An Evans City woman has been named a finalist in the 2018 Ms. Veteran America competition.
Erinn Black- who has served this country for the past 13 years in the United States Air Force Reserves, deploying once oversees, – says this isn’t your traditional “beauty pageant.”
“There isn’t a swimsuit portion in the competition…instead we’re doing a push-up competition,” Black said with a laugh.
Jokes aside, the focus of the event is to raise awareness of the growing number of homeless female veterans. Black knows first-hand the different issues women military members face.
“You face the traditional issues of just being a service member but you also face different issues,” she said, reflecting that the hardest part of serving for her was being away from her children.
Black is raising money for Final Salute, which seeks to help “our Sisters in Arms work towards independence,” according to Black. There is an estimated 55,000 homeless women veterans in the United States.
Black is a Butler High School graduate and currently works for the Butler VA. She’s slated to travel to Arlington National Cemetery for the Ms. Veteran America semi-finals in June. The finals will be held in October in California.
To learn more about Black’s fundraising efforts, visit here.
