WASHINGTON – The Department of Veteran Affairs recently partnered with the Daniel and Salvador Montoya Heroes Foundation to facilitate corporate hiring opportunities for Veterans and transitioning service members.
The partnership, effective Sept. 15, also aims to educate corporate employers about VA resources that can help improve Veterans’ health and wellbeing such as benefits, community Veteran engagement boards, Veteran Community Partnerships, and Compensated Work Therapy.
The Veterans Health Administration and Heroes Foundation will work to improve the quality of Veterans’ lives by providing opportunities for economic stability, employment, and health literacy.
Most importantly, it will raise employer awareness of the risk factors of suicide and VA suicide prevention tools for Veterans. This is vital, as research shows that lack of employment and low income can contribute to poor Veteran health outcomes, including suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.
“Unemployment rates among Veterans spiked to 11.9% in April 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic caused widespread job loss,” said VA National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships Nurse Executive Tracy L. Weistreich, Ph.D. “While Veteran unemployment rates have since leveled out, partnerships like this help employers hire and retain more Veterans while being sensitive to their unique experiences.”
For more about Veteran employment services, see VA’s other resources.
Learn more about this and other partnerships facilitated by HAP.