Female military veterans “are both combat ready and crown-worthy.”
That is according to Mickensy Ellis-White, a U.S. Air Force veteran and one of 20 women contestants from around the United States competing in the upcoming Ms. Veteran America competition to help raise funds for homeless female veterans and their children.
The contestants will galvanize Oct. 11 in Tampa, Fla., as part of the 15th annual event organized by advocacy group Final Salute Inc. The festivities celebrate the more than 2 million women who have served in the U.S. military, while raising awareness of the issues some experience once they leave service.
“I spent eight years serving in the U.S. Army Reserves as a behavioral health specialist, including a deployment during Operation Iraqi Freedom,” Mickensy Ellis-White told Military.com. “We’re here to break stereotypes and support one another.
“My goal is to use this platform to push for the mental health resources my fellow veterans deserve and to show that our service doesn’t stop just because we’ve taken off the uniform.”
Rise in Homeless Female Veterans
Women compose roughly 18% of the active-duty force, and the veteran population of women is projected to grow.
According to federal figures, 3,329 women veterans experienced homelessness on a single night in 2024, including roughly half of them being unsheltered.
“Being a veteran means carrying forward the values of service, resilience and responsibility long after the uniform comes off,” Zenta Adams, a U.S. Army veteran also competing Oct. 11, told Military.com. “As a woman veteran who briefly experienced homelessness, Ms. Veteran America gives me a platform to turn my own journey into purpose and help other women veterans feel seen, supported and understood.”
Final Salute Inc. said there are an estimated 55,000 homeless women veterans nationwide, with over 50% of them being single mothers.
Many homeless female veterans are victims of military sexual trauma and have felt resentment toward the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“I hope to use this experience to amplify the voices of women veterans, highlight the strength, leadership and continued service we bring to our communities, and help reduce the stigma around what veteran homelessness looks like and who it can affect,” Adams added.
Origins of the Ms. Veteran America Competition
Final Salute Inc. is a nonprofit founded by Ret. Army Maj. Jaspen “Jas” Boothe after cancer and Hurricane Katrina left her struggling to find a place to live with her young son.
“These women are raising money and advocating for their sisters in arms,” Boothe told Military.com in September.
The competition, taking place at the Renaissance Tampa International Plaza Hotel, will also include a GI JoAnne award for the most push-ups performed live onstage.
The winner becomes a spokesperson for Final Salute and commits to at least 250 hours of community service during her reign, according to the competition’s rules.
Participants have collectively raised nearly $1 million over the competition’s history, Boothe said, with donations spawning from community endeavors in which contestants seek donations and explain why women veterans and their children need help.
