Helping Our Heroes: Ticket to Work and America's Veterans
Veterans have much to offer civilian employers. The Ticket to Work (Ticket) program helps veterans with disabilities identify skills, find job opportunities and successfully transition to the workplace. In this blog post, we offer tips for finding support on the journey to work.
Ahead of the competition
As a veteran, you may be ahead of the competition. You've developed strong leadership and organizational skills, flexibility and time management. Many employers value the training and skills that you received in the military. The Ticket program can help you put these skills to work.
The Ticket program offers employment support through service providers like Employment Networks (EN). If you're age 18 through 64 and you receive Social Security disability benefits, ENs can help you set work goals, identify your skills and find job openings. They can also help you improve your interview skills so you can confidently talk with potential employers about how your military experience can benefit the workplace.
Workforce ENs, which are a part of a state's Public Workforce System, also offer special programs designed to help veterans with disabilities transition to civilian life. Your State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agency may provide more extensive services and support to prepare you to return to work, such as rehabilitation and individual counseling, adaptive equipment, such as wheelchairs and vehicle modifications, and college-level training.
Help for the homeless
Recently, the Ticket program team participated in the annual National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) conference in Washington, DC. During this year's conference, "Yes, In My Back Yard: Putting Veterans First," participants and organizations shared information about resources and programs designed to help the nearly 40,000 homeless veterans.
Because roughly half of these veterans receive Social Security disability benefits, the Ticket program may help them find work and financial independence. The Ticket program team presented information about how the program's employment supports can help veterans with disabilities along the path to work.
In her presentation, Sheriene Knox, Ticket to Work Program Director of Operation: Job Ready Veterans (OJRV), described how OJRV prepares service members, their spouses and caregivers for the workplace and connects them with employers. She spoke about how their efforts have helped veterans like Renate make a successful return to the workforce.
Resources for Veterans
Veterans with disabilities may face a variety of obstacles, from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to physical disabilities and homelessness. We hope veterans, their families and potential employers will find these resources helpful:
- Social Security's Journey to Success: Employment Tools for Veterans with Disabilities (PDF)
- Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Services
- Veterans Crisis Line or call 800-273-8255 and press 1
Learn More
To learn more about the Ticket program, visit www.ssa.gov/work. You can also call the Ticket to Work Help Line at 866-968-7842 or 866-833-2967 (TTY) Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. Ask a representative to send you a list of service providers or find providers on your own with the Ticket program Find Help tool.
