Anna V. Eskamani: Advocate for Veterans Everywhere
By: Logan Libretti
Following her historic win in 2018, Representative Anna V. Eskamani of House District 47 has proven herself to be one of the most authentic, vocal, and effective members of the Florida Legislature. Anna is and has always been a fighter for everyone in her community and in the entire state of Florida. One of these communities which Anna has served and protected is the community that served and protected our nation: veterans of the United States military.
To Anna, the fight for our community’s veterans is a crucial one. Rep. Eskamani has called on fellow public servants and citizens to advocate for veterans, stating that “we each have the power to stand up for our Democracy and pay homage to those who have served our country.” The Representative recognizes the necessity to respect our veterans and honor them with action due to the unfortunate discrepancy between the quality of life that they deserve versus the statistics in our state. More than 62,000 veterans live in Orange County, 36.9% of whom served in the Vietnam War. In 2017, veteran homelessness rates dropped by 17%; however, the issue still plagues our state. According to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, as of 2018, Florida saw about 31,000 individuals experiencing homelessness on any given day. 2,543 of them were veterans.
Anna has worked with veterans, such as a constituent named Steve who came to the Representative for help finding a place to live at a reasonable cost. Steve’s story was covered by local media and can be viewed at this link. Anna has also fought for affordable housing for everyone, which in turn, helps struggling veterans in the state. While this task is not an easy nor a swift one, it’s the right thing to do; therefore, the Representative devotes her time and energy towards helping her constituents and serving those who served us.
Actions of hers like these are the reason that the Democratic Veterans Caucus of Florida placed their trust in her during the 2018 election cycle because they believed that Anna would do right by the veteran community– and she continuously proves them right.
Currently, Anna is in our state’s capital in the second year of her term, still fighting for veterans. While serving on the Local, Federal, and Veteran Affairs Subcommittee, Rep. Eskamani has co-introduced HB 543 and HB 687 alongside someone who understands the needs of the veteran community by firsthand experience, Navy Veteran Rep. Adam Hattersley (D- 59).
The first bill, if passed, would prohibit the Florida Department of Health from charging service- disabled veterans any fees for their medical marijuana identification cards, while the second would require the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs to establish the Florida Veterans’ Care Coordination Program in order to provide health care referral and care coordination services to veterans and their families. Rep. Eskamani has toured the Lake Nona VA and the local VA and is also working with the Florida Department of Veteran Affairs to create a landing page on their website that would focus on female veterans, an example of Anna’s commitment to recognizing intersectionality and fighting for those who are too often overlooked.
Anna also recently met with K9 for Warriors, an incredible Florida-based nonprofit that is dedicated to providing service canines to our veterans suffering from PTSD, traumatic brain injury and/or military sexual trauma. She had the chance to meet Becca and her pup Bobbie during the 2020 Legislative Session, too. Anna has been committed to reducing the tax burden for our veterans too, supporting legislation that would provide more flexibility for veterans when it comes to their property taxes.
Anna V. Eskamani is the voice of reason in the Florida House of Representatives that our veterans deserve. She has proven herself time and time again to be authentic, vocal, and effective in the state capital and will continue to do so after her reelection in 2020 which will no doubt come in part due to the support of wonderful veterans in the state of Florida. Not only does Anna fight for the veterans in her district, but for the wellbeing and quality of life of veterans from the Panhandle to the Keys, because Anna V. Eskamani is an Advocate for Veterans Everywhere.
Logan Libretti is a Spring 2020 Intern with Representative Anna V. Eskamani’s 2020 re-election campaign, and a student at the University of Central Florida.
References:
https://www.usich.gov/homelessness-statistics/fl/
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2020/543/?Tab=BillText
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2020/687/?Tab=BillText
https://medium.com/@annavishkaeeeskamani/advocating-for-our-veterans-in-hd47-badbc0ac5e21
http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-counties/fl/orange-county-population/