When a U.S. veteran is preparing to leave the military service, they may need to find a new job and a community to reside in.
That’s where the nonprofit organization INvets can assist the veteran with transitioning into civilian life and help Indiana employers fill job openings.
Andrew Messmer, INvets in-state veteran engagement manager, explained, “We exist to serve the state of Indiana by connecting with active duty service members, military members, that are outside of our state and then bridge the gap from leaving the active component and going through that struggle of what the transitions to civilian life are. So we connect to our employers here inside the state and facilitate that transition process.”
As someone is leaving any branch of the military, he said INvets is able to coach them through the process, help them find employment in Indiana and then assist them through the other nuances of getting connected to their county veteran service officer, finding suitable housing, childcare resources, community and faith-based resources and other needs.
“At the first and foremost, we are providing that military talent attraction to our in-state employers, but then, secondarily, we are really building those communities within Indiana,” Messmer said. “Indiana’s a great place to build veteran-friendly communities, so great places like here in Warsaw and throughout the state, we’re able to bring in those local folks like we have our VSO here today, and we’ve got a gentleman from the Vet Center here today, so they’re participating, helping our veterans that have either not been in Indiana since they’ve been on active duty or have never lived in Indiana before.”
INvets had a private event Saturday at a hangar at the Warsaw Municipal Airport to let veterans know about the organization and get connected to various resources.
The not-for-profit is not just limited to talent attraction. “Of course, there’s that employment aspect that really gets things started, but we are looking at doing so much more than that,” Messmer said. “How do we benefit locally? How does the state benefit? And that’s through connecting someone coming right off of active duty with that employment opportunity, so they gain meaningful employment. They’re able to have that means to provide for themselves.”
INvets helps members of the military connect with the Veterans Administration, federal benefits, educational and housing resources and more.
“With INvets affecting that critical moment in time where someone is leaving active duty, all of the data supports that if you’re able to get somebody plugged in where they have a community, where they have a job, where they have friends, they’re less likely to fall into those negative categories later in life,” he stated.
Messmer said the work that INvets is doing is essential to enabling service members to find that quality of life so they have those positive connections and a support network.
INvets’ focus is bringing people into the state of Indiana. “So if you’ve been on active duty, whether you’ve lived here prior or not, you’ve been gone for at least a handful of years. So, once you get here, what we don’t do is we don’t just dump you out and it’s not, ‘Here’s a job, have a nice life.’ It’s so much more,” he said.
INvets doesn’t just want to put veterans in the “hotbeds” of the population, either.
“That’s why we’re here specifically in Kosciusko County. It’s a great spot where it’s kind of about the middle of the state. You can have some people that are closer to Fort Wayne or closer to South Bend or closer to Lafayette or closer to Indy, even, but it’s a good kind of melting point where everybody can come together,” Messmer said. “We’re really looking forward to doing more of these events throughout the rest of the state and supporting all of our veterans and supporting all of our clients at INvets and connecting with those great employers and those great organizations that also value veterans and military.”
INvets is a newer organization. Messmer has been with them for about 1-1/2 years and found it to be a phenomenal organization.
“We’re a relatively small nonprofit. I think we’re about 13, 14 people right now. And very strategic growth in that where it started as our original founder and he brought on another employee and then they added a few more,” Messmer said. “We’ve had a few leadership changes as we’ve grown. We’ve had wonderful leaders that have been in place that have gotten us from that initial jump and then make our next step. And then to where we’re at now with Sarah Harrison as our CEO and doing a phenomenal job in guiding us to not only growing as a force and being more employees, but as we’re growing, her leadership guiding us toward making more meaningful engagements, so it’s not about the numbers ... it’s about making those right connections and getting the right people connected to our service members.”
According to numbers provided by Nichole Rouached, INvets director of advancement, in 2023 INvets brought in 425 new residents (veterans and their families) into Indiana. This year to date, INvets also brought in 202 new residents (approximately 50 veterans and their families) into the state. INvets’ fiscal year starts in July.
Messmer pointed out, “The nuance of working with transitioning active duty is it’s a very long lead time. So we’re connecting with service members and spouses anywhere from 18 to nine months from when they actually leave the active duty timeframe. So the work that we’re putting in today - traveling, connecting with those service members right now - those folks will be moving here six, eight, 10, 12, 14 months from now. So the huge increase in our numbers that we’re seeing right now is that direct result of our previous expansion last year.”
Rouached said they did 200 in 2020, so they’ve more than doubled in three years.
Messmer said they have a lot of service members who are actively trying to move to Indiana, and the only thing that is needed are employers who say yes to hiring a military service member. They’re a talent pool that most industries are not tapped into, “so it’s a very exciting opportunity.”
INvets can also assist the spouses of service members.
“We’re not just for the service member, we’re not just for the veteran. The spouses, it’s the same quality, the same level of service. Spouses are so often overlooked,” Messmer said.
As a nonprofit, INvets does accept donations and sponsorships of various levels.
“In our business model, we travel - I’m going to say 51 weeks out of the year - we’re going internationally, anywhere in the world that we have United States active duty military. We’re probably going there to connect with them and talk about how great it is to live in Indiana and the employment opportunities. So, with that, finding the service members that are excited and quality and then connecting those back to the employers, ideally those employers see the value that we are bringing, not just to them but to their community, to the state, whether they’re a small ‘mom and pop’ shop or the large national/international companies. It’s not about the money, but we are a nonprofit,” he said.
If a veteran wants more information about how INvets can help them as they transition to civilian life, they can call Messmer at 317-605-3095 or email [email protected]. A company also can contact him and he’ll get them in contact with the right person at INvets or there’s the website at invets.org or through other social media. All of the services INvets provides is free.
“Anybody that wants to hire a veteran, anybody that values military talent, anybody that is providing a service to the veteran in our communities, we want to get connected with them. And, of course, any veterans that are looking for employment,” Messmer said.