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A Job vs. A Career

A Job vs. A Career

What is Work with Purpose? This is an important distinction whenever we are focused on veterans and employment. Too often, the monthly or annual veteran unemployment number is what draws the most attention. This number, per the March Jobs Report, currently stands at 2.4%. While the unemployment rate is a bellwether of the economic health of our veteran population, it only tells part of the story—a much smaller part of the story.

Colonel Sam Whitehurst, Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services

It’s important that we understand what unemployment looks like for veterans, it is just as important to understand what underemployment looks like as well. Being in a job where you have far less responsibility than you had in the military and the leadership, teambuilding, and the ability to adapt that you developed in the military are not recognized, or may not be held in high regard. On top of that, the difference between what you are making in a minimum wage, entry-level job is tens of thousand dollars less than what you earned in the military.

Underemployment creates a downward spiral that leads to other issues—living paycheck to paycheck, loss of self-esteem, increased stress and anxiety, and barriers to accessing high-quality healthcare.

At Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services, our approach is to partner with organizations and programs who make countering veteran underemployment part of their core mission.

Mike Hazard, Executive Director, UA Veterans in Piping

The United Association, a labor union that represents workers in the plumbing and pipefitting industries, is one of our partners and is a leader in creating opportunities for transitioning service members and their families. Through their Veterans in Piping program, an 18-week course that provides industry-recognized certifications in welding, fire sprinkler fitting, and HVAC-R (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration), service members are leaving the military with guaranteed employment, enrollment into a registered apprenticeship program, and a career that provides middle-class wages from the outset, healthcare, and benefits. Dixon Center assists in integrating service members and their families into the UA VIP program by introducing the service members to wellness programs, that assist with finding a home, financial counseling, physical and mental health support, legal services, and more.

The UA VIP program is directly attacking veteran underemployment and is the recipe for long-term success for service members once they depart the military. This partnership, which along with Dixon Center, also includes the Department of Defense, is making a real difference in the lives of veterans and their families.

This is Work with Purpose.

Veterans in Piping Graduation, Fort Carson, CO, April 21, 2022
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Service Before Self Podcast-Episode #3

Service Before Self Podcast-Episode #3

On August 14, 2020, Dixon Center for Military & Veterans Services launched the first episode of Service Before Self, a podcast that tackles the evolving needs of veterans and their families, based on the idea that veterans can succeed in the community where they live. This podcast will introduce you to people and the programs that are having an impact today; you will hear about their successes and lessons learned in creating effective programs in which veterans and their families reach their full potential.

Dixon Center is diving deeply into the needs and challenges veterans and their families go through, as well as into the effective solutions to those challenges.

Listen here to Episode 003: Dr. Caitlin Thompson: Mental Health Challenges for Our Veterans during the Pandemic.

In this episode, Retired Army Colonel Sam Whitehurst, your host, the Dixon Center Vice President, is joined by Dr. Caitlin Thompson, Vice-President for Community Partnerships at the Cohen Veterans Network (CVN), a network of health care clinics across the U.S. focused on providing mental health assistance to veterans and their families. Dr. Thompson shares the mission and vision of Cohen Veterans Network, the work they are doing in response to the pandemic, and she also talks about her thoughts regarding what we can do to ensure that our veterans and families continue to have access to mental health services to prevent the rise of suicide rates among our veterans.

Many veterans have experienced the crushing pain of isolation due to their exposure to war trauma. In many cases, returning veterans have difficulty reconnecting with community and family members. This inability to reintegrate to the environment the veteran left to serve, can create negative behaviors and outcomes. But these outcomes are not preordained, through outreach and connecting with programs like CVN, veterans and their families can overcome the damaging effects of isolation and truly succeed in the communities where they live.

This is the approach of Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services’ Operation Suicide Elimination. Working nationally and locally, we deliver outreach via direct service providers to treat veterans and their families with mental health services, as well as numerous non-traditional modalities to combat severe forms of isolation. With just under 20 veterans continuing to die from suicide every day and the number of suicides projected to increase due to the pandemic; this remains an extremely urgent issue.

To learn more about Operation Suicide Elimination and Dixon Center’s approach to combatting this problem, contact Sam Whitehurst: swhitehurst@dixoncenter.org.

Subscribe To/Follow Service Before Self Podcast

Whether you are an avid podcast fan or new to the medium, we invite you to give Service Before Self a listen. We invite you to listen and subscribe to the podcast. We welcome your feedback and will be reading your reviews and comments on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or one of the many other distributors.

