The Herald-Mail in Hagerstown, MD is reporting the city will be the site of a new center for homeless women veterans.

Social worker Jo Ann Dooley, LCSW, will run the new women’s program as well as the existing program for homeless male veterans, the newspaper said. SocialWorkersSpeak.org believes Dooley is a member of the National Association of Social Workers — there is a Joann Shaff Dooley, QCSW, in the Hagertown area in our records.

Funding for the building renovation will come from the Maryland Departments of Housing and Community Development and Health and Mental Hygiene, he said.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Labor will provide funding for Way Station Inc.’s homeless women veterans program once the building has been renovated, the article said. The Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs will also provide assistance.

About one out of 10 homeless veterans is female, the article said. The program will try to help these veterans find sustainable employment and get back on their feet financially.

Work on the 27-bed facility for the homeless women is expected to begin this summer.

Did you know the Department of Veterans Affairs is the largest employer of social workers with master’s degrees? To learn more about the services social workers provide soldiers, visit NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Veteran Affairs Web page by clicking here.