The Department of Veterans Affairs, or VA, estimates that there are more than one million gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender veterans throughout the U.S.; and research also indicates that a transgender identity is five times more common among veterans than non-veterans.
The VA’s Office of Patient Care services created what would become the LGBTQ+ Veterans Health Care program in 2012, on the heels of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010, to prevent discrimination against vets due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.
“From that, it kind of blossomed into…programming, not just a review of policy and procedures,” said Dr. Jennifer Merrifield, veteran care coordinator for the program at VA Augusta.
The VA now requires each of its facilities to have at least one care coordinator to oversee the unique health care needs of sexual and gender minority veterans.
“So, it’s not just the political outfacing,” said Merrifield. “It’s not just the administrative, in that nature, but it is also that we’re making sure veterans get the care that they deserve.”
The program provides care, or coverage and assistance regarding, mental health, screenings and care for HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, substance abuse, and military sexual trauma (which trans vets experience at higher rates than other veterans).
Services provided for lesbian, gay and bisexual servicemembers are largely geared toward advocacy and community support, such as social events and representation during Pride Month. For transgender vets, however, includes a variety of pre- and post-operative gender-affirming care, such as psychological readiness evaluations and hormone therapy.
The program also offers marital therapy, counseling and assistance for name changes on legal documents, and adoption.
The Augusta VA is able to supply these services, and cultivate the program’s capabilities, through its partnership, established over a year ago, with the VA facility in Indianapolis taking advantage of its more robust LGBTQ-geared care services by enabling consultations to vets in Augusta.
Augusta’s program also connects with nonprofit organizations such as National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI; and SPARTA, a transgender military advocacy organization, for efforts such as training local professionals for pro-bono work and raising awareness.
Mak Vaden, a transgender servicemember currently serving in the National Guard, joined SPARTA in 2018.
“Hearing other people’s stories… that comfort and camaraderie of knowing someone else is out there, getting guidance from people, and then when newer people come in being able to pay that guidance on, just created a very positive community,” Vaden said.
Most outreach for the program is through social programs and events, such as Augusta Pride, the Health and Resource Fair hosted by the Augusta Equality Clinic last month, and local LGBTQ-affirming churches and community centers. In the past year, the program has also partnered with two other VA initiatives—Homeless Veterans and Suicide Prevention, for community engagement and to share resources.
Earning the trust of veterans, and those currently serving, who could use the program’s services has proven a challenge, Merrifield says, even amid all of the resources offered.
“There is still such a strong Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell culture; a lot of veterans that were displaced outside of the military because of their LGBTQ status,” she said. “Getting our folks comfortable with talking about their sexuality, or their gender identity, is probably our biggest barrier. Showing that we are a welcoming environment, and that it is safe… But I think the further away from the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell that we get, it’ll be much more common and openly talked about.”
The LGBTQ+ Veterans Health Care program is housed at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center – Uptown Division, at 1 Freedom Way in Augusta.
For more information, visit https://www.va.gov/augusta-health-care/health-services/lgbtq-veteran-care/.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