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Service Before Self Podcast Episode 2

Service Before Self Podcast Episode 2

On September 15, 2020 Dixon Center for Military & Veterans Services posted the second episode of Service Before Self, a podcast that tackles the evolving needs of veterans and their families, based on the idea that veterans can succeed in the communities where they live. This podcast will introduce you to people and the programs that are having an impact today; you will hear about their successes and lessons learned in creating effective programs in which veterans and their families reach their full potential.

Retired Army Colonel Sam Whitehurst, your host, the Dixon Center Vice President of Programs & Services, is diving deeply into the needs and challenges veterans and their families go through, as well as into the effective solutions to those challenges.

Listen to Episode 002: Teamsters: Supporting Veterans and Their Families Transitioning to the Civilian Life with James P. Hoffa

In this episode, Sam Whitehurst, presents a program that provides opportunities for a career, not just a job, and the significant difference between these two concepts. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters helps transition and provides service members, veterans, and military spouses with additional skills and training, that when combined with their military experience, makes them extremely competitive for careers that provide work with purpose; work that you can build a future around.

James P. Hoffa is the general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the strongest, most powerful voice in North America for working families. Under Hoffa’s leadership, the Teamsters Union is winning industry-leading contracts, engaging in vigorous contract enforcement, and organizing the unorganized. The Teamsters have a long history of supporting veterans and their families that stretches back to World War I. Support that is built around the concept of meaningful wages, access to affordable healthcare, and benefits that lead to a prosperous future.

This is the underlying philosophy of Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services Operation Workforce Development. Working nationally and locally we are collaborating to create a pathway to family-wage careers with full benefits for veterans and their families. For us, and for our partners like General President Hoffa and Teamsters Military Assistance Program; it’s more than finding a job for veterans—it’s about careers that provide work with purpose and ensuring that veterans and their families succeed in the communities where they live. 

Subscribe To/Follow Service Before Self Podcast. ​Whether you are an avid podcast fan or new to the medium, we invite you to give Service Before Self a listen. We invite you to listen and subscribe to the podcast. We welcome your feedback and will be reading your reviews and comments on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or one of the many other distributors.

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Service Before Self Podcast Episode #1

Service Before Self Podcast Episode #1

On August 14, 2020 Dixon Center for Military & Veterans Services launched the first episode of Service Before Self, a podcast that tackles the evolving needs of veterans and their families, based on the idea that veterans can succeed in the communities where they live. This podcast will introduce you to people and the programs that are having an impact today; you will hear about their successes and lessons learned in creating effective programs in which veterans and their families reach their full potential.

Retired Army Colonel Sam Whitehurst, your host, the Dixon Center Vice President of Programs & Services, is diving deeply into the needs and challenges veterans and their families go through, as well as into the effective solutions to those challenges.

Listen here to Episode 001: Rick Passarelli: Forging New Pathways to Careers with Purpose for Veterans and Their Families

In this inaugural episode, Sam is joined by Rick Passarelli, who is the Director of Veteran Affairs and Workforce Development at Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) and the chair for the workforce development subcommittee for the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council. Rick is the architect behind one of the most impactful workforce development programs for veterans in the country, the Utility Workers Military Assistance Program (UMAP).

Rick enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1982; he served from that date until 1987 and participated in two deployments. After leaving the Navy, Rick joined Peoples Gas, one of the largest regulated natural gas utilities serving the city of Chicago, where he just recently retired from, after 32 years.

Rick shares some of his very distinguished career of service to our country as well as what has made UMAP such a successful program for veterans.

Supporting veterans and their families is a life’s calling for Rick, and he speaks to the importance of programs that provide pathways to careers that provide meaningful wages, access to affordable healthcare, and benefits that allow veterans to plan for and invest in their future.

This is the underlying philosophy of Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services Operation Workforce Development. Working nationally and locally we are collaborating to create a pathway to family-wage careers with full benefits for veterans and their families. For us, and for our partners like Rick and his team at UMAP; it’s more than finding a job for veterans—it’s about careers that provide work with purpose and ensuring that veterans and their families succeed in the communities where they live.

Subscribe To/Follow Service Before Self Podcast
​Whether you are an avid podcast fan or new to the medium, we invite you to give Service Before Self a listen. We invite you to listen and subscribe to the podcast. We welcome your feedback and will be reading your reviews and comments on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or one of the many other distributors.

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Seeking Solutions for Our Most Vulnerable

Seeking Solutions for Our Most Vulnerable

The last three months of the year brings the population opportunities and challenges. In a normal year, families will travel to join and gather in thanks for all they have and to reflect on the past and revel in the hopes of the future. This year is far from normal.

Families are putting off planned gatherings, communities are creating workarounds to make sure no one is left behind, and some of our nation’s most vulnerable, suffering from staggering loneliness, find themselves facing a period of gut-wrenching isolation.

