On a more somber note, the event also served to underscore the problems all veterans face: high rate of homelessness, difficulty readjusting to civilian life, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Todman told the veterans "You are no less a soldier because you return home and we have a responsibility to make sure that the service you did overseas or even here is honored by giving you the support, the nurturing, and care that you need."
Gwen Swindall, 44, a Northeast resident, served in the Army during peace times and received a housing voucher from Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing ( VASH).
"You just have to follow up with those people," Swindall said. "The VASH voucher helps military women who are homeless and I've been in my place for almost two years now."
The coalition, under the direction of Deborah Harmon-Pugh, president and editor-in-chief of the Women Veterans Research Consortium, chose Veterans Day as a day of charity to bring all of the community organizations together that support women veterans working alongside the District of Columbia Office of Veterans Affairs.
"What's really rewarding [about this event] is that many of these women have either been homeless, unemployed and/or underemployed and so all of the things that we have done we make available to them today so that they can walk away feeling like somebody really cares about them -- somebody wants to support them, and it doesn't cost them anything but their time. We just ask them to come with a willing spirit, and they leave really filled with a lot of important information."
Fatima Miller, a student at the University of the District of Columbia said, "It's about time somebody has decided to do something. When I returned from the military, I was homeless and had a hard time finding employment. It is programs like this that give me hope."