Permanent Change of Station

Helping Homeless and Low-Income Veterans Find Employment

The Denver Department of Human Services awarded Veterans Green Jobs $100,000 from its Community Services Block Grant program to assist low-income and homeless veterans with employment services. The grant enables Veterans Green Jobs, through its Permanent Change of Station (PCS) Program, to recruit and place 10 qualifying veterans into a transitional work program designed to help develop skills and qualifications for jobs in the green sector. The PCS Program will also identify and work with local businesses interested in hiring veterans.

Participating veterans will begin work with either Veterans Green Jobs’ low-income residential weatherization program in Denver and Jefferson County, or the Denver-based Go Green Warehouse, Veterans Green Jobs’ discount home improvement store that is open to the public. In addition to on-the-job training, veterans will receive career counseling for long-term employment in the green sector, referral services for transportation and housing, and job placement assistance.

In keeping with its mission of putting veterans to work in green sector jobs, Veterans Green Jobs hired Hank Martin as veteran support case manager for this pilot program. Martin, who served with the Colorado Army National Guard, has a strong career background in vocational counseling, social services, job development, outreach and community relations.

Permanent Change of Station is a common military term used when a service member moves to a new station and often includes an improvement in rank, pay and lifestyle. The PCS Program is designed to help veterans improve their employability by temporarily hiring them at Veterans Green Jobs, which will give them a current employment history, professional references, a stabilizing wage and a chance to develop a great work ethic. It will support veterans with individual case management to identify employment barriers and connect them with other community resources that will help them search for and maintain jobs.

The PCS Program will work with other veterans assistance organizations including Bayaud Enterprises, Denver Inner City Parish and local employers as part of a Veterans Employment Network.

What distinguishes Permanent Change of Station from other employment assistance initiatives is its commitment to working with employer partners to improve the hiring process and the retention rate. Veterans Green Jobs will build relationships with companies that commit to hiring veterans.

According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans and the Department of Veterans Affairs, between 107,000 and 300,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. About 1.5 million veterans are considered at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks and dismal living conditions.

Veterans Green Jobs recognizes a critical national need to reverse the high rates of joblessness among veterans, especially those who are homeless, low-income, minorities or women. This is the second program that Veterans Green Jobs has undertaken to support homeless veterans in the City of Denver. Previously, Veterans Green Jobs worked with the Department of Parks and Recreation to train homeless veterans in urban landscaping as part of the city’s urban landscaping and energy efficiency programs.

Companies that would like to learn more about this program and suggestions for ways to become a “veteran-friendly” employer should contact Garett Reppenhagen at garett@veteransgreenjobs.org or 720-236-1300.