United for Veterans Keynote Address by Michelle Obama
The First Lady spoke at the United for Veterans event July 14th at the Century Plaza, emphasizing her commitment to providing transition, homelessness, and employment services for Veterans in the US. She specifically commended LA Mayor Eric Garcetti for the 10,000 Strong Program, where 150+ companies have pledged to hire 10,000 Veterans by 2017. She spoke strongly against homelessness among Veterans and, in particular, mentioned that “the idea that any of our veterans are spending months, or even years, struggling to find a job is unacceptable.” Luckily, we have seen a drop in homelessness among Veterans of 24% countrywide since 2008, but there’s still work to be done. United Way LA and partners, including MCS, have pledged to address the issue through a combination of supportive services and workforce development to ensure that, in the words of Michelle Obama, we are “investing in their future and not just paying back the debt for their service.”
Mayor Eric Garcetti on Veterans in LA
She was preceded by LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, who expressed his commitment to Veterans in LA, including the new office of Veterans Affairs Coordinator headed by Joseph Chicas. As Garcetti noted, Veteran homelessness in LA has been reduced by 50%; to get to our goal, it is now imperative that the public and private sector join forces to eradicate Veteran homelessness. Mayor Garcetti officially announced his pledge to end Veteran homelessness by 2015.
The recently implemented City of LA WorkSource system includes built-in measures to assist in this pledge, including close collaboration with the Veterans Administration and a variety of other Veterans organizations, priority of service to Veterans and eligible spouses, and assistance with housing, health, and mental health services.
United for Veterans Speakers
The morning’s opening session included remarks by Elise Buik (United Way of Greater Los Angeles), Elizabeth Garrett (USC), John Williams (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco), Laura Zeilinger (US Interagency Council on Homelessness), and Ken Harbaugh (Team Rubicon).
Especially encouraging were the various program they highlighted: for example, Elizabeth Garrett mentioned the Master of Business for Veterans at the Marshall School of Business at USC, who graduated their first class recently. Laura Zeilinger spoke with great passion of her mission to end homelessness, emphasizing The Opening Doors Project which is pledged to ending chronic homelessness by 2015, and which has reduced the number of unsheltered Veterans by 30% since 2010. Ken Harbaugh of Team Rubicon described TR’s mission, which provides both a sense of purpose and the ability to continue serving to Veterans, growing at an incredible rate from 500 to 16,000 vets in less than a year!
A panel of experts from the private and public sector then discussed solutions on the ground to help veterans: moderator Dan Goldenberg asked about current initiatives, including Larry Frank from Los Angeles Trade Tech College on education and training programs for veterans, and Patrick Rodriguez on the Boots to Business Program as well as entrepreneurship opportunities.
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