Hiring Our Heroes: Career Fair Town Hall

ABC13 joined with Hiring Our Heroes and Disney Veterans Institute for a virtual career fair town hall.

Our experts answered questions about how to help veterans transition into a civilian career. You can watch the town hall on ABC13.com and ABC13's apps for your smartphone, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, and Android TV devices. Just search "ABC13 Houston."

Click here to register for a Hiring our Heroes virtual hospitality and tourism career fair on Sept. 15 where military community job seekers from around the globe will meet, network, and interview with hospitality and tourism industry employers in an interactive virtual hiring event.

Career Services

Dress for Success Houston: Since 1998, DFSH has been dedicated to its mission of empowering women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and development tools to help women thrive in work and life.

Goodwill Industries of Houston: We educate, train, and hire individuals with barriers to employment to help them thrive. We connect people, families, and communities to improve lives and to meet the workforce needs of today and tomorrow.

Workforce Solutions: The Gulf Coast Workforce Board and its operating affiliate Workforce Solutions are the public workforce system in the 13-county Houston-Galveston region of Texas. The board helps employers meet their human resource needs and individuals build careers, so both can compete in the global economy.

County/State Veterans Services

Texas Veterans Portal: Veterans resources offered through the State of Texas

TexVet - Texas A&M Health: TexVet is the state clearinghouse for trusted information, resources, data, technical support, and research relevant to service members, veterans, their families, and those who serve them.

Education

Military Family Resources - Texas Education Agency: The Division of Regional Services assists military families who have moved to Texas from a compact state to enter school, be appropriately placed and graduate.

Texas Veterans Hazelwood Act: This resource explains this State of Texas benefit, providing qualified veterans, spouses and dependent children with an education benefit of up to 150 hours of tuition exemption, including most fee charges, at public Texas colleges and universities.

Emergency Funds & Housing

2-1-1 Texas: 2-1-1 Texas, a program of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, is committed to helping Texas citizens connect with the services they need, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Areas of assistance include rent and utility assistance, mental/physical health resources and more.

BakerRipley: BakerRipley connects low-income families and individuals to opportunity so they can achieve the life they've imagined. Offers access to rent and utility assistance, education, job and career development, immigration and citizenship services, senior services, free tax help, disaster recovery and more.

Houston Harris County Emergency Rental Assistance Program: Administered by the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and BakerRipley, the fund provides $159 million in rent and utilities assistance to families who are struggling.

Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation: Offers home down payment grants to first-time and repeat home buyers in Houston, Galveston and Beaumont, Texas. TSAHC programs target the housing needs of low-income families and other underserved populations in Texas who do not have acceptable housing options through conventional financial channels.

Food Assistance

Houston Food Bank: America's largest food bank in distribution leads hunger relief in 18 southeast Texas counties. The Houston Food Bank distributes food and other essentials to those in need through a network of 1,500 community partners.

Kids Meals Inc: Our mission is to end childhood hunger by delivering free healthy meals to the doorsteps of Houston's hungriest preschool-aged children and through collaboration provide their families with resources to help end the cycle of poverty.

Meals on Wheels for Greater Houston and Galveston County: Interfaith Ministries' program provides home-delivered meals to approximately 4,900 homebound seniors and disabled adults in five counties. The program also delivers weekend meals and a week's worth of breakfast to about a quarter of our most frail and isolated clients. This nutritional support helps people stay independent and in their own homes. Sign up by contacting us at 713-533-4978.

Health

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 1-800-273-8255, and then press "1." You can also start a confidential online chat session at veteranscrisisline.net/chat.

DeBakey VA Medical Center - Houston, Texas: The Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center serves as the primary health care provider for more than 113,000 Veterans in southeast Texas. Veterans from around the country are referred to the MEDVAMC for specialized diagnostic care, radiation therapy, surgery, and medical treatment including cardiovascular surgery, gastrointestinal endoscopy, nuclear medicine, ophthalmology, and treatment of spinal cord injury and diseases.

