Our guest US Navy Veteran, Christina Vitale and finalist for the Ms. Veteran America 2017 competition that is held each year. Christina brings with her, her personal mission to raise awareness for Homeless Female Veterans.Support:Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristinaV4MVAMs Veteran America: https://www.crowdrise.com/mva2017christinaw/fundraiser/christinavitale16She is currently working to organize a very special charity group for homeless women veterans all while running for Ms. Veteran America 2017. She served in the USN for 15 years, and benefited from her service in the military more than she ever imagined. The Ms. Veteran America competition raises awareness for homeless women veterans. There were times that she felt like her family and her weren’t going to make it and somehow end up homeless. It never happened, but she knows first-hand what it’s like to go through tough times of not knowing where the next meal would be coming from or getting clothes for school.Growing up in San Bernardino, California wasn’t easy. She was the oldest of six children and grew up in one of the toughest neighborhoods you could have ever imagined. At times, she didn’t know if she was going to make it home from a quick walk through the park after picking up her brothers and sisters from school. But, as the lord has been by her side, she made it out of the neighborhood graduating with honors and then enlisting to serve her country.She insists that this competition is not about her. It’s about the women who have served our country honorably and giving back to them. She wants to help them get the strength that she knows is inside them to pull through and get the life they deserve. Recently, her very own sister went through a heartbreaking experience. She was a spouse to a service member. It was a rough relationship and endured too much pain to stay in the relationship. They divorced, but she didn’t know how to be on her own. She didn’t know about any resources to help her get her life together without her former spouse. She hardly knew anyone and ended up without a home. She was lost and alone. Christina was stationed on a ship in Virginia and her sister was in Hawaii without a license or anything to her name. Eventually, she found a shelter and thru assistance by some military friends of Christina’s in Hawaii she was tended to and cared for her until she was able to get back on her feet.Christina says, “You see the strength of the military and how we take care of not just our own but, others and even families; some of the best teamwork I have ever experienced. At the end of the day, I am running for Ms. Veteran America 2017 to be the strength, voice, and courage I know every female veteran has inside them and obtain the power and strength that they truly hold inside themselves.”Proceeds from this event provides housing for homeless women veterans and their children. Women veterans are currently the fastest growing homeless population in America. Over half of homeless women veterans are single mothers.