Ford Graduates Women Military Veterans from Intensive 

Workshop to Help Ease Transition Back to Civilian Life

Ford Motor Company in collaboration with the National Veterans Transition Services, Inc. graduates on a three-week workshop designed specifically to address the issues women veterans face as a growing number of them are returning to civilian life and a possibly uncertain future.

The Freedom’s Sisters REBOOT Workshop ran from March 9-27 on the campus of National University here. Up to 25 women veterans were able to attend free classes five days a week that focus on employment and career, personal well-being, achieving goals.  Also included is a personal makeover session to re-establish their personal style after a career in military uniform.

Compared to their male counterparts in the service, women veterans are less likely to be married, and are more likely to be single parents and unemployed. In addition to higher rates of homelessness, they also often face gaps in medical care for women’s health issues as they enter a veterans system geared toward treating males. These issues are expected to grow as the number of women veterans increases. Women are expected to comprise 11 percent of the veteran population by 2020, up from 9 percent now.

The March 2015 Graduating Class of Ford Freedom’s Sisters REBOOT - Photo by Louis "Kengi" Carr

“These brave women have served and sacrificed to defend our freedom, and yet there are few programs that address their unique needs as they return to the home front and to their families,” said Pamela Alexander, director of Community Development, Ford Motor Company Fund. “It’s another opportunity to say thank you, while also helping them make a successful transition.”

Throughout Women’s History Month in March, Ford provided support for the workshop in conjunction with the National Veterans Transition Services, a San Diego-based nonprofit dedicated to assisting veterans in adjusting to civilian life. The group has been running REBOOT workshops for all veterans since 2010.

“We designed this program to meet the unique needs of women, and the training builds upon the participants’ military training, skills and experience,” said Maurice Wilson, co-founder, REBOOT Workshop and retired Navy Master Chief Petty Officer. “The workshop addresses the professional, social and personal aspects of life, along with connections to community resources that could also be of help.”

Freedom’s Sisters REBOOT Workshop takes its name from Ford’s earlier support of the Freedom Sister’s traveling exhibition, which celebrated the life of women civil rights pioneers, as well as present-day women who are making a difference in their communities. Several current members of the Freedom Sisters from the Los Angeles area will serve as mentors for the women’s’ REBOOT workshop in Los Angeles.

Ford’s support of military veterans dates back more than 90 years, when Henry Ford organized a cross-country caravan of 50 Model T Fords to take disabled veterans to the 1922 national convention of the Disabled American Veterans in San Francisco. Since 1974, Ford and Ford Fund have provided more than $8 million to veterans’ organizations. Today, Ford employs more than 7,000 veterans plus hundreds of active military personnel, reservists and guardsmen.

Female veterans and the wives of combat veterans can learn more about the workshop by visiting www.nvtsi.org/women-veteransspouses.