SALT LAKE CITY — After more than a decade of deployments, the unemployment rate for veterans from all wars remains higher than that of the general population in Utah.
A new government pilot program run by the Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Health Care System is making a positive impact on veterans’ lives in Utah communities.
Will Teeple is an Army veteran who served as an intelligence analyst between 2000 and 2002. When he and other veterans tried to find good civilian jobs, many discovered employers don't always know how to incorporate their skills into the workforce.
"My job was intelligence analyst," Teeple said. "They look at that and they don't even have the slightest clue for what skill set that is."
After bouncing around the country for several unfulfilling jobs, Teeple landed steady employment through a pilot program that's part of the Homeless and Justice Clinical Recovery Program at VA Salt Lake City Health Care. He now works at the Veterans Benefits Administration helping veterans apply for disability benefits.
"It's so great compared to what it was even three years ago," he said.
"We all need work," said VA community employment coordinator JJ Allen. "Work does many things for us beyond the financial status of it. It helps with their mental status, it helps us with family, put food on the table."
Just two years ago, Teeple had a lot less optimism and excitement for his future. He said he was living in the park in the woods just outside the VA campus. Now he's earning a paycheck working inside the VA campus.
"I'd much rather be a veteran and homeless than just a regular civilian and homeless because there is so much more to help us get back on our feet and building a life," Teeple said.
Today, the unemployment rate for all workers in Utah is 3.5 percent. Among veterans, it's 4.7 percent, down from 7.2 percent two years ago. But among Utah men filing for unemployment the first half of this year, 44 percent were military veterans over age 50.
"They need assistance," Allen said. "They need guidance and help."
Some need to update their resumes and interview skills. Others, including Teeple, want greater challenges with greater rewards. Now, he has his own apartment and a job with a future.
"A gigantic turn of events," Teeple said.
Email: jboal@deseretnews.com