About » First Coast Veterans

Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, National Guard

About Us

November 2006

To the military veterans living in Northeast Florida and their families:

WorkSource is proud to welcome you to the First Coast Veterans Resource Guide. This publication is our region’s first ever comprehensive collection of resources that veterans like you need to make a successful transition to civilian life. Our companion website, http://www.FirstCoastVeterans.com, offers this information online, with hotlinks to veteran-oriented websites, organized around what you need, not by the organizations that provide the services.

At WorkSource, the First Coast organization that connects people to jobs, we recognized the important need for this kind of resource database because our program officers have served many veterans and seen the difficulties and hardships you sometimes encounter as you leave active duty. Although many individual resources exist, veterans must find their way through a maze of information that can be both confusing and time-consuming. We believe that our veterans deserve a faster and more efficient process for accessing the services they have earned by protecting our country.

That is why we convened a powerful group of veterans advocates to create First Coast Veterans, a new coalition dedicated to meeting the broad array of needs of veterans in our area. WorkSource founded and hosts First Coast Veterans along with the important contributions of our partners: the City of Jacksonville, Cornerstone, Workforce Florida, the US Department of Labor, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Florida Department of Veterans Affairs and the Veterans Administration (VA).

This new database of resources is the first initiative for First Coast Veterans.

Naturally, the primary focus of the database is employment for veterans like you and your spouses. Our region’s employers have the opportunity to access the uniquely powerful skills and training of returning veterans – individuals who have proven skills, leadership training and an acute sense of personal responsibility. You add a strong measure of economic vitality to Northeast Florida’s skilled labor market. First Coast Veterans will launch a marketing initiative to connect businesses with this rich talent pool.

But today’s veterans need more than fulfilling jobs – you may need help with healthcare, housing, childcare and other support services. You will find these resources and more within this Guide and at http://www.FirstCoastVeterans.com.

We owe you a debt of gratitude for your service – and we honor your contributions by ensuring that you have access to all the things you need to achieve success in your new lives. Working together, we can definitely make that a reality.

Sincerely,

Bruce Ferguson, Jr.
President and CEO, WorkSource