New Jersey officials are working on many different fronts to help veterans adjust when they return home from active duty.

Veterans
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Some of the programs being run by New Jersey address a number of issues veterans might face like mental health, alcohol and drug addiction, homelessness and need for employment.

"When the Hagedorn Psychiatric Hospital was closed, we created a veterans haven in North Jersey, like the one we have in the South, so when there are homeless vets who fall on hard times they have a place to go," said Gov. Chris Christie. The state also formed an agreement with a private drug and alcohol rehab facility to offer treatment to veterans who need it.

When it comes to helping veterans find employment, Christie said the state has done a number of different things..

"The Helmets to Hardhats program is for those vets who come back and want to be in the building trades," Christie said.  "We made agreements with all the local unions to give preferences to veterans who come back, and give them a special type of training program."

The Christie administration is also working with New Jersey companies to create internships and gateway jobs for veterans. "We're not just talking about the building trades. We're talking about other types of jobs in corporations like J&J and Prudential," Christie said.

Additionally, veterans who drove commercial vehicles in the military can now automatically get a commercial vehicle license in New Jersey.

"They've been driving trucks in Iraq and Afghanistan avoiding roadside bombs and we're saying 'Hey by the way, you need to go through the program here.' We've waived that. I signed about four pieces of legislation to stop the kind of ignorance we have about the skills that veterans come home with," Christie said.

Nurses who worked in military hospitals as members of the military can now automatically get licensed in New Jersey as well.  In addition, the spouses of veterans who are teachers, or who do anything else that requires a license, can also automatically have their licenses approved in the Garden State.

"We're doing a lot of different things to try to ease at least some of the petty aggravations that we all know can make a real difference in our lives, and also to give them real opportunities." Christie said.  "I don't think we should be taking any bows for helping men and women who put their lives on the line for us every day. They deserve to be treated in a way that respects their service."

 

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