The Wages of Valor: Economic and Employment Challenges Facing America’s Veterans

May 5, 2015 - PRLog -- What:          Volunteers of America will host The Wages of Valor: Economic and Employment Challenges Facing America’s Veterans, apanel discussion which will focus on new research conducted in partnership with the University of Southern California’s Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families, including the often harsh economic realities veterans face after returning home. The panel discussion will dive more deeply into the issues, strategies and solutions illuminated by the research. Job training and employment, affordable housing, and the physical and mental barriers to self sufficiency will be explored.

Who:          Moderated by David Gregory, panelists include Debbie McKinley, U.S. Marine Corps reservist and senior director of human resources, The Home Depot; President of Be the Change, Inc. and U.S. Army veteran Col. Robert Gordon (ret.);  Sara Kintzle, Ph.D., LMSW, research assistant professor, Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families, University of Southern California; and Jim Zenner, director, Volunteers of America Los Angeles’ Hollywood Veterans Center and U.S. Army veteran.

When:          Tuesday, May 12, 2015. Coffee and networking from 8:45 to 9:15 a.m. The panel, followed by a question-and-answer session, will run from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.  Open to the public with no charge to attend. Register online at www.voa.org/WagesofValor or call Sarah Fitch at 703-341-5019

Where:          National Press Club, 529 14^th Street, N.W., 13^th Floor, Washington, D.C., 20045

Additional:     Volunteers of America is one of the largest national providers of housing and programs for homeless veterans and their families.The organization is a national, faith-based nonprofit dedicated to helping America's most vulnerable groups—including seniors, at-risk youth, the homeless and disabled—to rebuild their lives. Responding in particular to the challenges facing veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, many of whom suffer from traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as those who served in prior conflicts, Volunteers of America is assisting with a variety of needs, from housing to counseling to job training and assistance with employment. Volunteers of America has veterans programs around the country, including special housing, services and programs for returning veterans as well as aging vets. Programs for women veterans are also helping single mothers and other female veterans who are finding it difficult to transition back into civilian life.  For more information on Volunteers of America programs, visit www.voa.org