Twenty women veterans from across the country traded their combat boots for evening gowns in Tampa on Sunday, competing not for a crown alone but to raise money for homeless women veterans and their children. The occasion marked the 15th annual Ms. Veteran America competition, a pageant built around service records and community impact rather than swimsuits and talent routines.
The contestants gathered Oct. 11 in Tampa as part of the event, according to Military.com, with all 20 women competing to help other veterans find housing for themselves and their kids. Over the competition's history, participants have collectively raised nearly $1 million, the outlet reports. As WFLA reported, the women traded their boots for gowns at the Tampa event in pursuit of that same cause.
Behind the pageant stands Final Salute Inc., the nonprofit founded by retired Army Maj. Jaspen “Jas” Boothe, who also created Ms. Veteran America. Boothe served 17 years in the Army before she was discharged following a cancer diagnosis, and WFLA notes she lost everything to Hurricane Katrina around the same period, leaving her searching for a place to live with her young son. She has said that hardship exposed a lack of support services for homeless women veterans, particularly those raising children.
A Growing but Overlooked Crisis
Boothe has described women veterans as the country's fastest-growing homeless population, according to WFLA, and said more than half of homeless women veterans are single mothers. That claim tracks with figures posted by Ms. Veteran America, whose website states that over half of all homeless female veterans are single mothers and that more than 55,000 homeless female veterans exist nationwide. Separately, the website cites a Government Accountability Office finding that more than 60% of surveyed Grant Per Diem programs serving this population do not house children.
Other data paints a similarly troubling, if not identical, picture. Homelessness among women veterans rose nearly 24% from 2020 to 2023, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs as reported by NPR, which also notes the VA expects women to make up almost a fifth of all veterans by 2048. Separately, Military.com cites a federal count finding 3,329 women veterans experienced homelessness on a single night in 2024, with roughly half of them unsheltered — a snapshot figure that differs from the broader 55,000 estimate cited elsewhere, though the dossier does not explain the discrepancy between the two counts.
Final Salute's Three-Pronged Response
Final Salute, which Boothe founded in November 2010, says it has since assisted more than 8,000 female veterans and children through its programs, per Military.com's reporting. The organization runs its H.O.M.E. program to provide transitional housing and support services, while its S.A.F.E. program offers financial assistance aimed at preventing homelessness before it starts. A third initiative, Next Uniform, supplies professional clothing, shoes, accessories, headshots and makeovers to help women prepare for civilian job searches.
The pageant itself was scheduled to take place at the Renaissance Tampa International Plaza Hotel, the outlet's report notes. Whoever wins the crown takes on more than a title: the winner becomes a spokeswoman for Final Salute and commits to at least 250 hours of community service during her reign, carrying the organization's mission into the coming year.
The Reigning Titleholder's Reflection
Air Force veteran Cassandra Guzman, who won the 2024 Ms. Veteran America competition and served 10 years in the Air Force, has held the title for two years. She has used that platform to raise awareness of homeless women veterans through events and volunteer work, and told WFLA that Ms. Veteran America provides a sisterhood and family-like support system for the women who take part. Guzman said she was excited for the next titleholder to carry that advocacy forward on behalf of Final Salute and the homeless women veterans and children it serves.
The competition brought together 20 veterans around a shared cause: helping homeless women veterans and their children through a nonprofit shaped by its founder's own experience of searching for housing after her military service ended.
