JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- On any given day, you'll find between 50 and 100 military veterans in a WorkSource office in Northeast Florida. The veterans are all unemployed.
A few years ago, Navy veteran, Liz Maldonado, was one of those unemployed veterans.
"It was scary because I wasn't sure if the ends were going to meet that month," says Maldonado, who was a single mom at the time.
But she got help from the employment agency, WorkSource. She found out how to take advantage of the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Next month, changes will be made to that bill and it could put many more military veterans back to work.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the unemployment rate among Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans is 9.8 percent. The rate is even higher for female veterans at 16.6 percent. As the two wars come to an end, more than 1-million service members are expected to leave the military by 2016.
Starting October 1, the GI Bill will be expanded to provide vocational training and other non-degree training programs for veterans. The president is also hoping to put veterans back to work with the American Jobs Act, which would increase tax credits for companies that hire military veterans.
Maldonado says if the changes help more veterans like her, she's in favor of them.
"I was a full-time student for two years. The work-study program helped out and so did the GI Bill," says Maldonado. "Between those two incomes, I was able to survive."
