Helping Heroes
The Hire A Hero event hosted by Assemblyman Roger Hernandez for the past three years is more than a job fair and more than a resource center, it’s a helping hand up and a beacon of hope for veterans reintegrating into civilian life. Heroes on our very own campus look to events like these every year, but with Hernandez ending his term as assemblyman, the future of this event is unsure.
Friday morning and the sun is ablaze. Quietly tucked away at the lobby of Citrus College’s football stadium, a handful of men and women set up for an important day. The air is still and filled with anticipation as more people spill into the area, where rows of tables line the pathways, setting up pamphlets, pens and clipboards.
Anticipation seems to be the theme of the morning. As Mo Dyson, 36, who is currently majoring in kinesiology at Citrus College, gets ready this morning, their mind has been preoccupied about attending this event. Dyson has been looking forward to this event for two months.
Outside the gates in the parking lot, is a giant recreational vehicle with an awning and the buzz of a generator emanating from somewhere underneath. It’s an impressive sight but also oddly welcoming.
A line is forming just behind the gates with women and men seemingly from all different walks of life. Most are dressed up in professional attire but a few pepper the line in street-casual clothes. Hope is in their eyes and they fidget at the prospect of what the event may hold as they wait for their turn to sign-in to the event.
This particular Friday, Citrus College and the Citrus College Veterans Center is collaborating with the office of Hernandez, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment, in hosting its annual Hire A Hero event, a job fair and resource expo aimed to serve the veterans in the San Gabriel area. Parked right outside the event, in the large RV, is the Veterans Affairs Claims unit and Mobile Vet Center.
“In 2012, [Citrus College] was the first Southern California [college] campus to bring the mobile unit from the Veterans Affairs,” said Monica Christianson, director of the Veterans Success Center. The catalyst for the event came from Christianson’s first-hand experience with veterans speaking of their struggle to get connected to the VA. Christianson was in attendance at a regional veterans meeting when Richard Beam, Chief Public Affairs Services of the Department of Veterans Affairs, had conducted a presentation regarding veteran’s issues and rights.
Christianson soon put the wheels in motion to bring the VA to Citrus College. The following year Assemblyman Hernandez collaborated with Christianson to bring his state resources to her efforts in order to expand the event to cater the entire San Gabriel Valley community to what is now officially known as today.
Photo by: Vidal Espina
Around 10 a.m. the event opens up and attendees begin lining the walkways. Despite the harsh sun, a breeze starts to pick up, as if mother nature is taking in a breath of hope and exhaling a cool, breath of luck for the veterans.
Assemblyman Hernandez approaches the podium to a crowd congregating under any form of shade that they can find.
“California is home to two million veterans which makes up close to nine percent of America’s veteran population,” says Hernandez, “So with such a large percentage of veteran population, here in our backyard, it is critically important that we do everything possible to take care of our veterans and their families.”
The speech is a recollection of the efforts he has made for veterans during his term in office. Hernandez has introduced Assembly Bill 372, a bill that will allow veterans relevant academic credit in the California Community Colleges’ matriculation process for coursework taken during their military career. He has also moved legislation on Assembly Bill 393, which establishes veteran’s research centers to be funded on a statewide level. The latter bill is currently being held up in appropriations.
Hernandez continues with his speech, reiterating his dedication to the veterans in attendance.
“[The veterans] had our backs along with their families and we need to make sure that we have their back,” said Hernandez.
Former Marine and current Citrus College student, Charles Henderson, is in attendance and finds inspiration in Hernandez’s speech. “It’s great to know that there is someone there that we could rely on, who is willing to listen and help,” says Henderson, “and that what we do is not done without people appreciating it.”
Henderson joined the military to circumvent college, an experience his teenage mind couldn’t see as a possibility. However, he still wanted the opportunity to have a well paying, professional career. During his active duty, Henderson did not think to take full advantage of the tuition assistance for school that the military provides until the end of his active duty service. “I didn’t realize how it worked until the latter part of my career when I was stationed in Japan and I took classes and was like, ‘This is not so bad. I wish I knew this 26 years ago’,” Henderson said. At age 44, and after serving 26 years in communications for the Marines Corps., this former Master Sergeant is attending college for the first time.
Henderson came to the Hire A Hero event to learn more about the resources available to veterans. “I learned what they do in providing a place to stay, a home, for veterans,” Henderson said, “I didn’t know they provided so much.”
Henderson is referencing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – VA Supportive Housing program, better known as VASH. This program is aimed to help homeless veterans, and their families, find housing. Depending on the each veteran’s personal situation, VASH can either provide free housing or a voucher to offset the cost of housing, making it more affordable for those who are barely living on their current income status.
