearly 1.8 million women are veterans (eight percent of the veteran population), and their chances of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is twice that of male veterans. Over 150,000 women veterans live in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. While it’s nearly impossible to predict how many of them are homeless, most of them became homeless after their Guard or Reserve unit deployment or after their active-duty enlistment expired. Others, retired from the military, cannot stretch their retirement income to make ends meet. Still others are “couch-surfing,” or living intermittently with friends, boyfriends, parents or grown children.

Fifty-three female veterans showed up at the Women Veteran Resource Center’s open house last December, in need of everything from food to computer access to pastoral care. Rev Fleming said that what surprised her most was that many of these women had no idea where to go for help or the resources available to them. Why help just the homeless veteran women? They have unique challenges, said Rev Fleming, such as PTSD from sexual harassment or assault, finding child care, or possibly losing custody of their children. “One thing I’ve learned is that the families are hurting,” Rev Fleming said, and she’s excited about establishing a fun and educational care center for the children

Rev Fleming is optimistic about the Center’s future. “I think it’s going to explode. I really believe that’s going to happen,” she enthused. The VA has been “overwhelmingly supportive and encouraging of what I do” and she’s invited pastors from all faith denominations to join the network to support homeless women veterans. Eventually Rev Fleming envisions the churches each offering specific services to homeless female veterans throughout the region so “they won’t feel so lost, so forsaken, so forgotten.”

“The church should be their refuge,” she summarizes.

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JANE HESS COLLINS is a retired Air Force colonel who inspires people to contribute through writing, speaking and (hopefully) example. She also writes the "Get Out and Give Back" newspaper column, conducts workshops for clients to discover their most intrinsic way to serve, and has established game nights for at-risk families throughout the country. You can contact her at www.getoutandgiveback.com.