Local veterans struggle to find jobs

PHARR — Alejandro Figueroa spends hours scouring job databases through Workforce Solutions each week.

Figueroa, 31, of Edinburg, served three years in the U.S. Navy and then went to school and earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Southern Illinois University.

Despite his educational achievements and work experience in the Navy, Figueroa has been struggling to land a steady job. He worries about bills because the disability checks he receives from the government aren’t helping him to make ends meet. He has been unemployed since May when his job at a charter school was eliminated due to budget constraints. He hopes to find a new permanent job soon.

"I’m looking for work," he said. "I want to work — that’s the bottom line."

Figueroa isn’t alone. The Texas Veterans Commission estimates more than 1,900 veterans in the Rio Grande Valley are unemployed.

It isn’t uncommon for young veterans to face being unemployed, a local veterans commission representative said.

Miguel Amadeo works at the Pharr Workforce Solutions office as the local veterans representative.

He has worked with unemployed veterans on a daily basis for the last six years. He said there are many reasons why veterans face unemployment. With younger veterans, who are just returning from tours of Iraq and Afghanistan, he often sees them having a difficult time readjusting to a civilian lifestyle.

"Some of the things that I am seeing is that the people coming to my office are suffering from PTSD," he said, using the common acronym for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. "I can tell by certain things that the individual does if he or she has a slight case."

If Amadeo suspects the applicant is suffering from PTSD, he refers them to get help with that as well as assists them in finding a job.

He also encourages many of the young veterans to go back to school and get an education.

"A lot of times they need education because they have plenty of work experience," he said.

Yet older unemployed veterans are plagued by a different set of problems which often come as a result of growing older.

Armando Rodriguez visits the Workforce Solutions office each week hoping to find a job.

Rodriguez, 54, of McAllen, served 12 years in the Navy and has steadily been looking for full-time employment for the last two years.

As a young man, he served as a dental assistant in ports across the United States and Asia. The work destroyed the joints in his knees which prohibits him from working at a job that requires standing.

He works with Amadeo regularly and is sometimes able to land job interviews.

"Every time I get through an interview, I find out later they hired somebody younger," he said.

Watching older veterans lose out at jobs is a trend Celina Gonzalez said she sees at R&D Personnel.

Gonzalez, a spokesperson for the temporary job placement agency, said it’s not uncommon to see an older veteran come in with physical restraints, which poses a problem because most of the jobs available are for general labor positions.

Rodriguez had knee surgery about 20 years ago. But the pain in the joint plagues him daily and stops him from being able to do heavy lifting, disqualifying him to be a candidate of many labor jobs.

But regardless of what condition a veteran’s health is in, the R&D Personnel staff is willing to work with them to try and find them work, Gonzalez said.

Many state-run job placement agencies also understand the frustrations of veterans and attempt to help them promptly.

Workforce Solutions in Edinburg gives veteran applicants the fast-track when they come into the office, said office spokesman Victor de Leon.

Veterans, the spouses of servicemen and women are able to walk into the Workforce office and receive immediate service without an appointment or waiting in line.

However other offices, such as R&D Personnel, which is privately owned, don’t let the veterans jump the unemployment line.

Gonzalez said her office doesn’t give veterans preferential treatment, but they do try to accommodate their needs as much as they can, even if it takes a little more work.

"They served our country. It’s something we do to help them out," she said. "You helped us out, you fought for our rights. They helped us, why can’t we help them?"

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