BLOG
Wisconsin Veterans Network
Stories
VetsNet Blog
Navy veteran finds help through Wisconsin Veterans Network
Picture (L to R) Chase and Kayla (Donovan Jorgenson) Tony (JM Electric) Josh (Donovan Jorgenson) Fred (Veteran) Rob and Steve (Donovan Jorgenson)
Source: WISN Channel 12 Milwaukee A local veterans nonprofit organization wants to support female veterans and women currently serving in the military who have faced sexual harassment and assault. According to the FBI, a fellow soldier killed the 20-year-old Army Spec. Vanessa Guillen in Texas. Advertisement Her family believes her death has to do with sexual harassment she experienced. "After hearing Vanessa Guillen story, are you hearing about more women coming forward with experiences like this?" WISN 12 News’ Adrienne Pedersen asked Kelsey Gumm of the Wisconsin Veterans Network. "I think from her tragedy which was absolutely awful, I think a lot of women felt compelled to come forward. I joined a Facebook group, and over the span of two days more than 10,000 women have joined this group who have served in the military or are in the military and are sharing their stories. I mean, stories are coming in continually," Gumm said. The Wisconsin Veterans Network is starting a support group for women who have experienced sexual harassment and assault in the military. "To find a safe place to connect with other women who have experienced those things and really just work through that but in a much less clinical aspect," Gumm said. According to the Department of Defense annual report on sexual assault, in 2018 almost a quarter of active duty women experienced sexual harassment. And the number of formal complaints went up by 10% from 2018 to 2019. "I know you're proud of your service it has to be hard to be proud of something and then also feel failed by something," Pedersen said. "I love the military its been great for me and a lot of my female friends its done great things but as with any org there's spots that can use improvement," Gumm said. "This situation has brought light to that and we need to focus and we need to push reforms." Allies of women who have experienced sexual harassment are also welcome to join the support group. The group will meet virtually at least for the time being. If you’d like to sign up for Women Survivors Peer Support Group, visit: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScXWrcm2WMaNvd1IHM7Qm6XCpygUcdnCzN72dajruwfGezINA/viewform
Homeless veteran wanted work and a roof for himself, daughter.
Iraq War veteran living in her van.
Northwoods veteran and son have to replace everything.
Grants & Donors
This year, RCMF granted a total of $6200 to nine different organizations, including VetsNet.
Many thanks to our friends at Laureate Group who recently made a $10,000 grant to VetNet to support our operations!
On August 29, House of Harley, Wisconsin’s largest Harley-Davidson dealer sponsored a Military/Veterans Appreciation Ride as part of the 115th-anniversary celebration for Harley-Davidson.
Many thanks to Heritage Credit Union and the Richard McGrath Endowment Fund!
A generous donation by GMR Marketing will help vets find work!
On May 14, 2018, a team of five volunteers from Baird came to give us a real boost as part of the annual BAIRD GIVES BACK program in which Baird gives their employees a day to volunteer to support nonprofit agencies of their choice. The team consisted of Ben G., Tamie, Alex, Julia and Ben K. Ben G., Tamie, Alex and Julia spent the afternoon helping to scan files from 2016 as part of our conversion of all our files to electronic version in the implementation of our CRM (Client Relations Management) software. The CRM software allows us to eliminate all the paper files and manage our veteran client cases electronically, allowing faster communication with our partner agencies to meet client needs more quickly and provide more secure storage of client information. It also helps us identify whether a client has been at VetsNet in the past and determine how to best meet new needs presented for help. Ben K. spent the afternoon painting one of our partner offices as a continuation of our efforts to provide space for partners to meet with our clients on site, eliminating the need to have them travel out to different locations to find help. Ben’s shown here painting the office used by Workforce Development whose staff helps us place unemployed or underemployed veterans in work opportunities. HATS OFF to Robert W. Baird and Co. for their support of the veteran community and to these Baird employees who gave selflessly in service to those who served!