Women veterans gathered at the Michigan State Capitol to protest the last-minute cancellation of their annual conference, expressing frustration over what they say is a pattern of reduced support for those who served their country.
- Women veterans say funding cuts led to the cancellation of the fourth annual women veterans conference just a week before it was scheduled.
- Women veterans, including Lorrena Black and Theresa Robinson, are upset over both the cancellation and broader cuts to veteran services.
- Despite the setback, veterans are organizing their own conference with local support to continue advocating for their needs.
WATCH: Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency cites budget constraints for last-minute cancellation of fourth annual women's veterans conference
The fourth annual women's veterans conference was cancelled just one week before it was scheduled to take place, according to retired U.S. Army Major Lorrena Black and Navy veteran Theresa Robinson. They say they were told the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency cut the event due to budget constraints.
"It's the one time a year that we get that lifeline," Robinson said. "One time a year, and they wait and don't tell us for a week. A week before."
The conference serves as a crucial resource for women veterans, providing information about services and support systems many may not know exist.
"You don't know who is sitting under that rock who doesn't know squat because they weren't told or they didn't know they could get help," veteran Theresa Bousson said.
In a statement, the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency acknowledged the error, saying "we made a mistake and we are committed to doing better." The agency added they "are working with the venue to reschedule the conference."
However, Black says the canceled conference represents a larger problem with veteran funding in Michigan.
"They're taking away money from all veterans and we've given too much for that to be happening," Black said.
The state budget includes cuts to grants that fight veteran homelessness and administrative costs for veteran services.
Despite the setback, the women veterans are organizing their own one-day conference for Saturday with community support.
"Post 154 donated the room to us, space to us and they're not charging us or anything so we can use it for what we need to do," Robinson said.
Black emphasized their determination to continue advocating for veteran services.
"We won't stay quiet. We won't," Black said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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