I am currently working with a suicide prevention non-profit that is very
successful in stopping the suicides but falls short of it's goals in
establishing hope for the future of the people they are helping. A
significant percentage of the people helped in the last year were young,
wounded vets. I am hoping to be able to help them see a future for themselves
in the workplace. These young people are most of the time fairly hard to
reach emotionally and have a difficult time seeing a positive future for
themselves and their families. None of them has ever thought of starting or
operating their own business. Many of them are unable to return to the jobs
they had in the civilian sector they had before their military service. This
fact seems to be true for many of our National Guard vets as well as the full
time service veterans.
Examples of other young people who have been successful in this complex
endeavor would be very valuable.
If you have not visited these people in their homes you cannot believe the
impact their wounds have on them once they come home and all the government
assistance stops and they are all by themselves. I have found them sitting in
rocking chairs month after month unable to even leave their homes. Facing the
world is very difficult for these people on a day to day basis and they feel
very alone and abandoned by Life itself once they leave the military and are
now forced to see themselves as a crippled young man. Life for them in this
new role is overwhelming. When I talk to them about starting a business for
themselves they look at me with confusion. For a person finding it hard to
get out of the house, living day to day, starting a business seems too much.
Their first question involve "what can I do" and so far I have not been able
to come up with many answers. I hope some of the actual people who have been
in this same position can help me get a grip on this. They would have come to
your site and found answers. I am just beginning and need any help I can get.
Thank you in advance for any help you can give me. Alex Cook
BizResearcher | Window Shopper |
3/12/2013 - 11:35 am
Before these people can start a successful business, they need to deal with
their immediate issues, such as depression and lack of social support.
Perhaps your first step should be to develop a referral network to help the
vets get back on track emotionally and socially. Then, when they are
"healthy," you can assist them with the basics of starting a business.
The seems like a great endeavor. If you're looking for examples of successful veterans who have started businesses, I would imagine there are a very large number. There is a section of entrepreneur.com dedicated to veterans. Here is a Kauffman Institute affiliate listing entrepreneurship training seminars specifically geared to veterans. Does that help?
This post was edited to remove links. Please review our Community Best Practices for more information about how best to participate in our online discussions. Thank you.
BizResearcher | Window Shopper | 3/12/2013 - 11:35 am
their immediate issues, such as depression and lack of social support.
Perhaps your first step should be to develop a referral network to help the
vets get back on track emotionally and socially. Then, when they are
"healthy," you can assist them with the basics of starting a business.
JGabriel | Community Moderator | 3/11/2013 - 3:31 pm
leowelder | Window Shopper | 3/8/2013 - 11:18 pm
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