The San Diego LGBT Community Center and the County of San Diego Veterans Services Office will host the LGBT Veterans Benefits Seminar on Saturday, Sept. 6 from 11 am to 1 pm at The Center. Participants will learn more about the many services, benefits, and programs available to them through the County and other veterans organizations including REBOOT, American Military Partners Association, The Gay, Lesbian and Supporting Sailors (GLASS), and the Military Freedom Coalition.
The workshop is open...
The San Diego LGBT Community Center and the County of San Diego Veterans Services Office will host the LGBT Veterans Benefits Seminar on Saturday, Sept. 6 from 11 am to 1 pm at The Center. Participants will learn more about the many services, benefits, and programs available to them through the County and other veterans organizations including REBOOT, American Military Partners Association, The Gay, Lesbian and Supporting Sailors (GLASS), and the Military Freedom Coalition.
The workshop is open to veterans of ALL AGES. U.S. Armed Forces veterans of all backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender identities are welcome: if you have served you deserve your benefits! We look forward to seeing you at this groundbreaking workshop.
There will also be a special workshop for Active Duty Military to connect them with an Active Duty LGBT support network.
For more information about this event, contact Ben Cartwright, Director of Community Outreach at The Center, at bcartwright@thecentersd.org or 619-692-2077 ext. 106.
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION:
County of San Diego Veterans Services Office
Tom Splitgerber
Tom Splitgerber is the Director of the County of San Diego Veterans Services Office and will provide information on the services his office provides and how to access services. Staff from his office will also be in attendance to provide some services on site, and answer additional questions that veterans may have. More information about services provided by the County of San Diego Veterans Services Office is here: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/hhsa/programs/ais/veterans_services/.
WORKSHOPS:
REBOOT Workshops™
Reboot workshops are designed to assist members of the military in making the social and career transition from years of service by addressing their fears and “re-booting” their skills. The workshop features three weeks of education designed to enhance and build upon their training, experience and skills to prepare them for life after the military. Representatives from the program will share information about REBOOT and how to participate. More information REBOOT is here: - http://www.nvtsi.org/about-workshop/:
Partner Benefits
Dr. Lori Hensic – Director of Research and Policy for MilitaryPartners.org:
Dr. Hensic is dedicated to critical educational efforts aimed at strengthening LGBT military families representation and engagement in policy changes. She is working to expand the American Military Partner Association’s (AMPA) research platform and is designing a database of vital information and statistics about our LGBT military families to ensure they are well represented within the larger military community. She has appeared in media interviews on local and national broadcasts, and has been invited to speak at several conferences on behalf of our LGBT military families. Her educational outreach campaigns and collaborations with other national advocacy organizations help inform LGBT military families, elected officials, and the general public about disparities in our families’ access to services and benefits – as well as how to assist with means to change them. To contact her directly, email her at lori@militarypartners.org.
An Active Duty Connection
Ann Foster - GLASS
The Gay, Lesbian and Supporting Sailors (GLASS) seeks to foster a base free of prejudice, bigotry, harassment, and violence by providing a space for all Sailors to explore and increase their understanding of aspects related to sexual orientation and expression in an open and nonjudgmental environment.
We support and affirm the diverse identities and lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) Sailors as individuals and as groups, especially as students, staff, and faculty of Training Support Command (TSC) and their families, friends, and allies, by the cultivation of safe space, educational outreach, advocacy, visibility of LGB issues, information and referral, and academic and leadership opportunities.
GLASS is a peer-to-peer group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and supportive sailors in the Southern California region. We are committed to providing support for our fellow sailors through advocacy, education and outreach.
What’s next? The national fight for open transgender military service
Sean Sala - National Organizer of TheMilitaryFreedomCoalition.org
The Military Freedom Coalition is a coalition of national LGBT leaders, advocates, and organizations that are dedicated to advocating for the fair treatment of all LGBT service members, the preservation of their dignity while serving, and furthering respect for and education on transgender service. Retired Senior Chief Petty Officer and Navy SEAL Kristin Beck serves with this organization as the National Transgender Military Liaison.
Through this workshop, Sala will update participants on the organization’s fight for open service for transgender military members and provide information on how others can get involved.