Schumer Announces $570k for Veterans Outreach Center of Rochester; Funds Will Support Program that Connects Vets with Employers, Job Support Services

Press Release

U.S. Department of Labor Grant for $570,000 Will Support Outreach Program That Helps Connect Homeless Rochester Vets With Employers, Job Training

Veterans Outreach Center Successfully Places 3 of 4 Vets in Meaningful Employment

Schumer: No Veteran Should Be Left Behind

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced a combined $570,000 U.S. Department of Labor grant for the Veterans Outreach Center in Rochester. The center, which provides transitional housing, mental health services, educational and vocational training programs, and other supportive services for veterans and their families, will use these funds towards their mission to enable local veterans to find meaningful employment in the region. Established in 1973, the Veterans Outreach Center is the oldest of its kind, and successfully places 3 of 4 veterans in meaningful employment. Schumer commends the Department of Labor, as this award provides our heroes who have fallen on hard times with the helping hand they need to find jobs and get their lives back on track.

"With this funding, Rochester vets who have fallen on hard times can get what they need to get back on track," said Schumer. "By helping connect homeless veterans with local employers and transitional housing, this program at the Veterans Outreach Center will help make sure that our veterans, who have sacrificed so much for our country, are not left behind."

"As an organization that has been serving our veterans for nearly 40 years, we are honored to be selected for third-year funding for both our Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) and Veterans Workforce Investment Program (VWIP) employment resources for veterans," said Jim McDonough, the President and CEO of Veterans Outreach Center, Inc. "These resources are critical to our continued successful efforts to find veterans meaningful employment, especially in this very difficult economy."

The Veterans Outreach Center serves over 500 veterans each year in the 5-county Rochester area through the Department of Labor's Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) and the Veterans Workforce Investment Program (VWIP). Both of these programs are critical to the Veteran's Outreach Center in their mission to enable local veterans to find meaningful employment, transitional housing, and other health services. Schumer notes that this award underscores the incredible work that the Veterans Outreach Center in Rochester is doing on behalf of the region's veterans. The Veteran's Outreach Center is able to place 3 of 4 veterans in meaningful employment, showing the clear success of the program. The VOC received a $300,000 U.S. DOL grant to continue its successful HVRP program, through which the VOC assesses, enrolls, and then places homeless veterans in meaningful employment. It also received a $270,000 U.S. DOL grant to continue its VWIP program which is the only program of its kind operating in New York State. The VWIP is targeted to assist all veterans in the general population find meaningful employment such as veterans who are seeking civilian employment after working at a nearby military installation like Fort Drum.

The Veterans Outreach Center offers transitional housing, mental health services, educational and vocational training programs, and other supportive services for veterans and their families; and provides referrals to community resources for substance abuse treatment, domestic violence issues, post-traumatic stress disorders, parenting skills, and other personal development and empowerment programs. As the oldest community-based veteran outreach effort in the nation, the VOC opened in 1973 to support Vietnam veterans coping with their wartime experiences and to facilitate government benefits claims. Since then the VOC has evolved to meet the contemporary and ever-changing need of all veterans to "serve those who serve U.S.".

This grant is as part of the U.S. Department of Labor's Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) that gave over $28 million to programs providing job training to veterans to help them lead successfully civilian careers. Grantees under the HVRP program coordinate their efforts with various local, state and federal social service providers. More information on the Department of Labor's unemployment and re-employment programs for veterans can be found at www.dol.gov/vets.

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