Veterans Employment & Education Commission hears discussion about veteran homelessness, small business challenges and more at national convention.
In Hillsborough County, Florida, home to Tampa and this year’s American Legion National Convention, there’s a success story when it comes to addressing veteran homelessness.
“For the first time in 15 years of us doing this work in Hillsborough County, the number of veterans on what we refer to as the name list … today for the very first time that number is under 100,” Michael Raposa, CEO of St. Vincent De Paul CARES, told the Legion’s Veterans Employment & Education Commission during their meeting at the convention on Aug. 23. Raposa noted in past years, they weren’t able to get the name list — a list of homeless veterans needing assistance — below 500.
It's a success story Raposa and his fellow panelists discussing the homeless veteran issue would like to see duplicated nationwide, but they’re aware of the challenges.
“The national conversation is tougher,” said Danielle Applegate, vice president of veterans affairs at CGI Federal. “Where do those people go when bulldozers push their tent into a trash can?
“We have to keep the national conversation going; it cannot be illegal to be in need.”
In Raposa’s estimation, “out of sight, out of mind” doesn’t work. And neither does housing readiness, “the assumption that if I fix your alcoholism, if I fix your drug addiction, if I fix your mental health, then and only then are you worthy to go into housing.”
Raposa decried the politicization of the homelessness issue.
“I don’t understand the debate, because I don’t think there should be any barrier to a veteran getting housed. This should not even be controversial. … There should be no barrier to a veteran getting homeless services,” he said.
Cindy Borden, director of training and technical assistance at National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, told the commission members that “now is a great time to talk to your representatives about funding” for programs to help the homeless.
D.J. Reyes of the Tampa Veterans Treatment Court said there are a number of needs to address veteran homelessness, including affordable housing, viable employment, viable education, low-cost transportation and food security.
“We have to work every organization out there,” Reyes said.
And the panelists, including Anthony Love, senior advisor and director of community engagement for VHA Homeless Programs, and moderator Mark Walker, deputy director of Swords to Plowshares, emphasized the importance of the Legion in helping address the issue.
“The biggest issue that they’re facing is loneliness,” Raposa said. “The more we can tie the local Legion posts to these veterans … work with us providers to give them that sense of camaraderie.”
“I will tell you, often times a veteran mentor is standing between that veteran committing suicide or not, that veteran becoming homeless or not,” Reyes said. “There is no court program, there is no funding out there, that will replace a relational aspect … when a veteran puts his arm around another and says, ‘We got this.’”
Small Business Panel. While a daylong conference on Monday will address small businesses, Saturday’s meeting also included a Small Business Administration (SBA) panel moderated by Tim Green, deputy associate administrator in the Office of Veteran Business Development at SBA.
“I was reading a millennial veterans’ study just recently, and the No. 1 challenge for veteran-owned small businesses getting into entrepreneurship is access to capital,” Green said. “They also listed some other challenges that are tied to that — building credit, not understanding how financial regulatory issues work, and a lack of professional networks and mentors. Those are some big challenges to overcome that are a little bit unique to veterans versus other business owners.”
Panelist Adam Rocke, co-founder of FMR Leadership Solutions, agreed that personal relationships matter, while fellow panelist Charles Fowler, chairman of The American Legion’s Small Business Task Force, said that networks are incredibly important.
Fowler also noted that access to capital isn’t a new subject of concern. “It’s not that the capital isn’t there, it’s that the banks don’t want to lend it,” he said.
Student Veterans. Kenneth Smith, executive director of Education Services for the Veterans Benefits Administration, provided updates on VA education federal policy and legislation.
Smith provided an update on the simplified GI Bill experience, aimed at speeding up the eligibility decision by using prefilled service history. Smith also discussed changes brought on by the Elizabeth Dole Act, including student veterans’ access to digital transcripts, and the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in Rudisill v. McDonough that veterans who qualify for both Montgomery GI Bill and Post-9/11 GI Bill through separate periods of service may use either one, in any order, for up to four years.
· Sgt. 1st Class Jide Gamu, deputy director of the Army’s Soldier for Life program, talked about the program’s aim to ensure that soldiers have access and awareness of all the resources available to them.
· A panel of student veterans, moderated by Student Veterans of American president and CEO Jared Lyon, spoke about their experiences, including why they chose to go to school and navigating the labyrinth of benefits.
· “You don’t learn things from TAP as much as you learn from another veteran,” said Kristen Eliason, an Air Force veteran and student at the University of South Florida.
VETS Update. Bernadette Walsh, deputy regional administrator of the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, gave updates on the programs and benefits VETS provides. In fiscal year 2024, VETS served over 400,000 veterans, servicemembers, military spouses and employers across the nation, Walsh said.
Employment awards. Some of the commission’s national awards were presented to recipients or their department’s representatives on Saturday, including:
· Small Employer (1-50 employees): Camouflage LLC DBA CamoVets, Barnegat, N.J.
· Medium Employer (51-200 employees): Oakhurst Dairy, Portland, Maine
· Employer of Older Workers: Defense Consulting Services, San Antonio, Tex.
· Local Veteran Employment Representative (LVER) of the Year: Brian L. Seiffert, San Antonio, Tex.
· Employment Service Local Office of the Year: Redbird Workforce American Job Center, Dallas, Tex.
· Enhance the Lives of the Disabled: St. Vincent DePaul Rehabilitation Service of Texas Inc. DBA Peak Performers, Austin, Tex.
Awards for Large Employer (JB Hunt Transport Services Inc., Massachusetts) and Disabled Veteran Outreach Program Specialist (DVOP) of the Year (Maria Lindsey, San Antonio, Tex.) will be presented during Wednesday’s general session of the 106th American Legion National Convention.
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