Female vets talk joblessness, homelessness

Female vets talk joblessness, homelessness

(CBS News) Tens of thousands of troops are leaving military service and entering an often bleak job market. For women with families, it's especially difficult to find work and housing.

CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller traveled to Fayetteville, N.C., to visit with some female veterans who are looking for help to change their lives.

Shawn McLean is one of those veterans. She served in the Army for four years as a water treatment specialist. She told Miller, if she had to do her military service all over again, she would, because she "loved it."

But she's had no luck finding a full-time job since her discharge in 2008.

"I don't think when you get out, they actually point you in the right direction," McLean said.

"They give you a bunch of briefings, but they don't sit down (and say,) 'What is your next step?'"

Ruth Donaldson served in the Army for 10 years.

"I went to a place that I thought could give me a head start in life," Donaldson said.

Both McLean and Donaldson had been homeless -- living at a shelter for female veterans near Fort Bragg. It's called The Jubilee House, and was started by former Navy Chaplain Barbara Marshall.
read more here