When they were in the service, veterans had partners to help them out when times were tough.   Homeless veterans across Central Upstate New York still have a support team that is ready to help them face the special challenges and barriers in their lives, access job training services, connect with support services and rebuild their lives with new hope for the future.

 

The Utica-based Workforce Investment Board of Herkimer, Madison and Oneida Counties is stepping up its outreach efforts to reach homeless veterans who may not be aware of the extensive support system that exists in the WIB’s Jobs and Hopes for Veterans Program, which is funded through a Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program grant from the U.S. Department of Labor Veterans Employments and Training Service (VETS).

“Our message to veterans across the

region is that we are here to help. We have resources we can use to provide occupational training, remedial education, placement assistance and other key services--whatever it takes to help homeless veterans get back on their feet again,” said Alice J. Savino, Executive Director of the WIB. “We know that homeless veterans face a complex knot of intertwined problems, and that is why our program is more than a training program, it’s a program aimed at building a new life by giving the veterans we work with opportunity to control their addiction problems, tap community resources that exist to help them, to learn highly marketable skills and to rebuild their ties with their families.”

Savino said “Jobs and Hope” has mobile outreach staff who will go to where homeless veterans are to help them connect with services. “From Syracuse to Little Falls, all along that Thruway corridor of communities and into the rural areas around them, we are reaching out to veterans and we are urging churches, shelters, food banks, agencies and family members of homeless veterans to contact us. Veterans have proudly served and protected our country; now it is our turn to serve them.”

 The Jobs and Hope for Veterans project can be reached by calling Veterans Services Coordinator Mark Hediger at (315) 731-7385 or e-mailing him at MarkVetJobs@aol.com.

Savino said “Jobs and Hope” staff can help qualified veterans obtain the documents they need – such as a copy of their honorable discharge -- to receive the benefits and services to which they are entitled. To be eligible, the veteran must have an honorable discharge and qualify for medical benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

          Every qualified veteran receives:

• A complete in-take interview to determine enrollment eligibility

   

• A needs evaluation that includes clothing, food, medical attention and housing

   

• A consulting session involving the job market conditions, "selling oneself," dealing with liabilities, cover letter development and conducting a job search campaign

   

• Job leads

   

• Job search follow-up and evaluation, along with continued assistance needs

   

Veterans also receive referrals to community-based partners who can provide action related to housing, substance abuse treatment, emergency food, and other basic needs.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program, which funds the WIB’s project, is designed to serve homeless veterans facing a multitude of barriers to employment, and client needs most often include the entire continuum of care: immediate access to emergency shelter, food, clothing, personal hygiene facilities, medical care, dental care, mental health assessment and services, transitional housing, transportation assistance, personal development counseling, legal aid, and employment readiness and placement services.

 

The WIB’s goal is to provide veterans the tools they need to increase their marketable skills, a supportive environment where they can strengthen their personal and social skills, and the opportunities to overcome substance abuse of health issues that have become barriers to the well-being of the individual.  

Savino said the project’s partners include: The Oneida County Veterans Services Agency, New York State Department of Labor, Oneida County Re-Entry Task Force, Mohawk Valley Community College, Board of Cooperative Educational Services, Mohawk Valley Housing Coalition, Cosmopolitan Center, Oneida County Workforce Development, Rescue Mission, Oneida County Department of Mental Health, Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce and New York State Office of Vocational Educational Services to Individuals With Disabilities.

“The WIB, and all of our partners, believe that preparing homeless veterans with training and experience to enter the workforce, mitigating other problems including drug addiction challenges, and normalizing social connections with family members and the community can help veterans stabilize their lives and then focus on future life goals with a positive outlook on life,” Savino said.