JT Liddell enlisted into the military in 2003. After spending a decade in the service and doing defense contracting work, Liddell transitioned out of the military. He found the obstacles challenging to overcome. A few months before the COVID-19 pandemic, Liddell founded a tech startup called Promenade. The company, based in Atlanta, aims to connect veterans nationwide with organizations that offer resources to help them transition to civilian life.
“I’ve really made it my life’s mission to help veterans coming behind me have a much more seamless journey,” Liddell said. “It’s really ensuring that each veteran is aware of all those different resources out there and making sure you get them connected to the ones that work specifically for them and their individual journey.”
Despite the pandemic limiting face-to-face operations, Liddell said his company got a big boost when awarded a $100,000 grant from Google. The tech giant offered 25 grants this year to minority business owners across the country. Liddell said Promenade has already helped hundreds of veterans with its growing database of available groups and resources. The founder said he wanted the company to primarily target minority veterans first, explaining their struggles tend to be magnified.
“Veterans who are suffering the most in their post-military journey are really minority veterans, specifically Black veterans,” Liddell said. “The pandemic, from a mental health standpoint, really exasperated the pain veterans were going through because they really were isolated and didn’t have that sense of community they were really longing for.”
Read more at 11Alive.com.
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