In their study Veterans and COVID-19 MARCH 2020, the Bob Woodruff Foundation noted: “Loneliness and social isolation, which were serious problems for many veterans before the current COVID-19 pandemic, may be exacerbated in light of public health measures designed to contain the spread of the disease. Mental health symptoms may be exacerbated among those with pre-existing conditions, possibly leading to fatal consequences.”

The economic impacts of the pandemic also multiply the wellness challenges facing veterans. A report published recently by the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute projects that for every 5 percent increase in the unemployment rate, our country will lose an additional 550 veterans to death by suicide annually. Additionally, according to their projections, up to 20,000 more veterans may be susceptible to substance abuse as a result of the crisis. The isolation caused by the pandemic has made a lot of already-lonely people even lonelier, further amplifying the risk of veteran death by suicide.

Where We Are

Our Operation Suicide Elimination program is achieving a dramatic social benefit by assisting organizations who, with our help, are focusing on supporting veterans and their families. They are eliminating the effects of isolation and creating networks of support that reduce isolation that leads to death by suicide. The program is delivering outreach via direct service providers to treat veterans living with war trauma, as well as numerous non-traditional modalities that lead to direct support.

Dixon Center, through our partner organizations, make treatments accessible. These address all types of problems that result from the damaging impacts of loneliness.

The Way Ahead

At Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services, we believe our veterans and military families can succeed where they live. We also believe that every organization and individual can effectively integrate veterans and their families into their existing community-based programs. Our mission is to ensure both values are possible in every community.

Make it your mission to integrate veterans and their families, who you know, into your holiday reflections and remembrances. The holiday season should be one of joy, family and social gatherings, and anticipation of all that a new year can bring. Let us rededicate ourselves to ensuring our most vulnerable populations have the support they need to make it through this time that, even on a good year, can be a harrowing experience for the lonely. Pay particular attention to those facing the holidays alone, be proactive and check on you buddy, and defeat the despair that leads to death by suicide. 

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Basic Needs

Basic Needs

Basic needs are generally defined in terms of a minimal list of elements that human beings need to fulfill basic requirements and achieve a decent life. Typically, the list includes basic commodities, such as food, clothing, and shelter, as well as essential services, as access to drinking water, to sanitation, to education, to healthcare facilities, and to public transportation. Broader definitions of basic needs may include those items needed for self-reliance, autonomy, and self-expression.

There are approximately 183,000 service members that will transition out of the military every year. According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, there are about 1.4 million veterans considered at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks, and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing.

Although flawless counts are impossible to come by – the transient nature of homeless populations presents a major difficulty – the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that 40,056 veterans are homeless on any given night.

Where We Are

Through our Basic Needs program, we help organizations that fund efforts and direct service programs that aid veterans and their families who are in need of food, clothing, or shelter as well as essential services.

Many of these organizations recognize the variety of Basic Needs “safety net” efforts in local communities or across the nation however they struggle to find the veterans in need. That’s where Dixon Center comes in by maintaining a continual learning posture and monitoring trends to help assess and adjust as needs and efforts evolve.

Dixon Center has assisted a wide range of organizations that meet varied needs. For example, funds were supplied to purchase new warm winter coats for disadvantaged veterans in Chicagoland. The cost of building materials and supplies to repair the homes of low-income families and the elderly living in substandard housing in Florida was covered. Gift Cards were provided to veterans in the Utility Workers Union of America Military Assistance Program training and apprenticeship. Working with other organizations we were able to provide access to public transportation to get to work and school.

The Way Ahead

In March 2020, the coronavirus outbreak forced an abrupt shift in the economy’s trajectory as state and local governments instituted bans on large public gatherings, closures of schools and non-essential businesses, and stay-at-home orders. Now we are finding more veterans struggling to cover essential expenses such as food and housing and worried about how they will cope.

Working with organizations like the building trades, affordable housing organizations, direct-service providers and others we provide technical assistance/training, resource sharing, and strong leadership to our partners, who, with our ongoing support provide basic needs assistance.

Dixon Center works with organizations across the country that can walk the vet through both systems, piecing together funds to build a personal balance sheet tailored to the veteran’s specific needs. The program works with financial services partners to provide additional financial aid, if necessary.

Further, we work to leverage complementary partner organization programs to provide even more support to get their veterans securely on the path to financial stability. Key assists will be help navigating the job market and improving their financial literacy.

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A Veterans Day Message: Wired to Serve

A Veterans Day Message: Wired to Serve

By Retired Army Colonel David W. Sutherland, Chairman, Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services – a member organization of The Fedcap Group

Serving in the military was one of the highlights of my life. I say this, because many of those service members I served with and many of those veterans I now advocate for, are wired to serve.

