Veterans and Military Families

We thank the thousands of military service members, veterans and their families who’ve made great personal sacrifices in service to our country. The Joining Forces Initiative calls on policymakers, government agencies, nonprofits like Goodwill®, and veteran-serving support organizations to step up and coordinate services that can help you transition to civilian life, obtain the education or training you need to succeed in the workplace and access support services to help you overcome any challenges that impede your success. Select from the tabs below to get a snapshot of some of the supports available to you from Goodwill and other organizations.

About

Military Family Assistance

While some of the challenges you face are unique to your experiences, obstacles from joblessness and poverty to physical and emotional disabilities — are ones that Goodwill has helped millions of individuals overcome for more than a century.

Goodwill® is a long-time advocate for veterans, and in 2010, we provided job training, employment services and other supports to more than 2.4 million people, including 25,766 veterans.

Some Goodwills have specific programs to help you transition to civilian life; and all Goodwill agencies stand ready to help you and your family members access job training and placement support, career services, and support services such as health care, substance abuse counseling, transportation assistance and more.

Goodwill is a social enterprise, and provides transitional employment to help some people get back on their feet. Last year, more than 23,000 people who came to Goodwill for help were placed in jobs at Goodwill. We placed 140,669 people in jobs in their communities.

Find Your Local Goodwill

White Paper: From Deployment to Employment — Goodwill’s Call to Action on Supporting Military Service Members, Veterans and Their Families

Executive Summary (PDF, 596 KB)
Full Paper (PDF, 492 KB)

Policymakers and Veteran-Serving Organizations

Call to Action for Policymakers (PDF, 264 KB)
Call to Action for Organizations Serving Veterans (PDF, 268 KB)

Employment

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The transition from military service to the civilian workforce can be challenging. Goodwill has a long history of helping people obtain the skills, job training and other supports they need to get them back in the workplace and earn a paycheck. Contact your local Goodwill to see what services are offered in your community. Visit GoodProspects, a Goodwill online community, and connect with careers mentors and other people who are exploring careers. GCFLearnFree, an initiative of the Goodwill Community Foundation, offers more than 750 self-paced online courses in computers, math, reading and more, that can give military families a leg up.

The resources below can help you find a career path and access to the education and job training you need to pursue that path. Some of these resources can help you identify how your military service translates into civilian credentials or certifications, and learn what benefits you’ve rightly earned as a veteran.

The Transition Assistance Program: Mandatory pre-separation counseling, employment workshops, and veterans benefit activities. An additional component, DTAP, is available for service members with disabilities.

VA Seamless Transition Program: Benefits for returning veterans including job training, health care and insurance. Links to other federal agencies and organizations offer related benefits and services.

DOL Veterans Education and Training Service (VETS) Program: Resources and services for maximizing employment opportunities, protecting employment rights and qualifying for in-demand occupations.

The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) VetSuccess Program: (Chapter 31 program) Helps veterans with service-connected disabilities prepare for, find and keep suitable jobs.

The Army and Navy Credentialing Opportunities Online (COOL): Find out your eligibility for civilian credentials related to your military occupational specialty. Locate available programs that will help pay credentialing fees.

Military.com Veterans Job Search: The largest online job board of its kind, with more than 100,000 jobs available nationwide.

Veterans Job Bank: A central source for identifying employment opportunities posted by employers committed to hiring Veterans.

Military Spouse Employment Partnership: Connects spouses from all military services with Fortune 500 and other companies that are seeking the job skills and attributes that military family members possess.

Education Programs
The GI Bill and other programs are designed to help you get the education you need. The following links will help you determine which program is right for you.

Housing

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The VA reports that one of the highest-rated unmet needs among veterans in every region of the country is access to affordable housing. The resources below can help you and your family explore housing options in your area.

VA Home Loan Guaranty Service: Helps veterans and active duty personnel purchase and retain homes.

HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing: Combines Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance for homeless veterans with case management and VA clinical services. Services are provided at VA medical centers and community-based outreach clinics in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

VA Homeless Programs: Helps homeless veterans live as self-sufficiently and independently as possible. Limited to veterans and their dependents. The largest integrated network of homeless treatment and assistance services.

Veterans Assistance Foundation: Operates transitional housing programs for veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

Health Care

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One of the basic and most urgent needs of returning veterans and their families is quality, affordable health care. In additional to primary care services, the VA and others can help you and your family access care for physical disabilities and psychological trauma, substance abuse treatment, individual and family counseling, and more. Some services are free. Please check in your local area.

Veterans Health Administration: The United States’ largest integrated health care system, consisting of 152 medical centers, nearly 1,400 community-based outpatient clinics, community living centers, vet centers and domiciliaries.

VA’s Vet Center: Community-based centers provide a wide range of services to combat veterans transitioning from military to civilian life and their family members. Services include individual counseling, group counseling, marital and family counseling, bereavement counseling, medical referrals, assistance in applying for VA benefits, employment counseling, alcohol/drug assessments, military sexual trauma counseling and referral, and guidance and referrals to community resources.

TRICARE (formerly CHAMPUS): Offers comprehensive, affordable health coverage with several health plan options, a pharmacy benefit, dental options and other special programs for service members, veterans and their families.

Support

Hundreds of organizations stand ready to help you and your family meet the challenges of transitioning from military to civilian life. Below are some of the better-known groups currently dedicated to serving those who have served our nation.

AMVETS: Help filing VA claims, a career center and scholarships for veterans and active military and their children.
American Legion: Financial assistance, career resources and other supports for veterans and their families.
American Red Cross – Services for Military Members and Families: Emergency communications that link service members with their families back home; access to financial assistance, counseling, referrals to community resources and assistance.
Armed Forces Services Corporation: Personalized service for veterans and families for handling government benefits, including beneficiary changes on insurance policies, claims representation and more.
Disabled American Veterans: Services and assistance including DOD and VA benefits claims, transportation to and from VA medical facilities, help for homeless veterans and transition into civilian life.
Military Order of the Purple Heart of the USA: Services and programs for Purple Heart recipients, including assistance with VA benefits claims through 70 offices nationwide, scholarships, automobile donations and more.
National Veterans Legal Services Program:Volunteer attorneys nationwide assist veterans with obtaining VA benefits.
Paralyzed Veterans of America: Advocates for health care, research, education, veterans benefits and rights, accessibility, sports programs and disability rights.
United Services Organization (USO): Services for troops serving in combat and wounded warriors and their families, and families of the fallen.
Veterans Assistance Foundation: Transitional housing programs for veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW): Benefits assistance, including compensation, pension, health care, vocational rehabilitation and employment, education and training, home loans, life insurance, and dependency and indemnity compensation.
Vets4Vets: Peer support and free retreats for veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.