VETERAN of the MONTH

JAS BOOTHE Major, U.S. Army Reserve, 94th Training Division

Every night, thousands of female veterans sleep on the streets. Major Jas Boothe is on a mission to change that. Her nonprofit organization, Final Salute, has helped more than 2,000 female vets across the country trade homelessness for a roof and a bed. It’s a cause that’s close to her heart. Twelve years ago, Boothe was homeless.

In 2005, Boothe was a platoon leader preparing to deploy to Iraq when all her belongings—then in storage in Louisiana—were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. She and her 9-year-old son lost everything. In a double whammy of bad luck, a few months later she was diagnosed with aggressive head, neck and throat cancer.

Unable to deploy with her unit, Boothe spent months in the hospital undergoing treatment. After she left the hospital and was no longer on active-duty status, she went from making more than $3,000 a month with benefits to $300 in food stamps and cash. The single mother and her son moved in with her aunt and slept on the couch.

“Homelessness was a mission we were never trained for in the military,” she says.

Within a year, Boothe was back on her feet, working for the National Guard. In 2010, she founded Final Salute to provide transitional housing and other services for female veterans. Boothe, now back in the Reserve and cancerfree, created other programs, including Ms. Veteran America, a pageant that celebrates contestants’ military service while raising funds for those in need.

“We’ve been able to give hope where historically there wasn’t any,” she says. “My proudest achievement is being able to help other people.” Go to Parade.com/veterans for more of our yearlong series.