JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Second Lady Karen Pence and Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia toured the First Coast Wednesday promoting a new military spouse employment preparation program.
“You’re not by yourself. You’re not all alone out there. We want to come alongside and help,” Pence said to military spouses at NAS Jacksonville.
Pence launched the TEAMS program to help military spouses find employment and transition faster after moving. She explained spouses are often uprooted as part of serving our country and struggle with transferring occupation accreditations in new states.
Laura Donson, a military spouse herself, works with military families. She said she sees the program as a useful tool for spouses who’ve moved a lot.
“I’m fortunate we haven’t moved a lot, but I have many friends that move every two to three years, and the more we can do to make that transition easier the better," Donson said.
From NAS Jacksonville, Pence traveled to K9s for Warriors. Visiting the facilities, the Second Lady met with veterans now leading efforts training dogs to work with returning Warriors, like Air Force veteran and manager of K9 training Christel Fleming.
"Giving them another avenue to direct veterans to I think will really help us extend our outreach to these veterans and be able to help more,” Fleming said.
Pence's time at K9s for Warriors was checked with the reality of returning service member mental health. Nearly 20 veterans commit suicide each day.
It is what Jacksonville Councilman and K9s for Warriors CEO Rory Diamond is trying to change — and he’s determined to get help.
“Second Lady is on the forefront of fighting veteran suicide and that’s what K9s for Warriors is all about," he said, "so that’s what we spent a lot of time talking about today: How do we make sure our warriors have what they need to stay alive?”
He added that due to the pandemic, K9s for Warriors has reduced class size to abide by social distancing protocols, which has nearly doubled the waitlist.