News coverage of unemployed multi-tour veteran ends job search

Local Buffalo Veteran Lands Job Through WGRZ Channel 2 Interview
WGRZ News
Jun 20, 2013

BUFFALO, NY - Soldiers who fight for our freedom overseas come home to a new battle - finding a job.

In fact, 19.1 percent of young veterans between the ages of 20-24 are unemployed. That was the case for Williamsville native Eric Chiazza.

The 23-year-old Marine veteran was deployed three times in four years. He did tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Haiti. Once returning home to Buffalo, Chiazza struggled to find a job that fit his unique skill set and paid enough to cover his bills.

"When you get out of the military, you're kind of on your own... It's kind of scary, and I was worried that based on the job choice I had, that my job choices were limited and that it would be difficult to find one," Chiazza said.

2 On Your Side wanted to help.

During the first week of June, Chiazza was featured in a story about veterans struggling to find work. He shared his frustrations about how he was unable to find a well paying job in Western New York.

Later that week, Chiazza attended the "Hire Our Heroes" job fair sponsored by 2 On Your Side. The event brought over 60 employers from all over Western New York together to helpveterans and military spouses find jobs. Chiazza applied at a few different places, but nothing clicked.

Meanwhile, David Jones, Regional Vice President of Executive AirShare, was watching the night that Chiazza's story aired and wanted to do help. He attended the job fair in hopes of finding Chiazza, but the two didn't connect. Jones decided to contact 2 On Your Side, and was put in touch with Chiazza to set up a job interview.
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