WASHINGTON– San Diego County will receive more than $2 million to help members of the military, veterans and their families, get to job training centers and work sites more easily as large numbers of servicemen and women return from overseas deployments and look for jobs.
“Ensuring that our veterans and military families have access to quality, convenient transportation is just one way we can thank them for their service,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a statement Monday.
The San Diego Association of Governments will receive the money from The Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative to improve transportation information resources, including the creation of a one-click website and 24/7 live telephone service.
The grant will also support the development of a free smart phone application as well as at least 20 interactive kiosks at various sites throughout the county, which will provide information about rides and schedules.
For veterans and members of the National Guard and Reserves, lack of adequate transportation and information “can be the biggest hindrance to getting a job,” Rogoff said.
The unemployment rate of veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq is more than 12 percent, according to the statement. There were 252,898 veterans in San Diego County in January 2012, according to the City of San Diego.
The projects developed through these grants will “remove some of the barriers that stand in the way of their success,” LaHood said.
The San Diego grant is part of a $29 million initiative that this year will fund 64 projects in 33 states. Last year, the program provided more than $34 million for projects throughout the country.
The initiative comes at a crucial time because large numbers of servicemen and women return from overseas deployments. Men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are looking to begin new lives with their families, said VA Undersecretary for Health Robert Petzel.
“As tens of thousands of our military personnel return home, we must reward their sacrifice and those of their families with the services they need to seamlessly rejoin their communities as seamlessly as possible,” LaHood said.
Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff, who first proposed the initiative, said the purpose was to “to give folks one place to go so they have all their options” because many communities have a variety of transportation providers and no central clearinghouse of their information.
But recent veterans are not the only ones who will benefit from these projects, Petzel said. “This applies to older veterans who want to remain independent in their homes as long as possible,” he said.
“They all need transportation they can depend on to build and maintain successful lives in their communities,” he said.