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Good afternoon, it's a pleasure to be here. I'd like to say thank you, Ann Marie, it's
a very nice introduction and thank you very much for all the things you and your organizations
are doing. Undersecretary Hickey wishes me to extend her regards to you. She's currently
up on Capitol Hill at the budget hearings negotiating the 2014 budget and every minute
that she's not doing things like that, it's very hardá to not toábe at an event like
this.á Also I'd like to say thank you to MikeáHaynie,
for coordinating this event and for the extraordinary work that both youráorganizations have done
helping veterans. It'sáalso goodáto knowáthatáPhilipáCarter will be here tomorrow, from the Center forátheáNew
AmericanáSecurity. After 9 years in the Army, including a yearáin Iraq, Philip certainly
understands the unique challenges veterans face. And I'm glad that he's going to be sharing
some of that perspective with all of you tomorrow as well.á
I would also like to thank our agency partners for theáhard work on issues that the veterans
and their families face. Iáknow some of my co-laborers at the Departmentáof Defense
and Labor are here as wellátoday. Iáknowáthat these agencies share VA's dedication to give
disabled veterans every opportunity to succeed as civilians after they've left military service.
Finally I'd like to thank those of you who represent business in non-profit organizations
seeking to make a difference in the lives of veterans and their families. And we really
do have a unique opportunity here to convene around the issues of great importance to our
nation and that we have a responsibility, a really true responsibility, to fulfill what
President Obamaádescribed as thatásacred trust to our service members.á Once they
put on that uniform, it'sáimportantáthat when they come back, if they have suffered
injury, that we're there to help them, especially to get new jobs as they transition into the
civilian labor force. á Last year we reached out to veterans all over
the country and asked them to share some of their stories. The problemsáthat they were
facing.ááTheáway that they came to VA, how we were able to help them and help bring
about change in their lives. I'd like to share 2 of those stories, 2 of those powerful stories
with you today because they represent what's really possible. As we continue to work together
there'sáreal examples from the lives that have been changed and the importantáwork
that's being done every day to fulfill thatásacred trust that thisánation has to our veterans.
I have high hopes that we can continue to collaborate in the months and years to come
and that we will be able to create new stories and change the lives of real veterans one
at aátime as we move forward. So the first story that I'd like to talk aboutáis
a young veteran named John. He's currently a student in Salt Lake City, Utah. John was
attending college through the use of a Pell Grant but he was struggling with untreatedámedical
issues. áHe had financial hardships and he was homeless while he was trying to get his
degree. áIn order to get by he spent time living in his car and he spent some of his
nights in local homeless shelters. So we found him at a VetSuccessáoná Campus event at
his school. Andáour counselor told him about theábenefits available to him on that campus.
Amongáthese were free tutoring, counseling, the use of the computer lab. áWe found out
about his living situation and we connected him with the VA homeless program. We provided
him with stable housing at a Liberty House. After continuing to work with his VetSuccessáon
CampusácounseloráJohn has now received regular care at the local VA medical center to address
his issues. We have a recently approved for HUD veterans
Affairs support ofáHousing eligibility and will be moving into his own apartment soon.
Not only that, but we'reásending John back to school over the next year to our veterans
re-training and assistance- theáVRAPáprogram, which focuses on helping unemployed veterans
expand their skills and compete for high in-demand jobs.
NowáJohn's story is a reminder that there is much more work to be done. áMany men and
women whoáhave given us everything during their service in uniform may be sleeping in
a homeless situation around the country. They may be in a shelter tonight. They may be going
days without meals or weeks or months without a job,áwithout the means for providingáfor
their family. So these are kind of difficult stories, and
it's hard to understand, to deal with that,ábut it's also anáencouragement. Veterans like
John may be just one meeting, one interaction away from getting their lives pulled together.
áOne chance meeting with a counselor on a campus helped change John's life. á
The veteran's representative or knowledgeable partner, such as yourselves, are able to be
able to provide access to those life saving benefits that these veterans are eligible
to and fro. Thanks to that single encounter on campus and the great work done by that
VetSuccess counselor on campus John now has a home, he's got money for school, he's got
medical treatments and he's able to really put his life back together again. This is
really what the story is all about. So as much as possible we want to increase
the number of those interactions, those chance encounters, those abilities for that veteranáwho'sáhaving
aáproblem to be able to get out of those difficulties. That's why VA puts such tremendous
focus on educating veterans about their benefits and services available to them. Last year
we more than doubled our outreach. We reached 609,000 veterans. We held more thaná 6,300
events to find people like John who are desperately in need of these benefits. We expanded our
VetSuccess on Campus efforts fromá8 to 32 campuses last year. áAnd we will send 52
more employees out into the field this year to provide that outreach, that counseling,
that referral and physician services at schools across the nation.
We conducted email and public service announcements campaigns to speak directly to the issues
that uniquely effect women and minority veterans; to get them the resources that they need as
well. We developed communicationsátool kits forápublic affairs offices and National Guard
and Reserves at their facilities across the country. We worked to enlist their help in
reaching these men and women who face unique challenges as our nation'sácitizen warriors.á
We have conducted benefits webinars forámore than 4,600 healthcare professionals, social
workers and caregivers. They can point veterans in our direction to make sure thatátheyáhave
access to their benefits.á Now, thanks to the President and Congress
and the firm commitment they given to the VA, to the passage of the 'Vow to Hire Heroes'
Act of 2011, every service member separating from the military will go through a 5 day
transition assistance program on the benefits available to them. The new curriculum, which
will launch this year, will also provide practical education on topics like personal finance,
resume building, and what to expect as they transition into the civilian workforce. Butádespite
these programs which have led to record levels of access to VA benefits and services, many
veterans, like John, too many veterans like John, still remain one interaction or oneáchance
meeting away from finding a home or a job. The 2nd story I'd like to talk to you a little
bit about is a veteran named Frank. Frank is a 46 year old Marine Corps veteran from
Texas. Frank completed 2 overseas tours, including combat operations as a machine gun squad leader
in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. When he re-entered civilian life he was dependent
on his VA benefits because despite his best efforts he couldn'táobtaináorámaintain
suitableáemployment. Through one of our print outreach campaigns Frank learned about our
VA's Chapter 31 Vocational Rehab and Employment,átheáVRE Program, and he soon began receiving counseling
and guidance and he had case managementásupport from our VRE Program.
