Operation Stand Down gets $225K grant

JOHNSTON – Operation Stand Down Rhode Island has received a $225,000 federal grant that will be used to help local veterans find jobs.
As part of its efforts to help struggling veterans, the nonprofit is hosting its first annual job fair for veterans on July 24, featuring over 30 employers from across the state. The fair will be held at the Warwick campus at the Community College of Rhode Island from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The grant was awarded through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program. Operation Stand Down uses career services including job placement and career counseling to help veterans gain employment.
Erik Wallin, the nonprofit’s executive director, said that veterans’ training in the military, values, leadership, team work and ‘can-do’ attitude not only “carried our nation through the great challenges of our time” but represent a skill set that makes veterans “an asset to any employer.”
The federal program awarded more than $36 million dollars in funding nationwide to 156 agencies that assist veterans in employment services, Wallin said. He praised the state’s Congressional delegation for helping ensure Rhode Island received some of these assets.
“Our staff of military veterans recognizes the specific challenges facing returning veterans and we are honored to have this opportunity to help our brothers and sisters find employment after serving our country,” added Tony DeQuattro, Operation Stand Down’s president. “It is part of [our] mission to serve veterans and help them transition back into mainstream society after returning home from service.”
Operation Stand Down provides supportive permanent and transitional housing for homeless or low-income veterans, operating six facilities in the state. Services include rental assistance, employment training and coordination of federal and state benefits and mental health and substance abuse treatment.

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