I was the Commander of 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division in Iraq during “surge” operations in the volatile Diyala Province. My formation consisted of more than 5,000 of our nation’s finest men and women in uniform. For 15-months, they poured their hearts and souls into the mission; a mission that many deemed impossible.

They were determined to accomplish what they were sent to Iraq to do. And they did. Their experiences were indescribable. Their sacrifices were great. It was my honor to lead these amazing Americans and witness their heroism and courage first-hand.

Through the spirit of these brave men and women, and over my near 30-year military career, my view of leadership evolved. Our veterans are phenomenal — natural leaders who did not just learn military values but live them. These men and women have returned home and are contributing to their communities. I love telling their stories of valor, courage, and commitment. Here are just a few:

  • Jennifer Grubb was a specialist in the Army who deployed to Afghanistan as a teenager. When she returned, this high performer fought a long journey with unemployment and homelessness to achieve independence and self-reliance. Jenn bought her first home in 2014, earned her degree as a licensed practical nurse, and is the recipient of the Chester County Empowered Woman Award. She has made a name for herself in local and national media, advocating for veterans struggling with substance abuse and mental illness. She is now serving as a psychiatric nurse specializing in drug and alcohol rehabilitation at a Veterans Administration hospital in Pennsylvania.
  • Kim Elvin enlisted in the United States Navy in 1986 and served four years in the Aviation Administration. After being honorably discharged, Kim found her calling in social services and caring for others. She has continued her journey of service, working for Family and Children’s Services and eventually as Director of Workforce Development/Veterans Services for Easterseals New York. Kim oversaw daily operations and the training/employment programs for mature workers and veterans. Kim is now working for Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey, as the Workforce Director of Jobs Plus and the Senior Community Service Employment Program.
  • Colonel Duncan S. Milne is the President of Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services. He served 25 years in active duty combat and non-combat experience in the United States Marine Corps, as an AH-1W attack helicopter pilot. Colonel Milne’s career after active duty, has been dedicated in service to those who have had the honor and courage to wear our nation’s military uniform. He brought his knowledge of interagency coordination and executive-level private sector interaction to Dixon Center. Colonel Milne also continued his journey of service in the state of Maine as a candidate for the Maine State Senate in the recent election. While not elected, Colonel Milne advanced the state’s discussion around veterans and legal services, innovation, business development, and economic empowerment.

These three veterans are just a few who I describe as wired to serve and passionate about giving back to their community and neighbors. We live in the age of distraction. Our veterans and their courage remind me that our brightest future hinges on our ability to pay attention to the present. Join us this Veterans Day and Remembrance Day by reflecting on the service, and celebrating the achievements, of our nation’s veterans and what they are doing to contribute today.

If you know a veteran, reach out and have a real conversation with him or her. Veterans Day and Remembrance Day is an opportunity to get to know a remarkable group of people.

No matter what you do this Veterans Day and Remembrance Day, it is a day of celebration – enjoy it.

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Veterans Day

Veterans Day

Join us this Veterans Day by reflecting on the service, and celebrating the achievements, of our Nation’s veterans. At Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services we recognize that many of the freedoms and values we may take for granted come from the service and commitment of our veterans and military families.

We believe our veterans and military families can succeed where they live. We also believe that every organization and individual can effectively integrate veterans and their families into their existing community-based programs. Our mission is to ensure both values are possible in every community.

This Veterans Day here are three things you can do:

– If you know of a local organization employing, training or providing direct services in your community, encourage them to include veterans and their families

– Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram

– Visit our website at www.DixonCenter.org and learn more about our work.

Here is an even better idea. If you know a veteran, reach out and have a real conversation with him or her. Veterans Day is an opportunity to get to know a remarkable group of people.

No matter what you do this Veterans Day it is a day of celebration and reflection so enjoy it.

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Housing Solutions

Housing Solutions

National Coalition of Homeless Veterans (NCHV): Drawing upon our advocacy and outreach, Dixon Center supported the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans in the Grants Pass v. Johnson Supreme Court Case, which challenged bans on outdoor sleeping for homeless individuals. This ruling will impact veterans by potentially criminalizing homelessness rather than addressing its root causes. Even though the decision was unfavorable to veterans who are in the most need of assistance, Dixon Center will continue to advocate for nationwide “Housing First” policies that prioritize permanent housing as the foundation for recovery and reintegration services.

