Homeless Veterans

Homeless Veterans Community Employment Services

Permanent, stable housing is the benchmark of efforts to end homelessness among Veterans, but housing alone may not be enough. In these and other ways, employment can be a key element in helping Veterans climb out of homelessness or avoid it all together:

• Improve quality of life and community integration after homelessness
• Increase self-confidence and independence
• Decrease reliance on institutional care

VA created Homeless Veterans Community Employment Services (HVCES) to improve employment outcomes for Veterans who have experienced homelessness. HVCES has deployed more than 150 Vocational Development Specialists who serve as Community Employment Coordinators (CECs), at most VA Medical Centers across the country. CECs are part of the VHA homeless program teams and are a bridge to community employment resources and employers ready to hire Veterans exiting homelessness. CECs benefit employers in the following ways:

• Pre-screen Veterans with a variety of skill sets and from all educational levels
• Refer job-ready Veteran candidates who are ready to work from day one for open positions
• Help facilitate hiring and onboarding
• Assist Veterans in applying their military experiences to civilian employment
• Help in meeting diversity and inclusion goals

CECs increase Veterans’ likelihood of employment success by connecting them to job-related resources and career opportunities and a range of supports from VA and the community, including health care, housing and social services. They also collaborate with VA and non-VA partners—Compensated Work Therapy, VR&E, American Job Centers, Department of Labor homeless Veteran grantees, workforce agencies, and faith-based and community organizations—to identify gaps in competitive employment services for homeless Veterans.

CECs welcome opportunities to engage with community partners and local employers on efforts to end and prevent homelessness among Veterans.

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