Homeless Veterans Community Employment Services
Permanent, stable housing is the benchmark of efforts to end homelessness among Veterans, but housing alone may not be enough. In these and other ways, employment can be a key element in helping Veterans climb out of homelessness or avoid it all together:
- Improve quality of life and community integration after homelessness
- Increase self-confidence and independence
- Decrease reliance on institutional care
VA created the Homeless Veterans Community Employment Services (HVCES) program to make it easier than ever for business and industry to find, interview and hire job-ready Veterans exiting homelessness. Through this program, VA has deployed more than 150 Community Employment Coordinators (CECs), based at most VA Medical Centers across the country, to collaborate with employers ready to hire Veterans exiting homelessness. CECs are recruiters’ connection to potential Veteran new hires for jobs in a wide variety of sectors.
CECs benefit employers in the following ways:
- Pre-screen Veterans with a variety of skill sets and from all educational levels
- Refer job-ready Veteran candidates who are ready to work from day one for open positions
- Help facilitate hiring and onboarding
- Assist Veterans in applying their military experiences to civilian employment
- Help in meeting diversity and inclusion goals
CECs increase Veterans’ likelihood of employment success by connecting them to job-related resources and career opportunities and a range of supports from VA and the community, including health care, housing and social services. They also collaborate with VA and non-VA partners—Compensated Work Therapy, VR&E, American Job Centers, Department of Labor homeless Veteran grantees, workforce agencies, and faith-based and community organizations—to identify gaps in competitive employment services for homeless Veterans.
CECs welcome opportunities to engage with community partners and local employers on efforts to end and prevent homelessness among Veterans.