A.G. Gancarski
Last week, the city of Jacksonville’s lead veteran outreach specialist, Ricky Lewis, tendered his resignation. We see many resignation letters lately, of course. This one stands out because it spotlights issues that the Lenny Curry administration, and its new military affairs specialist Bill Spann, will have to address for veterans of the current era.
“When I first started … the focus was to round them up, sign them up and get them into jobs. Now the focus … has shifted to Job-Driven Training that is specific to industries, occupations and skills that are in demand,” Lewis writes.
Lewis urges that they “follow this shift with new partnerships within the Jacksonville business and educational community.”
This will help with getting a new three-year grant. However, “this will take new thinking and personnel with the drive and energy to meet this new challenge.”
One specific challenge: homeless female veterans, of which the number is only increasing after a decade of Asian land war. To deal with this issue, “new community partnerships” will be required.
