On July 10th, 2008, we received a call from a counselor at the ABCCM Vet’s Restoration Quarters that a man who was staying in emergency shelter was despondent and threatening suicide. When talking to him, they discovered that his lack of employment was what was making him depressed and they called us looking for help.

The veteran, , had just moved to Asheville with a friend, but they both had been unable to find work. We encouraged the veteran to go to the VA to address his mental health care needs. He was diagnosed with a mental illness and had been off medication, and scheduled an appointment the next Monday to talk with him about jobs.

He arrived at 7:45 that day, back on medication, and enthused that he was being helped in his job search. We did an online job search with him, referred him to the ESC, several local staffing agencies, and the Job Link program as well as pulling maps of the locations so he could find his way around town. We also assisted him with gasoline in order for him to be able to get around to the different agencies. During the process, especially the first few weeks, we kept in contact every day, offering more job leads, and encouraging him to use online tools to find higher paying positions than were available locally.

This veteran had a long track record of short term contracts in quality control, network administration, but gaps of employment between each work. We have a volunteer who assists clients with resumes, who assisted him in polishing up the one he was sending out.

He did receive employment at a local manufacturing plant, but at a salary that wasn’t close to what he was earning before. He received a job offer in Phoenix, including a ticket to visit there. We assisted him with donated clothes, shoes for that interview that did not pan out. Finally, in September, through an over the phone interview, he received a job offer as a commercial artist for Advancia in Missouri. He was offered a 1 year contract for $65,000. After receiving the job offer in a fax, he shared a copy with us, and we purchased a tank full of gasoline for him the week-end he was heading out to start a new job. He is now stable on medication, gainfully employed at a salary range that is quite impressive, three months after threatening his life over his unemployment and homelessness.

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For more information on our ABCCM services please email or call us at (828) 259-5300.