A message from Commissioner Bruce Stebbins about workforce development and a recent tour of the New England Center for Homeless Veterans
- October 13, 2015
- by MGC Communications
- 0 comments
Being a former bank, the granite building at 17 Court Street in downtown Boston is an impressive structure. However, step beneath the canopy with the emblems of our armed service branches and through the front door, you find an even more impressive operation going on inside at the New England Center for Homeless Veterans. Founded in 1989, the center is one of the Nation’s largest private resource providers to homeless Veterans of every era who face challenges and are at-risk of homelessness.
Recently, Jill Griffin, Director of MGC Workforce, Supplier and Diversity Development, and I stopped by to meet with the strong leadership staff of the center and learn more about the ways they assist the men and women from across Massachusetts who have served our country. As we were reminded by the leadership of the center, they are working hard not to have the facility viewed as a shelter. There is more to the mission and working with local employers to offer employment and job opportunities is one such valuable service.
As we toured the facility and stepped around the ongoing construction, Jill and I discussed the focus on veterans in the Gaming Statute and how veterans can benefit from the employment opportunities being provided by our licensees during the construction and operation phase. Center leadership showed off their classroom space and computer center supported by nearby Bunker Hill Community College.
At the conclusion of our tour, Jill and I reiterated our interest in working with the center and connecting them with executives of our licensees with the goal of helping the center’s veterans and finding stakeholders who can help our licensees meet their diversity goals.
