November 9, 2012

Devin Iverson STAFF WRITER

A Veteran Finds Stability After Unemployment

Veteran George Smith is secure in his decision to vote for President Obama. He credits various stimulus packages that became available under the Obama administration for helping him get his life back on track. Like so many other Americans, I was a victim of the recession and unemployment, said Smith. In 2009, times got so rough for Smith that his church took up collections to help him pay his rent. He said he was lucky that he didnt have a family. Having a wife and children wouldve inconvenienced an entire family, not just him. Families that he knows had their houses foreclosed on and were uprooted from their normal way of life. In 2011, George moved to Tallahassee and enrolled in a veterans transitional program. The program, sponsored by Volunteers for America, offers services to men and women who have been enlisted in the armed services. Some of the services include education, training, housing, healthcare and counseling. Here, I was able to go to school, get my degree and get a job at a four star hotel, said Smith. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in July the unemployment rate for veterans fell to 6.2 percent. That is the lowest it has been in three years. George thinks that has a lot to do with President Obamas policies. Smith enlisted in the United States armed forces at the age of 17. He served during the Vietnam War. He never got deported to Vietnam, but other friends and colleagues were. He said when a lot of them returned home, they suffered from postpartum depression and some were delusional. I believe the troops are getting treated a lot better, he said. In August, the president signed an executive order to strengthen suicide prevention efforts amongst veterans and the armed forces. Like the transitional program, the executive act includes healthcare, housing and education. George likes the changes, which has played a major role in him deciding to vote for the president a second time. While George was looking for a job, he found comfort in writing poems and public speaking. He wrote original poems and spoke to audiences at churches and communities who were going through similar situations. I was trying not to be depressed, he confessed. George spends time educating the community on President Obamas policies and reassuring them that he will change the face of America if he is allotted another four years. He goes door-to-door, speaks at events and participates in phone banks. One thing he is certain about is the fact that he is not voting for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. If Romney is elected, things will change because He cant relate with most of the country.