Veteran homelessness is known all too well by Paula Clamurro, a representative of Neighborhood Legal Services. NLS is currently working on a new program called the Veterans Empowerment Initiative. “Our veteran’s initiative talks about discharge upgrades, with Vietnam era veterans in particular,” Clamurro said. But the initiative isn’t exclusive to Vietnam veterans and it can service any veteran from any era. Clamurro explains that Vietnam era veterans have the highest rate of homelessness and trauma due to the nature of that war and that PTSD was not recognized during that time. Clamurro also attends the event to inform veterans that if they had an unfavorable discharge in the military, NLS can help them receive a discharge upgrade. With the upgrade, veterans can have access to numerous benefits, including a housing voucher and help centers.
“We want to recognize that there are definitely issues in the military with trauma and providing them access to the benefits that they should be able to get,” said Clamurro. “A discharge upgrade or changing the character of service or the re-enlistment code can make a big difference in someone’s life.”
The military is often associated with precision and meticulous, calculating decisions where every possible outcome is taken into consideration especially when people’s lives are at stake. So, how is it that resource information bypasses our vets? One would think that the military would have its exiting soldiers aware of all benefits available for their civilian life.
However, Cristian Arreaza, reservist and Veteran Mentor at Citrus’ Veteran’s Center, has experienced how chaotic the exit process really is. She explains a typical scenario for those exiting active duty, “Veterans must turn in their equipment, make sure their medical records are clear, and fill out the proper paperwork within a one to two week time frame.”
They are told what paperwork to fill out and that they must register with their local VA within six months.
Trying to soak in the information while going through a mix of emotions and thoughts can lead to miscommunications.
“When you come back from deployment, you’re tired. You haven’t had a real shower in a long time,” said Arreaza. “You just want to come back to reality.”
From the first day the contract is signed, the military records begin. If one date is wrong or one paper is misplaced, it can mess up the future of the veteran. The responsibility of paperwork lies in the hands of the soldier.
“You have to make sure it was uploaded into the system. So if the person wasn’t doing their job very well, which happens a lot, then you don’t have that record,” said Arreaza.
But even when an officer does their due diligence in preparing to exit the military, there is still potential for things to go awry.
Being proactive, Dyson made sure all records were ready for the VA when exiting the Marines. “I submitted [the files] to the Long Beach facility and Long Beach Facility shredded my records,” Dyson explains the reason for needing to attend this event. “They sent out an email out and said, ‘We accidentally shredded your records. So, we’re going to need you to file again.’”
In this particular incident, Dyson and thousands of other soldiers’ records were shredded causing them to re-submit their records in order to be evaluated for benefits. “None of the information got entered,” said Dyson, “I didn’t even have a record for when I filed, so I had to start all over again.”
Photo by: Vidal Espina
Had the Hire A Hero event never existed on campus, Dyson would have to join the thousands of veterans at the Long Beach VA facility to re-submit files and process additional paperwork. But with the Mobile Claims unit on campus, Dyson met with a VA representative who streamlined the process. “He’ll sit there with you and help you fill out everything so that it’s correct so that everything can go smoothly,” said Dyson.
Christianson is very aware that time is of the essence for student veterans and is another reason why it’s important to bring the Hire A Hero event to Citrus. “We saved them about 200 to 250 hours because there’s the trouble of going to the VA, waiting in line, and making an appointment,” said Christianson. “Everything is already there.”
Along with resource professionals, employers attend the event, giving veterans access to multiple job opportunities in one place.
Companies such as Encorps are focusing on hiring veterans.
“We work with a lot of industry people [from] Los Angeles in engineering, aerospace, information, technology, medicine, and research,” said Encorps L.A. representative Bethany Orozco. “We are recruiting different types of people, but right now we are focusing on veterans. [They] bring such valuable skills to teaching such as their leadership, discipline, navigation.”
Encorps is a California based nonprofit organization that finds industry professionals who have a STEM background, and transitions them into second careers as middle and high school teachers. They help veterans get their teaching credentials to teach at schools that are considered “high needs.”
Photo by: Vidal Espina
Dyson applauds the employers that came to the event. “This Hire A Hero event put all employers who are friendly to veterans right there on the spot,” Dyson continues, “I know several friends who got jobs right away that day. It was great.”
Although Dyson and Henderson did not attend the job fair portion of the event, Henderson made it a priority to stop by a few employers’ tables to gather information. Henderson said, “Currently I want to concentrate on school, so I wasn’t there for jobs per se, but I got information for down the road.”
Dyson and Henderson are just two of the veterans that benefit from such events. Christianson has heard many veteran stories just like theirs, and continues the effort to bring resources and job fairs to the campus whenever she can.
Henderson, who is in his first semester at Citrus, has been attending all the events that the Veteran’s Center has hosted. “Every event they have, I make sure I come,” said Henderson, “Because I just don’t know if there is some fresh information or something I didn’t know about that I could use.”
Hernandez, who had brought his influence and resources to the Hire A Hero event, is in his final term as assemblyman and is moving forward in his political career, campaigning for a seat in the Senate. So, this possibly may be the last state-sponsored job and resource fair in the San Gabriel valley area unless the next assemblyperson is as dedicated to helping our community Hire A Hero.
