Each veteran has their own story, but we know that when they are not working they lose their self-respect, which can lead to substance abuse, legal problems, and relationship issues. The decline continues until the formerly proud veteran has nothing and is on the street with so many barriers to employment that there is no clear beginning point for the road back. When homeless veterans connect to a community-based organization serving veterans their common background serves as a unifying factor as they begin to reconstruct their lives. Recognition of this unity is a key to their individual success. Just as 10 weeks of Boot Camp brings together recruits from all races, cultures, and backgrounds and melds them into a cohesive group who talk the talk and walk the walk, and work as a team with a unified sense of purpose, homeless veteran providers reach out to end the isolation of homeless veterans, bringing them together again into a diverse group working toward a common task finding a job, securing the job, and keeping the job.
Service providers are committed to helping veterans overcome past failed attempts in employment.
When veterans recognize the benefits and are motivated, they can be successful in obtaining employment and becoming productive members of the community. The alternatives to getting these homeless veterans back to work are to have them continue to rotate through programs that don't provide an employment component, long term hospitalizations due to declining health caused by homelessness, to be a burden to state's welfare programs, and finally death on our streets. The priority of service for veterans in Federal employment and training services is a right that has been earned by all veterans. It is unacceptable to think we would not offer these defenders of our nation a priority to be served by Federally funded programs, especially since veteran specific employment programs comprise only a small portion of Federal job training funding. As many of National Coalition for Homeless Veterans' member organizations report, veterans are dramatically underserved because local and state non-veteran specific providers see them as a Federal problem.