Focus Areas

Employment, Education and Entrepreneurship

Veterans' unemployment rates consistently run 2 percentage points higher than the national average. Young veterans, ages 18-24, have an unemployment rate more than 23% and women veterans, ages 18-24, experience twice the unemployment rate of their civilian counterparts. Significant barriers including combat related physical and mental trauma, lack of sector-specific work experience, limited training and education all contribute to these statistics. Also, difficulty translating veterans' skills and experience has led to the issue of underemployment. This lack of translation causes veterans to be hired in positions that are not a good career fit, which leads to stagnant wages and little change for career progression.

Many veterans turn to post-secondary education in the face of a weak job market and the availability of generous educational benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill and the Illinois Veterans grant. Unfortunately, with little guidance or preparation for school, veterans are dropping out of these programs at alarming rates, using up their benefits with no clear pathway.

We support efforts that allow both companies and workforce development agencies to utilize market forces, career pathways, and best practices to support veteran placement in long term careers. We support efforts to build career pipelines into different industries; efforts to bridge the civilian and military divide between employers and veterans by sharing best practices and supporting trainings and cultural competency; and also support efforts in higher education, a key transition for many veterans to better employment outcomes.

Behavioral Health and Wellness

According to the Chicagoland Veterans Study, perhaps the most pressing issue facing Chicagoland veterans involves their physical and psychological health. For instance, nearly one-third of all veterans surveyed screened positive for probable PTSD and/or depression. A more alarming statistic indicates that more veterans have committed suicide than have died in combat from the current conflicts.

Many veterans will not access mental health services through the Veteran Affairs (VA) health system for fear of being labeled or jeopardizing future opportunities. Stigma is a profound barrier to treatment as is an existing mental health workforce ill-prepared to support the needs of this population. Old methods of outreach have proven to be ineffective, begging for new paradigms in service delivery.

Development of best practices will require a comprehensive model of care that includes stigma reduction, patient navigation support, social services, family counseling and education and essentially a "no wrong door" approach to accessing mental health services. The Veterans Program is piloting and evaluating a variety of innovative approaches toward the goal of greater access to quality mental health services for returning veterans. These innovative approaches include:

• Assembling mental health professionals, community faith-based leaders, and veteran service organizations to strengthen the veteran referral network for veterans and their families.
• Partnering with mental health providers dealing specifically with military sexual trauma to reduce barriers to access safe, confidential counseling support.

In this strategy area, we support programs that focus on gaps in behavioral health and wellness services provided by the Veterans Administration. We are also continuing support in military competency training to physicians, caseworkers, counselors, and other veteran serving organizations (VSOs) around topics that are unique to military service. We are investing in peer to peer networks to improve social connectedness and networks for veterans.

Systems Navigation and Care Coordination

There are approximately 72,000 new veterans in Illinois, 52% of which live in the Chicago area. Most of these individuals are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan directly to their home communities with little to no transition from service. Once home, there is no formalized way in which they can connect with resources to help guide them to careers, social services, education and family support groups.

Communities are ill-prepared to receive these new veterans, with few services designed specifically with veterans' needs in mind, and little to no working relationships with partners such as the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) health system or the VA benefits administration.

The Veterans Program has established a three-pronged approach that allows veterans to access services when they are in need and before they reach a crisis. This includes:

• Development of a comprehensive peer-to-peer support network.
• Training and capacity building among non-profit partners to better identify and refer veterans and their families.
• Convening non-profits, government officials and community leaders to create processes for care coordination within communities.