BTM166 - Erika Hoover and Andrea Norton - LGBTQ+ Veterans Public Health Awareness Campaign
About Today’s Guest
Erika Hoover has been working at the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency and serving veterans since October 2017. In her role, Erika oversees a team that includes our Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Analyst, Community Health Technicians, Homeless Veteran Coordinator, Women Veterans & Special Populations Coordinator and General Office Assistant-Veteran Connector. She is also the Chair of the Michigan Women Veterans Coalition, a statewide coalition created by MVAA to engage with federal, state and local organizations to solve statewide female veterans' issues.
Erika served in the Navy from 2009-2013 as an Aviation Machinists Mate, Petty Officer Third Class. She holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Portland State University and a culinary arts degree from Oregon Culinary Institute.
Andrea Norton is an USAF Veteran and Licensed Master Social Worker at the Aleda E. Lutz VAMC in Saginaw MI. Prior to working at the VA, Andrea served in the USAF for 8 ½ years as an intelligence analyst and mobile instructor. Ms Norton left the Air Force in 2007 to pursue her education earning both her BSW and MSW at Michigan State University.
She has worked with and advocated for underserved Veterans her entire career as a Housing Specialist, Intensive Case Manager, LGBTQ Veteran Care Coordinator, Women Veteran Program Manager, and most recently as a Community Engagement & Partnership Coordinator on the Suicide Prevention Team.
She is passionate about working with communities to help promote a public health approach to suicide prevention and increase the awareness of the rich diversity that exists in the Veteran community.
PsychArmor Resource of the Week
This week’s PsychArmor resource of the week is episode 20 of the Behind the Mission Podcast, an interview with Jennifer Dane, Advocating for LGBTQ+ Service Members and Veterans. In this episode, Jenn talks about the Modern Military Association of America, the nation’s largest non-profit organization working to advance fairness and equality for the LGBTQ military and veteran community. You can see find the episode here: https://psycharmor.org/podcast/jennifer-dane.
Links Mentioned In This Episode
Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency Website
Theme Music
Our theme music Don’t Kill the Messenger was written and performed by Navy Veteran Jerry Maniscalco, in cooperation with Operation Encore, a non profit committed to supporting singer/songwriter and musicians across the military and Veteran communities.
This Episode Sponsored By:
This episode is sponsored by PsychArmor, the premier education and learning ecosystem specializing in military culture content. PsychArmor offers an online e-learning laboratory with custom training options for organizations.
Producer and Host Duane France is a retired Army Noncommissioned Officer, combat veteran, and clinical mental health counselor for service members, veterans, and their families. You can find more about the work that he is doing at www.veteranmentalhealth.com
