Georgia Magazine - November 2017 - 28

COURTESY GEORGIA VECTR CENTER

A new assignment
Georgia VECTR Center offers veterans training and
assistance for civilian life
BY LAURA RAINES

n 2016, Hurricane Matthew hit St.
Simons Island, forcing U.S. Army
veteran Samantha Okalini and
her 7-year-old daughter, Marley, to
evacuate quickly.
"Within two days, I had lost my
job [as a nanny] and my home. I
didn't even have a change of clothing," Okalini says.
After arriving safely at her boyfriend's home in Perry, she began
filing claims with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
and others, but she realized that help
was going to be slow in coming. "I
was overwhelmed," she says.
Reaching out to veterans services, she learned about a new
organization, the Georgia Veterans
Education Career Transition Resource
(VECTR) Center in Warner Robins.
"When I called, Heidi Moore [coordinator of community support and
resiliency] told me to come in," Okalini says. "She listened and helped
me to make a list of priorities, then
she set about helping me replace
important papers, like my DD-214
[discharge from the U.S. Army] and
birth certificates."
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Moore located a school for Okalini's daughter and helped Okalini
search for a job.
"She even watched my daughter
so that I could interview and threw
her an 8-year-old birthday party at
the center," Okalini says.
Today, Okalini enjoys her job as
an animal control officer for Houston County and also serves as an
advocate for sexual assault victims in
Liberty and Tattnall counties.
"Heidi helped me get my life
back. She went above and beyond,
and I will be forever grateful," Okalini says. "I would encourage any
veteran to use this center."
Opened Aug. 2, 2016, the Georgia VECTR Center helps veterans
transition to civilian life.
"The military is expert at training civilians to be soldiers but not so
good at preparing them to return to
normal life," says Joseph Richardson,
executive director for the Georgia
VECTR Center. "We're here to fill that
gap."
The idea was proposed jointly
by the University System of Georgia
and the Technical College System of
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Georgia and funded ($10 million) by
the Georgia Legislature. The center
sits on 44 acres donated by the city
of Warner Robins.
"Our mission is threefold,"
Richardson says.
Through educational and career coaching, the center serves as a
gateway for veterans to enter Georgia
colleges and universities. It offers onsite, accelerated training for some of
Georgia's most in-demand occupations.
Veterans and families also can visit
on-site partner organizations to seek
assistance with other needs, such as
housing, health care or legal services.
"Veterans have tremendous attributes-integrity, loyalty and dedication-but they sometimes need
additional training or a certification to
be able to translate their skills into the
workforce," Richardson says.
"On base, soldiers have access to
Top: The staff members at the Georgia
Veterans Education Career Transition
Resource (VECTR) Center in Warner Robins
help veterans deal with challenges in health
care, housing and legal services as well as
the pursuit of post-military careers.
GEORGIA MAGAZINE

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - November 2017