The Northeast Florida Womens Veterans will be highlighted by The Players Championship on Military Appreciation Day. The advocacy group fills a gap for those struggling with mental health, unemployment, homelessness
But she went from being entrusted by the Navy to launch missiles that cost more than $1 million each to being unable to keep her home and her children — mainly because she was still feeling the mental toll of sexual abuse by a superior onboard one of the ships on which she served — and who was allowed to remain in her unit while the investigation was ongoing, which took several months of coming into daily contact with him.
Unfortunately, women are the fastest-growing segment of homeless veterans, have a higher unemployment rate, a lower median income and are more likely to live below the poverty line than male veterans, according to figures from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. And Quaranta, a retired Air Force technical sergeant who served for 20 years, said there are other fundamental differences.
In both capacities, she met a number of women veterans who needed resources that she said wasn't readily available in the community, or that the veterans weren't aware what was possible. She started Northeast Florida Womens Veterans 10 years ago and began to tackle the issue, one veteran at a time. Quaranta had enough contacts to help with job placement, knew where the homes for battered women were and had a long list of places they could go for counseling and treat.