Team approach surrounds veterans for support, success
Teamwork makes the world work!
This week we spotlight Veterans Employment Representative Brandon Harting and Basic Food Employment and Training Coordinator Christine Paige of WorkSource Colville. They use a team approach to “surround” veterans and other job seekers, creating a safety net for customers while they overcome their barriers and ultimately find work.
We hope you enjoy this week’s installment.
Brandon: Hi. I’m Brandon Harting, the Veterans Employment Representative here at WorkSource Colville.
Christine: My name is Christine Paige. I’m the Basic Food Employment and Training Coordinator for Colville.
Brandon: We’re here to tell you about a couple of veterans we worked with. Both had some barriers — roadblocks if you will; both were homeless and had some other difficulties. We helped both of them. Chris, what are some things you worked on with these folks?
Christine: Brandon and I work with a lot of different programs. We use a safety net made of multiple programs so we can assist people with needs that might not be met by one funding source alone. It gives them a bigger team to champion behind them.
My biggest source of fun is to be able to work with Brandon and the veterans he brings into our office. The first thing we do for them is a basic intake and assessment. What is their ability to start work? What is their skill level? What are their major barriers? The barrier we see most often here in Colville is homelessness. We also have people with justice-involved backgrounds that make my work challenging. Transportation is another issue for our area.
Our counselors meet individually with the veterans and then we meet as a team with the customer to come up with a plan for how to market them and how they can market themselves. We get heartfelt appreciation from these people before and after they land the job — but mostly when they land the job. They appreciate our rooting team — this cheerleading team that has their back. That’s something they say is very unique.
Brandon: So with these veterans, I can’t do this alone. I need help. I reach out to Basic Food Employment and Training and Chris, and I reach out to the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program with the Washington Department of Veteran Affairs. This is a program that helps homeless veterans get back to work. When we partner together, it’s the multi-tiered team approach that allows us to be able to fully surround the veterans and help them get back to work.
Both individuals we’re thinking of had that great work ethic, had that drive, and even though they met some obstacles along the way, they ended up finding jobs. They went from being homeless, barely making ends meet or even eating anything at all to having their own place. One veteran was able to buy a new vehicle! So, by working together with our multi-tiered approach, it definitely helps put our veterans back to work.
Christine: The nice thing is that we also get appreciation from the employers. The great thing is calling back 90 days later (I do a 90-day follow-up with employers) and it just gives me chills because they’re so excited. The employers say, “These are some of the best people we have working for us!” And I say, “Of course! Because that’s our veteran population.”
As a partner in Washington’s WorkSource system and the American Job Center Network, the Employment Security Department helps people — unemployed or not — find new jobs and learn new skills. We help them experience the life-changing Power of a Job. We also work with businesses, which are Powered by Jobs, to help them find employees.
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