Help For Disconnected Veterans

KAMR-NBC 4

Reporter David Martinez takes a look at the services available as our veterans make the change.

AMARILLO — They’ve served on the front lines against the war on terror but now they’re back home. It’s a transition soldiers are forced to make as they return to civilian life.

Norman Bearden spent twenty-three years of his life on a submarine with the U.S. Navy. Now a day’s he’s behind a desk at the Texas Workforce Commission, helping veterans make the transition into civilian life. "I myself couldn’t keep up with it and I just kind of felt like there was more out there than I was aware of," says Bearden. Bearden estimates there’s more than a thousand veterans from the high plains alone.

"I would say on a daily average… goodness, we probably see about twenty-five a day which is a rough average," says Bearden. Those vets get first dibbs on jobs but Bearden believes they’re simply overwhelmed and need little direction. "There’s a forty-eight hour hold on each new position that is posted on working texas dot com. So that’s held for forty eight hours before the general public can see it. "These young men young women coming back now they have different issues," says Pete Garcia of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Garcia, a Vietnam Vet, lived through the days when returning soldiers were ignored.

 "It was the fight that Vietnam Veterans went through to get the benefits that they got," says Garcia. Despite these tough times, Bearden admits there are plenty of jobs to go around. But it’s important to have a resume, good interviewing skills, which the Texas Workforce Commission has workshops on, and most importantly initiative. "There is help available, it’s not quite as hard as it’s made out to be," says Bearden. What is harder though, as Garcia says is allowing those men and women and their families to heal from the horrors of war.

"We have to support our armed forces before, during, and after and the after is very important. For any vet thinking about going to the Texas Workforce Commission, you’ll need your discharge papers. If you have any questions or need help on where to start you can call 1-800-827-1000. You can also click here for a link to get started.