Tomorrow Iáthink you are going to be hearing from Marguerite Devlináand she'll be telling
you more about this program. Based on his employment....So VRE services became available
to him based upon his interests and we arranged for him to participate in a non-paid work
experience program which provides veterans with work related experience at local,áástate,
and federal governmentáagencies, so that they can gain marketable skills that will
lead to aáfullátime employment opportunity. Frank took advantage of this opportunity and
his 'voc' rehab counselor arranged a positionáfor him in the medical supply department in his
local VA Medical Center. Through this experience he was able to develop the knowledge,áskills
and abilities that made him competitive in his local job market. And we're proud to say
that after completingáthis program successfully, he was able to secure full time employment
in a permanent position as a medical supply technician.
This is a common, although not guaranteed, outcome for many ofáour veterans and it's
not surprising why. I think we all knowáthat veterans work hard; they're mission focused;áthey're
team players. The stay until the job isádone and they're highly effective leaders. They've
lived and breathed the core values of the military and of our nation. From what I remember
about my years in the private sector most companiesájump at the opportunities to hire
with that sort of skill, that sort of experience. Right now we have 905 VRE counselors across
the country working cases like these every day, to help veteransábegin pursuing suitable
civilian careers as they transition out of the military.
We have also committed to bringing on more thaná90 new counselors to focus solely on
jumpástarting the transition of service members separating from the military because of wounds,
injuries or illness. These veterans have their own separate VA benefits process called IDES,
the Integrated Disability Evaluation System, to help them leave the military with aáVA
rating for benefits and a check in hand as soon as they leave the service. That will
give them a good jump start as they are moving into the private sector and into the rest
of their lives. With these and many other efforts combined, we have successfullyárehabilitated
about 40,000ádisabled veterans over the past 4 years. In theásame amount of time we have
increased the wages of veteransáwho have used the VREáprogram by almost 500%, from
an average of almost $6.9 thousandáa year to almost $39,000 a year.
There are many, many programs that contribute to these kind of results. Programs like onáthe
job training where employees pay veteransáan apprentice wage rate and VA supplements that
salary until the veteran reaches the journeyman level. Oráspecial employer incentives where
VA reimburses the employers for up to 50% of a veterans salary for up to 6 months. There
are tax incentives ranging from $4,000 to $9,000 a year for companies that hire veterans
with disabilities. Our special adapted housing grants that are not directly related to employment,
these programs have putámoreáthan $108,000,000 into the hands of more thaná2,000 veterans
to make the disability accommodating modifications to their homes so they can live a normal life.
VetSuccess.gov is one of our premier employment resources. It provides information and links
to jobs, to career services and toámilitary skills translators.
Among the many other materials, by the end of FY12 we had more than á170,000 veterans
and 5,000 potentialáemployers, including companies like GE, Lockheed-Martin, Northrup-Grumman,
using that website.áLast year alone we had 2,100 jobs posted and 126,000,000 hits on
theáwebsite. So we're out there, we're trying to connect to áveterans andáto companies,
making sure these opportunitiesááare made available to them. á
Finally our veterans employment toolkit, which you can find at va.gov/vetsinworkplace, provides
necessary resources to employers, ámanagers,á and HR professionals to help veteranságet
thoseájobs.á In conclusion, we in VA all believe we have
an obligation and a duty to care for this nations veterans, especially those who are
ill or injured because of their military service while they wore the uniform. Veterans and
their families have fought and sacrificed for this nation.ááThey shouldn'táhave to
fight for a job when they come home. áVA stands committed with ourá agency partners
and colleagues to makeásureáthatáevery single veteran has access to the benefits
and theáservices thatáhe or she has earned. We are moving toward that goal faster than
ever before with new programs and services, that drastically increase our reach and the
veterans access. But until we reach that goal,á my message
to all of you here today is we need to strive together to be that one interaction or that
chance encounter, that reaches every veteranáin need,álike John or Frank. And to put the
information into theiráhands so that they can change their own lives. Help us by using
your networks, by your affiliations and your reach to connect with veterans who are struggling
to make ends meet with the programs and services that we've built for them. We can do a lot
together. Connect with the members of our staff.
You are going to hear from Curt later today. You are going to hear from Marguerite tomorrow.
I'm going to suggest you get their business cards. Write them an email;á make the connection.
Build a relationship. This is your opportunity to leverage the assets that the VA has.á
Make those connections with the veterans that you know. Our people know our programs very
well. They know them inside and out. They'll be able to help you get the resources to the
veterans that you find who are in need. These are the benefitsááthey've earned with their
blood and their sacrifice. It's our duty to make sure that they get them.
So the next John or Frank may be in one of your networks. You could be that one interaction,
that oneáchance encounter that changes his or her life. It may not seem like much but
every oneáof those interactions can give a homeless veteranáa home, can get a jobless
veteranáan job. It can make a difference in a veteransálife, turn it around from one
who's spiraling down to one who is spiraling up.
I'd just like to say thank you for your commitment to serving your community of heroes. They've
given everything while they were in service. Now it's our turn to help them succeed as
they move into the private sector.