Even after risking their lives to serve their country, some veterans have trouble finding employment after their service is up. A former Air Force officer, Sue Loomans, is doing her part to help ease this difficult transition through forming a new home renovation business, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Even after risking their lives to serve their country, some veterans have trouble finding employment after their service is up. A former Air Force officer, Sue Loomans, is doing her part to help ease this difficult transition through forming a new home renovation business, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The work crew at PropertyVets LLC is mostly made up of veterans referred through the Department of Veterans Affairs. The firm does about any renovation work that needs to be done, from working on wood floors, to installing energy-saving systems, to applying nontoxic finishes.
"The idea is to do a really good job with these homes, and in most cases, manage them as rentals," Loomans told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Now and then we may actually sell one of the properties. But what it's really about, aside from turning houses around, is being a continual source for employing veterans."
Unfortunately, there is no shortage of unemployed veterans. The jobless rate for all armed forces in 2011 was 8.3 percent, but 12.1 percent for veterans on active duty since September 2001. Even worse is the jobless rate for veterans ages 18 to 24: 29.1 percent.
PropertyVets LLC is in its infancy and working on its first foreclosed property in Milwaukee. With any luck, though, it will prosper, helping to put veterans back to work and easing our nation's housing crisis all at once.