United Methodist Communities (UMC): In wanting to improve its inclusion of veterans into its organization, UMC turned to Dixon Center for expertise on how to engage with aging veterans in need of long-term care services and how to leverage residents at its various communities to enhance a culture more favorable to veterans. Dixon Center provided strategic recommendations and connected them to Soldier On to collaborate on care coordination for older veterans requiring independent and assisted living.

Freddie Mac: Dixon Center continues to assist in the strategic development of the relationship between Freddie Mac, a leader in the U.S. housing market in making homeownership and rentals accessible and affordable, and Soldier On. This collaboration has resulted in increased access to mortgage counseling and home ownership for thousands of veterans and military families from the end of 2018 through 2024.

Soldier On: During speaking opportunities, and events, Dixon Center has provided funding, built awareness, encouraged community involvement and support, and promoted the services of Soldier On, a private nonprofit organization committed to ending veteran homelessness. Dixon Center has also shared resources with Soldier On to support their programs as well as to their partners who are addressing basic needs of hundreds of their residents and communities across five states.

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Operation Workforce Development

Operation Workforce Development

Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services weekly ‘Bugler’ has recently been the forum to share and discuss our business goals. This week we begin a new series. We will be sharing our 15 programs, as a Center of Excellence, used to help achieve those goals.

Operation Workforce Development
Operation Workforce Development is a program where Dixon Center partners with organizations including trade unions, civic organizations, business and industry, service providers, and training institutions by leveraging existing training and career placement opportunities. Our goal is not to create new programs. Rather, the goal is to enable the integration of military and veteran services into existing programs to increase impact.

Working nationally and locally we have been collaborating to create a pathway to family-wage careers with full benefits for veterans and their families.

As a Center of Excellence, we provide and coordinate technical assistance/training, resource sharing, and strong leadership to our partners, who, with our ongoing support, operate pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs resulting in career opportunities in skilled labor across myriad of industries.

Over the past four years, Operation Workforce Development has resulted in our partners training and employing over 4,800 transitioning service members and veterans who have been out of service for years.

For example, with an investment from corporate donors, Dixon Center has a unique collaboration with the Teamsters Military Assistance Program (TMAP) and ABF Freight. For the past several years TMAP has been expanding programming to multiple military installations across the nation, impacting thousands of veterans and their families participating in employment training and credentialing, as well as information regarding community resources.

Similarly, with funding from Prudential and private foundations, Dixon Center has been expanding our partnerships with other organizations as well as employers and training facilities. Case in point is Dixon Center’s unique partnership with the Utility Workers Military Assistance Program(UWUA). The UMAP program provides hundreds of veterans access to employment training and credentialing in the gas and electric industry, as well as information regarding community resources. Specifically, UWUA and Power for America have created a training program, guaranteeing employment after successful completion of six months of classroom study and paid hands-on internship experience.

The Way Ahead
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Dixon Center, along with our partners from the Trade Unions, have been considering the role of workforce development for veterans and their families during these times and when the pandemic begins to diminish. Despite our success leveraging organizations to include veterans and their families into their existing programs, we’ve found that workforce development operators will have to recreate opportunities. These are a few actions Dixon Center is taking to keep Operation Workforce Development impactful. 

  1. Looking beyond training and creating emergency support the veterans need: Our workforce development partners typically focus on assisting with employment and removing barriers to that goal. During the pandemic, our partners have used Dixon Center as their go to resource in coordinating basic needs and emergency assistance for veterans in training programs delayed by current social conditions.
  2. Building opportunities for re-employment whenever possible: Though our veterans are losing jobs, there are jobs going unfilled, and it is possible to start training and creating access to paid apprenticeships now. Of course, effective re-employment may require remote credentialing and licensing, it also requires flexibility, as veterans’ lives are complicated by health and safety, childcare, and other challenges. We are looking to expand opportunities by building partnerships with more local building trade councils.
  3. Virtual learning is a consideration for the future: What we have learned over the past several years of war and related deployments is that high-quality certifications and training programs can be delivered remotely, and that service members and veterans can participate. Even before veterans and their families are able to fully return to in-person training, we are collaborating with partners to create training models that incorporate virtual learning and individual coaching to enhance in-person classes. We are also seeking solutions for remote service delivery identified by our partner SingleStop to achieve our goal to remove the barriers of travel time, inaccessible public transportation, affordable housing and the financial challenges of paying for childcare and transportation to attend classes.


One of the most critical times for military service members is the reintegration from active service to veteran status. The transition from the military to a civilian career can be particularly challenging. The same can be said for transitioning from any employment for veterans. That is why Dixon Center puts an emphasis on Workforce Development. Dixon Center’s unique partnership with the building trades, training institutions, and employers is one example in a series of connections forged to eliminate major barriers for our veterans and their families.