New Haven Independent

The graduates were veterans who completed a pilot program between a veterans community center and a job-training outfit.

Armour Henderson (pictured with his huggable heart) was one of nine participants honored at the graduation ceremony Friday at the Errera Center on Route 1 in West Haven, just over the New Haven line. Errera runs the program with the job-training program STRIVE.

The STRIVE trainers thought Henderson had changed the most over the course of the four weeks and best exemplified the program’s values. The 57-year-old retired Marine wept. “Just like in the military, we became a team,” he said, adding, “God is good.”

Many voices responded, “Yes He is — all the time.”

The eight men and one woman were all Vietnam-era vets, although not all served in the war. They’d already had long and varied careers — one as a corrections officer, another as a painter, for example — when they joined the job training program, seeking to earn additional income and especially to continue being contributing members of society.

Jeff Joy (pictured) served as the matchmaker. He’s director of vocational services with the Veterans Administration’s Connecticut Health Care. “STRIVE has a unique model,” he said, “which we adapted for vets.” They shortened the day from eight to four hours, because vets, with long work histories, didn’t need some of the components STRIVE teaches to young people who have never held a job. “These guys know how to get up in the morning,” Joy said. “They understand chain of command.” He added that all the students participate in the Compensated Work Training program he runs, and they all receive health services at the VA.

Most of the students were in their 50s and 60s. Joy said the pilot program was open to all vets, but it just worked out that those who enrolled had more “seniority” than veterans from the three more recent wars, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Among the skills they learned were how to apply for a job, write a resumé, do a job interview, and dress and speak appropriately. They also learned about rules about sexual harassment on the job.

Andy Orefice (pictured), director of programs for STRIVE, said he was honored to bring vets into the program. One of STRIVE’s unique aspects is that once a student successfully completes the program, he or she is entitled to lifetime services of counseling and job placement.

Orefice (pronounced Ora-FEE-chay) told participants as he kicked off the celebration, “Your level of enthusiasm and passion is what made this different from the other programs we do.” He said it was humbling “working with heroes with tons more experience in work and life than we [the trainers] have, and we’re telling you how to find work.”

As the names of the graduates were called, they went to the front of the room to receive their certificates. Each one was asked to share something he or she learned. One said, “I learned there is more than one way to do something, and that my way isn’t always the right way.” Another said, “I learned you are never too old to learn.”

Henderson said, “I learned how to sell myself. You gotta smile!” He recently moved here from Ohio, where he lost a job in a fabricating plant when it closed. “Now I feel at home here, and I’m going to do great things,” he said.

Joe Bellavita (pictured, with student Sue Kilvington behind him), the oldest student at 66, said, “The program taught me not to be too hard on myself,” at which point he began crying. He was immediately enveloped in a bear hug by one of his bigger classmates.

Orefice said his job at STRIVE is to make contact with potential employers. “It’s not easy,” he said. “The first thing they want to know is, ‘What’s broke? Why do they need a jobs program in the first place?’” He said one company embraced the program and its participants with open arms, and has already hired more than 80 graduates. That company would be Ikea.

Tirzah Kemp (pictured), known to her students at Ms. T, was the principal trainer. The students expressed their affection for her by rising in a standing ovation when she was introduced.

“It was a real honor,” she said. “The excitement changed me. I was proud to be able to give back something” to the men and women who had given so much for their country.

All parties considered the pilot project a success. STRIVE hopes to introduce it to other veterans’ programs around the country.