Celebrating Women Veterans Appreciation Day with CCUA’s New Veterans Program Manager

Today, June 12th, 2023, is Missouri’s first ever Women Veterans Appreciation Day! We are celebrating with a Q&A sit down with our new Veterans Program Manager, Air Force Veteran, Crystal Wiggins!

From left to right: Star Letta (Marines), Ashley Cole (Air Force), Crystal Wiggins (Air Force), and Elizabeth Herrera (Air Force) this morning at Columbia’s City Council Chamber celebrating Missouri’s recent decision to designate June 12th as Women Veterans Appreciation Day.

A group of organizational representatives across our community who advocated for this legislation.

The first Women Veterans Day was held on June 12th, 2018, marking the 70th anniversary of the groundbreaking Women's Armed Services Integration Act, signed into law by President Harry S. Truman in 1948. That law enabled women to serve as permanent, regular members of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force. While the holiday has not yet been nationally recognized, Missouri is the 12th state to sign a proclamation marking its observance.

Alongside the excitement and celebration of this newly recognized holiday, Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture (CCUA) is excited to announce the hiring of our new Veterans Program Manager, Air Force Veteran, Crystal Wiggins!

Crystal served in the Air Force for eight years and was honorably discharged at the rank of Staff Sergeant (E5). After her service she obtained her business degree at the University of Missouri along with a minor in entrepreneurship. Reflecting on what matters most to her, Crystal decided to go to graduate school for social work, with the intention of getting back to Veterans. This is what led Crystal to CCUA.

Crystal at CCUA’s Veterans Urban Farm.

CCUA created the Veterans Urban Farm in 2020. The Veterans Urban Farm is a place for Veterans to benefit from the therapeutic, vocational, and recreational aspects of horticulture in a supportive, community-centered environment. At the Veterans Urban Farm, Truman VA Hospital patients have the opportunity to participate in vocational rehabilitation, recreational therapy and whole health programming. Program participants and community volunteers work to maintain the farm over the course of the growing season and all of the produce grown on site is donated to local Veterans and used in health-focused programming at the VA Hospital. 

Volunteers, Apprentices, and patients from the VA Truman hospital working at our Veterans Urban Farm located at 1209 Smith Street.

Read our Q & A with Crystal discussing her service, the importance of Women’s Veterans Appreciation Day, and her goals for the Veterans Urban Farm as our new Program Manager!

Q: What was it like transitioning from military service into civilian life?

A: After being in the military and having a lot of purpose, being in charge of millions of dollars and people's lives, you need some kind of a purpose, something that really drives you to fill that gap…I wanted to focus on how to help lead other Veterans out of some of the hardship and the struggle and the loss and grief that we experience when we transition out and try to get re-acclimated to civilian life.

My new role within CCUA as the Veterans Program Manager is really a dream come true for me. This organization cares about the health and wellness of all people and I have the honor to prioritize helping Veterans with food insecurity, mental health, occupational therapy, and so much more. I’m just thrilled to be here and I'm excited for all of the amazing and wonderful possibilities for the future of this program and organization.

Crystal throughout her military service.

Q: Your position as Veterans Program Manager is focused on serving and working with Veterans, but you also have a specific passion for creating a space and serving female Veterans. You worked alongside State Rep. David Tyson Smith (D-Columbia) to get the legislation recognizing this day passed. Why is this important to you? Why is this day of recognition important?

A: Being a woman is hard, and being a woman in the military unsurprisingly comes along with its own unique challenges. Over the past 7 years since I’ve separated from active duty I have experienced on numerous occasions people's lack of belief when I tell them that I’ve served.

Stephens College Program Director of Mission Promise Kept, Elizabeth Hererra (Air Force Veteran) asked me to join her and a couple other local female Veterans in advocating for Women Veterans Appreciation Day by joining her at the Capitol and sharing our stories and why we believe it is so important to validate, support, and publicly acknowledge the value of women Veterans and their service to the country. State Rep. David Tyson Smith (D) led us through the procedures and advocated alongside us.

Women have been “officially” serving in the military since June 12, 1948 but have also served in various capacities before that date as nurses, spies, and sometimes disguised as men.

Some people wonder “Why do women need their own special day?” My answer would be because for so long we have been overlooked and undervalued and upon separation from service it becomes invisible… A lot of services for Veterans are marketed and geared towards men so there becomes this constant feeling that your service doesn't count and that your voice isn’t being represented. People tend to ask when they see my Air Force license plate cover, “Oh was your husband a Veteran?”

Recognizing this day is an important step in the direction of taking care of our female Veterans. I feel like enough women Veterans have been advocating for our voices to be heard for so long and today we finally get to celebrate that achievement and all of the other amazing accomplishments women Veterans have brought to our country.

Top Left: (From left to right) Elizabeth Herrera (Air Force), Star Letta (Marines), State Representative David Tyson Smith (D-Columbia), Crystal Wiggins (Air Force), and Ashley Cole (Air Force) at the Missouri State Capital in Jefferson City advocating for the designation of June 12th as Women Veterans Appreciation Day.

Q: Why is the farm the place for this? What goals do you have for the program going forward?

A: Typically, Veterans have been hard working people most of their lives. So when you come to the farm, you get the physical and environmental benefits of being outside and just getting your hands in the dirt, and connecting to Earth. It's also a great place for community and finding connection to yourself, people, food, and your body. There is a real benefit to having a place outside of the hospital separate from being in a room with someone sitting in a chair asking you questions. You don’t always have to talk about trauma to heal trauma. Talk therapy is important and it can be great, but it’s not for everybody. Connecting to the Earth, to food, to people, your body, those are all vital elements of a healthy and more balanced life.

The space here at the Veterans Urban Farm is a safe and comfortable place for Veterans to grow, heal, get their hands dirty, and be outside with loving and kind hearted people. In this new role I am working on creating a Veteran specific volunteer shift out at the farm as well as a separate female Veteran group.

I want all Veterans to know that no matter what you’re going through, the people out here at the Veterans Urban Farm (and CCUA as a whole) care about you and we would love to see you out here sometime soon!

We are thrilled to welcome Crystal to CCUA and can’t wait to see her thrive in her new role at the Veterans Urban Farm.