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Maricopa County StandDown event helps homeless veterans

East Mesa Independent (AZ) - 2/10/2016

Maricopa County agencies were on hand to provide services and information to homeless and at-risk military veterans at the Maricopa County Stand-Down event on Jan, 29. It was held at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.

Workforce Connections, a program of Maricopa County'sHuman Services Department, informed veterans about the many services available to them, including those that the veteran community needs the most.

"We owe veterans a big debt of gratitude just for their service," said Don Motz of Workforce Connections. "Some veterans on the job hunt find it difficult moving from the military to civilian workforce so we provide a lot of services and options," he said.

Veterans also received resume writing tips, such as "demilitarizing" their resumes for civilian employment. For example, they were advised to translate military ranks (their job titles) to language more widely understood by nonmilitary employers.

Maricopa County's justice courts were also available to assist veterans with handling court issues. Justices of the peace quashed warrants and ordered community service so veterans were able to have their driving privileges reinstated on the spot.

"It's very easy to start racking up a lot of fines and fees for just even the most minor offenses," said Jeremy Mussman, deputy director of the Maricopa County Public Defender's Office. "A suspended license, for example, can turn into thousands and thousands of dollars so what we're doing is going back, pulling up their files, and seeing what can be done to help resolve those matters."