Help for unemployed veterans

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) - The Department of Veterans Services in Chicopee is working to get more unemployed veterans back into the workforce.

They are teaming up with the Chamber of Commerce for a job fair aimed at veterans who are having difficulty finding a job.

The average unemployment rate for veterans is 13.5 percent, five points higher than the nation's average of just over 8-percent.

"It's the veterans that are prior post 911 we are having difficulty with. A lot of them have issues, a lot of them have PTSD and service connected disabilities," said Kimberly Babin, the Director of the Department of Veterans Services.

The fair, called Hero2Hired, will offer veterans information about education and training resources, give them networking opportunities, and give them an opportunity to apply for current openings.

Right now, there are 25 companies looking to fill 40 positions.

Those companies will also be able to find out what it's like to hire a veteran and about some of the laws that apply to them.

"A lot of the issues deal with how soon does someone have to report back to work when serving country  or what are the positions they go back to?  Do they go back into the same job or what happens then, " said Earl Bonett, from Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.

The job fair will be this Tuesday, July 3rd, at the Castle of Knights at 1599 Memorial Drive in Chicopee.