Contact: Steve Witty

New Directions, Inc.

                                                                                                         (310) 914-4045 ext 135      Email: switty@newdirectionsinc.org

Release Date: March 24, 2006          

VETERANS ARE READY TO BUILD NEW LIVES, AND MORE

Los Angeles, CA — On Thursday, March 30, eight formerly homeless veterans will graduate from a 16-week vocational training course in construction management, qualifying them for lucrative careers in Construction Estimating or Project Management.  The men are all residents at the New Directions Regional Opportunity Center, a non-profit rehabilitation facility which has partnered with Turnkey Construction Management Institute in order to create employment opportunities for veterans in recovery.

This is the second group to complete the vocational program.  Three of last year’s graduates already are earning annual salaries of more than $40,000 in their new jobs.  The multifaceted curriculum offers instruction in producing cost estimates, obtaining material lists, and reading commercial and residential blueprints.  Also, students learn to use the latest construction software, such as Timberline Precision Estimating and SureTrak Project Manager. Graduates of the program have the skills to schedule all aspects of a construction project, from groundbreaking through the final walk-through. 

The intensive course is led by Turnkey Institute instructor Richard Hunter, who travels each weekday to the New Directions site.  In order to start the pilot program, New Directions converted a meeting room at the residential center into a classroom, and had it approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education.

Along with friends and relatives of the graduates, several employers from the construction industry will be on hand to watch the commencement ceremonies.  Also planning to attend is U.S. Representative Maxine Waters (D–CA), who will present congratulatory certificates to the men in honor of their accomplishments.

New Directions provides drug and alcohol detoxification, intensive substance abuse treatment, and job training for homeless veterans in the Los Angeles area.  The non-profit agency is located on the grounds of the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center. An estimated 27,000 homeless veterans reside in Los Angeles, comprising 33 percent of the area's homeless population.

# # #