CLEVELAND — Finding work can be challenging even under ideal circumstances, but veterans can sometimes face unique obstacles.

What You Need To Know

  • Louis Stokes VA Medical Center is trying to help veterans overcome those hurdles
  • Some of the barriers faced by veterans include transportation, education, a criminal history, mental health and physical challenges
  • Once they complete the program, veterans are helped with job placement

Louis Stokes VA Medical Center is trying to help veterans overcome those hurdles.

Marine Veteran Anthony Lenix was deployed to Afghanistan two months after his wife gave birth to twins.

“It was a little difficult but at the same time, but I knew I had to help their future out,” Lenix said.

Despite the hardship, he said he loved his time in the military.

“You had people there you got along with no matter what was going on,” Lenix said.

His return from active duty had a smooth start, but then became more difficult. He ended up out of work, prompting him to join a transitional work program offered by the VA. The program aims to help get veterans get employed.

“There are many barriers that veterans may have that make it challenging to get back into the workforce or to get a job,” said Kimberly Wideman, a vocational rehabilitation counselor at Louis Stokes VA Medical Center.

“It gives them the opportunity to do so in a safe environment where they can look at what their skills are. It’s not just their vocational team, we also work with their health providers,” Wideman said.

“Once you got in there, they were doing their job, but they made you feel like family,” Lenix said.

Some of the barriers faced by veterans include transportation, education, a criminal history, mental health and physical challenges.

Lenix said he struggled with transitioning from a world of complete structure where you’re often told what to do, to juggling life without a set schedule.

But Lenix has since gotten back on his feet

After graduating from the program, he was able to obtain a job directly through the VA as a patient transporter.

“It seriously is possibly the best job I’ve ever had. I love what I do and that’s an understatement,” Lenix said.

Veterans who want to participate in the program must be enrolled at the VA Medical Center and meet the following requirements:

  • They must be medically cleared
  • They must want to secure and maintain competitive employment
  • They must obtain a referral from a VA provider
  • Be eligible for VA health care

Once they complete the program, veterans are helped with job placement. The VA works with numerous outside employers looking to give veterans a second chance.

“It’s another family. The VA is another family,” Lenix said.

For employers who would like to participate in the VA’s mission to employ veterans, call 216-231-3243.