New text messaging feature available through VA’s Women Veterans Call Center
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) added a text messaging feature to the Women Veterans Call Center on April 23, providing another convenient way for women to seek information about VA benefits, health care and available resources.
Women Veterans can now text 855-829-6636 to receive answers and guidance about VA services.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for women Veterans to get answers about eligibility requirements, benefits, services and more,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “By offering new methods of communication, such as texting, we can reach more women Veterans and support their health care needs more quickly.”
The Women Veterans Call Center is staffed by trained, compassionate female VA employees, who can provide and link callers to available resources, such as health care, benefits and cemetery information via phone, chat and now text. The new texting feature aligns this service with other VA call centers that provide information and assistance to Veterans who are in crisis, at risk for suicide and becoming homeless.
VA works to meet the unique requirements of women, while offering privacy, dignity and sensitivity to gender-specific needs. Since April 2013, the call center has received nearly 83,000 inbound calls and has initiated almost 1.3 million outbound calls. As the number of women Veterans continues to grow, VA is expanding its outreach to ensure they receive enrollment and benefit information through means that are user-friendly and responsive.
Women are among the fastest-growing Veteran demographics, accounting for more than 30% of the increase in Veterans who served between 2014 and 2018. The number of women using VA health care services has tripled since 2000, growing from about 160,000 to over 500,000 today. This continued growth underscores VA’s commitment to enhancing communication and outreach to the growing population of women Veterans.
For more information about the Women Veterans Call Center, visit Women Veterans Health.
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