My golf partner is chairwoman of a golf event supporting women veterans called Salute to Servicewomen Golf Classic. In Viet Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan and military bases around the world, women soldiers serve side by side with their male counterparts. Once discharged, these women soldiers seem to disappear into the evening mist. 

If Hollywood made a movie based on the life of a homeless woman veteran, the reviews would be poor. “Too sad!” “Too heart wrenching!” Many would believe it was fiction.

Women veterans are invisible. The mental picture of homeless military veterans is usually never of a woman. 

Unfortunately, for homeless women veterans, many with PTSD and some with young kids or both, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Life is a cycle filled with endless nights sleeping in a car, on the street or in a shelter. 

Shut your eyes for a second; picture your daughter, your niece… or the cute little girl next door eating out of a dumpster.

In the past there was little psychological help for these American heroes. With little to no transitional help back to real life and solid employment. In the past there was no place that felt like a warm home with good food and a clean, safe environment. There was no place where women vets could get a hand when they needed HELP. For a few of those vets, both men and women, those hopeless days are over. 

Retired Army Colonel Laura Ludwig has made it her mission to provide that comfortable home where veterans (both men and women) can find help making the transition back to mainstream life.

Colonel Ludwig spent several tours in field hospitals in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan. Working ankle deep in blood and body fluids, she administered anesthesia and comfort, keeping our mutilated young soldiers alive, prior to evacuation. She knows first-hand the difficult transition returning from hell.  She was one of the lucky few able to transition back to a clean operating room and being a grandmother. 

Feel good helping Colonel Ludwig and MACV help HOMELESS WOMEN VETERANS transition from the streets back to functional members of society.

Sometimes our veterans need more than just a “thank you for your service.” That’s why the Salute to Servicewomen Golf Classic was created. This event honors all women veterans AND gives more than just a “thank you” to those who find themselves homeless after leaving military service.

In 2019, this event raised enough money to provide monthly operational costs for two transitional homes and helped veterans move into permanent housing. In 2020, COVID-19 added additional challenges including cancelling our event. In 2021, monies raised will continue to support MACV housing for women veterans and families.

For more information about what they do, the tournament or to donate visit them at www.mac-v.org.