Mental Health Programs for Veterans: Texas Health and Human Services provides up-to-date information about its partnership with Texas Veterans Commission, and peer-to-peer counseling available to service members, veterans and their families through local mental health and behavioral health authorities across the state.

TexVet - Mental Health Resources: TexVet offers veterans and their families access to dozens of mental health resources, searchable by county and covering a wide range of concerns.

Legal Help

Lone Star Legal Aid - Military & Veterans Unit: Lone Star Legal Aid's Military & Veterans Unit (MVU) provides free civil legal services to low-income United States military veterans, their dependents, and surviving spouses throughout the State of Texas.

Texas Law Help: Free legal help for victims and survivors of domestic abuse.

Transitioning to Civilian Life

Combined Arms: Combined Arms streamlines the connection between veterans and their families from all branches of the military with organizations that serve them, creating pathways for them to access resources based on exactly what they've asked for, leaving the outdated model of "services in silos" behind.

Disney Careers/Heroes Work Here: Disney provides learning & development opportunities and other veterans resources.

Transition Assistance Program (TAP) Department of Labor: Every year, approximately 200,000 men and women leave U.S. military service and return to life as civilians, a process known as the military to civilian transition. The Transition Assistance Program (TAP) provides information, tools, and training to ensure service members, and their spouses, are prepared for the next step in civilian life.

Veterans' Employment and Training Service: We prepare America's veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses for meaningful careers.

DAV: Military members separating from active duty should talk to a Transition Service Officer.

Registered Apprenticeship Program: To learn more about the benefits of developing a Registered Apprenticeship or how to formally register your program, visit our Registered Apprenticeship Program page or use our Partner Finder to contact your nearest apprenticeship consultant.

Wounded Warrior Project: Every warrior has a next mission. We know that the transition to civilian life is a journey. And for every warrior, family member, and caregiver, that journey looks different. We are here for their first step, and each step that follows. Because we believe that every warrior should have a positive future to look forward to.

The Bob Woodruff Foundation: We navigate a maze of more than 46,000 nonprofits to find, fund, and shape innovative programs in communities where our veterans, their families, and caregivers live and work. BWF leverages partnerships with leading nonprofits, corporations, the military and the government to meet the emerging and long-term needs of today's veterans and their families.

Military Community and Family Policy: Military Community and Family Policy is directly responsible for establishing quality-of-life policies and programs that help our guardians of country, their families, and survivors be well and mission ready. Military OneSource is the gateway to MC&FP programs and services that support the everyday needs of the 5.2 million service members and immediate family members of the military community.

Joining Forces: Joining Forces is a White House initiative to support military families, which includes: families of service members and veterans, caregivers and survivors. Our work is driven by their experiences.

Soldier For Life : Soldier For Life engages and connects the U.S. Army with organizations to support Soldiers, Veterans, and their Families to create opportunities. Once you earn the title Soldier, you are a Soldier for Life.

Additional resources for military spouses and families

Department of Defense Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP): The Department of Defense Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) connects military spouses with hundreds of partner employers who have committed to recruit, hire, promote and retain military spouses.

Spouse Education and Career Opportunities (SECO): Ensures military spouses have 24-7 access to online education and career information, resources, tools and assessments. Using the tools and assessments, spouses can begin to explore their interests, skills, passions and personality type to determine the best fit for education and career choices. Provides information, guidance, and support with education, career, and life decisions including working with one-on-one with a professional career coach.

National Military Family Association: The National Military Family Association Volunteer Corps is made up of service members, spouses, parents, retirees, survivors, veterans and concerned citizens who want to support serving military family members. Transferring Occupational Licenses and Certifications: Information from the U.S.Department of Defense about some of the most popular occupations that require a license or certification.

Careers with High Portability: Information from the U.S. Department of Defense to help military spouses find fulfilling work, build on your skills and experience and supplement the family income in spite of frequent moves, use this information to help you make informed career choices.

USA Jobs: Guidance on hiring spouses and spousal job eligibility.