A steady job may be on the horizon for more out of work veterans in New Haven, Connecticut thanks to local non-profit STRIVE-New Haven. The program’s “Employ American Heroes” project received a $25,000 Pepsi Refresh grant– money that will enable expansion of their latest job training classes offered exclusively to the area’s veterans…

STRIVE (Support and Training Results in Valuable Employees)-New Haven began collaborating with the Veteran’s Administration in 2009 when they began offering free classes for Vietnam vets. Most of the vets don’t need the training someone whose never held a job needs, so STRIVE adjusted their four week program from full to half days. “They don’t need discipline because they’re military, but they don’t always understand the culture of the workforce and some have had substance abuse issues,” says Executive Director Brian Roccapriore.

Roccapriore also moved the classes to the Errera Community Care Center in West Haven, CT where the VA is located. “A lot of what our program’s based on is asking other people for help, so they need to be in a safe space,” says Roccapriore.

Roccapriore found out about the Pepsi Refresh Project through a web ad and decided to apply for the grant to expand the veteran’s classes. His team settled on the project name Employ American Heroes since, “They are heroes, and how can anyone say no to helping out someone who’s laid their life on the line for this country?”

Despite the name, in the first week, the project fell in the rankings to somewhere in the mid fifties. That changed when the Veterans Support Foundation and Marine Parents Incorporated, found out about the project and began championing it. “You have to leverage whatever networks you can,” says Roccapriore. “Nobody can do things by themselves. What we teach in our workshops is asking for help, so if we didn’t ask for and accept help, we wouldn’t be doing what we tell our graduates.”

STRIVE began in New York City in 1984 providing employability skills workshops. The organization expanded to New Haven in 2000 and has 1,185 graduates. Roccapriore says one out of every 150 New Haven residents have come through STRIVE’s doors. 77% of graduates are employed, and 72% have kept their jobs for at least two years. “Success is getting people off of any income support,” says Roccapriore. ”Our ultimate goal is to get them to self sufficiency.”

In six months, STRIVE-New Haven hopes to have at least one more class of 20 veteran graduates, preparing them for employment in the toughest job market in memory. “It’s an absolutely unbelievable moment,” says Roccapriore. ”Our vets thank everyone that voted for this project.”