The Bay Veterans Foundation is opening a center this fall to help veterans leverage their skills in the workplace.
BAY CITY, Mich. (WJRT) - On the heels of Fourth of July, many are still honoring the service of our veterans and seeking out ways to give back to them.
One organization in Bay City is aiming to do just that and the mission is deeply personal. Vietnam War veteran Mike Jamrog got a stark message when he came home from combat.
"He said, 'Let me give you some advice. Go home, take your uniform off and shut up. Nobody wants to know where you've been. Nobody wants to hear what you did. And you won't have any trouble,'" Jamrog remembers hearing at age 21.
Those words from a family friend stick with him to this day. He recalls coming home at age 21 to demonstrations at Tri City Airport and feeling completely alone.
"I never want another group of veterans to have to go through that," Jamrog said. "I want a place for them to come -- have someplace that they can get their roots, get their head together so nothing bad happens to them."
Bay Veterans Foundation began in 2015 with a mission of helping veterans help themselves. The Workshop and Learning Center is scheduled to open this fall for veterans and children in the community with skilled trades instruction, mentorship and resources.
"Self isolation is one of the worst things that you can do," said Bay Veterans Foundation President Keith Marks. "You need to re-engage and you can do this in a safe, welcoming environment, which is what this workshop and learning center stands for."
Bay County has over 8,000 veterans and about 600 of them are women, which is the highest concentration of veterans per capita of all 83 counties in Michigan.
"It's important to us to serve as mentors, not just to them, but to kids in the neighborhood. That's our future," Marks said. "If they want to go into skilled trades, where are they going to get that initial introduction."
The center will offer education in a variety of skills from woodworking to laser engravers to CNC operation. More importantly, it will help instill a sense of pride, purpose and belonging.
"You know, 'GI Joe' was this soldier and they shot people and veterans are extremely talented people," Jamrog said.
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