Florissant Veteran Serving Community Through Mission Continues

One Florissant veteran along with more than 80 veterans from across the country will take a new oath and stand at attention Sunday at Busch Stadium.

The veterans will come together as a part of The Mission Continues, a national nonprofit organization that focuses on helping post-9/11 veterans transition to a post-military life through service to the community.

Y’Londa Mitchell, of Florissant, served in the Army between 2002 and 2006 following graduation from Kentucky State University and did a tour of Iraq for a year during Iraqi Freedom. This weekend, she will be the a representative for St. Louis in this Mission Continues fellowship class.

“This is a part of me that people finally get to see,” she said. “A lot of veterans will see this and get a chance to apply for the organization.”

The Mission Continues provides six-month fellowships for post-9/11 veterans to get leadership training and dedicate 20 hours per week to an organization in their respective community, according to its website.

Currently, the organization has helped more than 700 veterans to transition to post-military careers through the fellowship program.

This weekend will serve as the Charlie Orientation with a three-day intensive training program that helps veterans go from leaders on the battlefield to leaders in the community. During this weekend, the fellows will participate in a leadership training, a service project with the Boys and Girls Club of Greater St. Louis and take a public oath of commitment to service to their communities before fans at the St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres Sunday.

Mitchell, who found the organization in looking for further volunteer opportunities in the St. Louis area, will dedicate her time to Catholic Charities in helping with legal services and the Veterans Advisory Project.

She said she looks forward to connecting with other veterans in the fellowship program, which she said she didn’t have an opportunity to do until now.

Following her six-month stint, Mitchell will finish up her second masters degree from the University of Missouri-St. Louis next August and will dedicate her career to helping veterans transition to civilian life.

More specifically, she wants to help decrease the number of homeless veterans and help younger veterans, especially women, throughout St. Louis.

“Veterans needs someone to advise them,” she said about life after the military. “A lot of veterans come back and people forget about them. It’s important for someone to be out there and advocate for them."