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Statistics You Need to Know
Why do these statistics matter? By defending our nation’s security, active duty military and Veterans carry a unique weight on their shoulders, a burden that often disturbs their mental well-being, reduces their capacity to sleep peacefully at night, and subsequently impairs their ability to operate at their best by day. Once a Veteran separates and re-enters the civilian sector, something as minor as translating their military skills into corporate language can mean the difference between securing an interview and a job.
Current standards of transition assistance programs funded by the Department of Defense do not aptly prepare our servicemembers. Transition classes are only a week long, on average, with no time for real world practical training. As an example, servicemembers are taught the basics of resume building and interviewing, but additional time is not allocated to perfect the resume and to perform mock interviews. Reforming transition assistance programs through the Loya-Sear Bill would require multi-level courses taught well in advance of separation date, to allow servicemembers time to distribute resumes, attend job fairs and interviews, before end of service.
Many are quick to examine a Veteran’s life post-service and blame afflictions on current or extenuating circumstances. When 1 out of 2 exiting servicemembers are unemployed for an average of 22 weeks (5.5 months), we can say, with certainty, that the true root causes begin while active duty, not after. By creating an expanded, universal transition assistance program across all military branches, servicemembers can properly prepare for separation a year in advance. With the same dedication to turning recruits into Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines, these same servicemembers can be encouraged to succeed, thus reducing veteran unemployment, homelessness, and suicide.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_preview_image=”” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”0″ padding_top=”10px” padding_right=”0″ padding_bottom=”20px” padding_left=”0″][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hover_type=”none” link=”” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=”” background_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0)” background_image=”” background_position=”left top” undefined=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” border_size=”0″ border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” padding=”5%” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”-15px” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” last=”no”][fusion_content_boxes layout=”icon-on-top” columns=”3″ title_size=”” title_color=”” body_color=”” backgroundcolor=”” iconcolor=”#ffffff” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_radius=”round” circlecolor=”” circlebordersize=”” circlebordercolor=”” outercirclebordersize=”” outercirclebordercolor=”” icon_size=”” icon_hover_type=”” hover_accent_color=”” link_type=”” link_area=”” link_target=”” icon_align=”left” animation_type=”” animation_delay=”” animation_offset=”top-into-view” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.1″ margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=””][fusion_content_box title=”21+ Million Veterans in the U.S.” backgroundcolor=”” icon=”fa-font-awesome” iconflip=”” iconrotate=”” iconspin=”no” iconcolor=”” circlecolor=”” circlebordersize=”” circlebordercolor=”” outercirclebordersize=”” outercirclebordercolor=”” image=”” image_width=”35″ image_height=”35″ link=”” linktext=”” link_target=”_self” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”” animation_offset=””]
In 2015, 21.2 million men and women were U.S. Veterans. Nearly 550 service members transition from military to civilian life each day, and an estimated 1 million Veterans will settle into communities across our country within the next three to five years.
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Veterans own 9% of all U.S. businesses. The amount of money in receipts generated by these businesses is $1.2 trillion. 5.8 million people are employed by Veteran-owned businesses.
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The national average duration of Veteran unemployment rose from 18 weeks in the last 6 years, to 22 weeks in 2013. Post-9/11 Veterans are unemployed at a rate almost 50% greater than their peers, with 1 out of 2 (53%) unemployed during transition.
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Among the 495,000 unemployed veterans in 2015, 57 percent were age 45 and over. About 37 percent were age 25 to 44, and 5 percent were age 18 to 24.
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The Department of Defense spent over $1.4 billion on unemployment for former military in 2013. Yet only 4% of our nation’s total federal budget is used for veteran’s benefits, such as hospital and medical care, education, training, housing and rehabilitation.
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Only 50% of eligible Veterans use their G.I. Bill benefit to pursue higher education, specialized training program or apprenticeship, and only 48% of those actually complete a program of study. Veteran undergraduates make up roughly 4% of the national student body.
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In 2014, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and rates of suicide in the U.S. general population are increasing.
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In its newest report on Veteran suicide, released in 2016 by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, in 2014, an average of 20 Veterans died by suicide each day, accounting for 18 percent of all deaths by suicide among U.S. adults.
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In 2014, Veterans were 21 percent more likely to die by suicide when compared to their adult civilian peers, adjusting for age and gender.
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