Building Community-Based Collaborations in Support of Military Families

August 6, 2012

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Agenda

Overview and Background

Andrea Inserra

Panel Discussion

Martha Spinks—Alamo Area Council of Governments

Cris Medina—San Antonio City Council, District 7

Hector Villarreal—San Antonio Coalition of Veterans

Questions and Answers

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Our staff of veterans and clinicians work across the DoD and VA on behalf of Service members and families

Defense Centers of Excellence

National Intrepid Center of Excellence

Force Health Protection & Readiness

National Center for PTSD

Medical Research Materiel Command

Marine Corps Training & Education

Veteran’s Administration

Office of Health Affairs

Focusing on Population Health

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Enhancing support for military families has emerged as a growing national priority

Garnering Support at the Highest Levels . . .

… And No Shortage of Programs

Joining ForcesComprehensive national initiative to mobilize all sectors of society in:• Supporting our service members and

their families with behavioral health, employment, education, and wellness

• Identifying new opportunities across public and private sectors

White House Initiative

Concurrent National InitiativesChairman of the Joint Chiefs – “A community-based solution is required for channeling the tide of this Sea of Goodwill to assist high-and low-risk Service members veterans, and families.”

Time US Battleland Blog – “Pity the poor grunt who comes back from war with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He goes online to learn how to cope and is overwhelmed …(with) the tidal wave of information enveloping him and his family”

Veterans Advantage – “There are so many projects designed to support our military community; some are excellent programs and others are not. Determining which is which is difficult both for those attempting to coordinate care and for those in need of that care. … And new programs with efforts that duplicate existing ones spring up daily.

Joint Chiefs A.P.A.Blue Star Families

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Booz Allen launched a series of national events to support military families – focused on coordinating resources at the community level

Goals and Objectives to Address Change:

• Shift focus from National approaches to community based approaches

• Help communities enhance their cooperative efforts to serve military and veteran families

Explore how best to improve upon the systems and services currently in place

Increase knowledge and coordination of existing programs to help stretch funding

Build alliances that work across geographical boundaries and penetrate barriers to access

Common Themes Observed:

Strong interest in helping our veterans

Need for greater awareness of opportunities to collaborate

Importance of clear/central messaging to community leadership

Need to proactively shape sustainable initiatives

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Sustainability requires a shift from implementing a plan of action, to implementing programs that create an ongoing transformation

Where we are today: Convened four community summits in 2011

and plan for three more in 2012 Developing best practices around tri-sector

collaboration to leverage all community resources and increase community capacity and sustainment

Designing a methodology framework as a resource for other agencies, coalitions and stakeholders to plan and execute local summits

Supporting community partners in building collaborative agreements to ensure positive outcomes for veterans and military families

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Developing a Military Friendly Community requires shared vision and commitment across all sectors

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State / City Gov’t.

Veteran Service Org.

Private Sector

Employment/Labor

Behavioral Health

Legal Services

Education SectorMedical Providers

Faith-Based Org.

???

Non-profit Org.

Tri-sector collaboration builds community alliances and is essential for success

Optimizing Community Resources to Resettle Veterans & Their FamiliesMoving beyond the clichés of ‘supporting our troops’ to a genuine

and meaningful commitment to the welfare of our community

6 August 2012 Martha Spinks, Ph.D., LTC, USA (ret) Alamo Area Council of Governments

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The SACV-Texas ADRC Collaboration

The Texas Veterans’ Community Living Initiative: Building Bridges from Military Service Back to

Community Life

by enhancing

Aging, Disability & Resource Centers (ADRCs) to support Veterans and their families

in their local communities

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SACV and the Alamo Service Connection ADRC are very compatible, person-centered programs

ADRCs begin by building inclusive community collaborations with all stakeholders

ADRCs are designed to support any public or private service provider in the community who wants to plug in to their system

ADRCs are the information and referral gateways to comprehensive services in their local region and beyond

ADRCs practice an interactive, decision-support process to help people analyze their situations and choose their options

ADRCs hand off individuals to the person who will help them, rather than simply referring them to an organization  

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The SACV-ASC Model: Asset-Based Community Development

Acting locallyo Real change comes from “boots on the ground”

Organizing stakeholders at grassroots level o The genius of San Antonio Coalition for Veterans:

• Credible leadership “taking care of our own”• Visible, accessible, knowledgeable from the Veterans’ level

Mapping and engaging community assets to accelerate and sustain grassroots passiono How community planning and research organizations can be supportive

of (and benefit from) grassroots leadership

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Goals of the SACV-Texas ADRC Collaboration

Organize as a network of local Coalitions of Veterans and ADRCs with a Steering Committee that focuses on:o Community-based strategies o To help Veterans and their families one-on-one in their communities o For as long as they need support

Work with local, state and governmental leaders to develop lasting, long-term solutions for Veteran problems that make a measurable difference

Collaborate with public and private Veteran Service Providers (VSPs), government agencies, corporations and individuals focused first and foremost on serving Veterans and their families

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Initiate DoD relationships to smooth the transition of Veterans and their families into the civilian community by connecting them with community support services prior to discharge

Sponsor information and networking events that help service providers learn about each other and how to better support the community and its Veterans through collaboration

Educate and organize military-civilian communities to recognize the needs of Veterans and their families and build bridges from military to civilian life

Disseminate the model to all Texas ADRCs, the hundreds of ADRCs in other states, and the HHS’s Administration for Community Living (ACL)

Goals of the SACV-Texas ADRC Collaboration

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ADRCs are a National Presence and a Federally Funded Priority in Your Community

ADRC State Coverage as of September 2011

Building Community-Based Collaborations in Support of Military Families

Cris Medina

August 6, 2012

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Both the private sector and DoD activities support sustainable growth in San Antonio

San Antonio ranked 1st in the 2011 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities Index --which ranks cities based on their ability to create and sustain jobs

These top cities renewed investment in business equipment; have diversified technology bases, which also drive growth in business and professional services; are exposed to America's booming energy sector; and are home to a large military presence

Eagle Ford Shale Rig

Blue Wing Solar Project

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The San Antonio community unites around challenges of growth and expansion, seeking balance between military family readiness and operational readiness

The Office of Military Affairs (OMA) is the single point of contact for the City of San Antonio on military and Base Realignment And Closure(BRAC) related issues.

Mission: To prepare the community for challenges and opportunities associated with

BRAC-related growth To work with the military to sustain and enhance mission readiness To develop and institutionalize relationships between the community and

the military on issues of common concern

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San Antonio has a long history of collaborating with Veterans in Military City, USA

Joint efforts from Veterans, the City of San Antonio and business support one another, creating a win, win, win scenario:

‘Celebrate America’s Military’ created in 1970 so the business community could say “Thank You” to service members

Eleven day series of events from Nov. 1st-11th including parades, golf tournaments, events, luncheons and wreath-laying on Veterans Day

Tradition has become the nation’s largest community event just in honor of our military

More than 250,000 people participants each year

Building Community-Based Collaborations in Support of Military Families

Hector Villarreal

August 6, 2012

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Like many cities across the nation, San Antonio faces challenges connecting the needs, services and resources for Veterans

Can Do!

• Although Veterans face many challenges, no challenge is too great to be tackled together—Veterans do not have to go it alone!

• Communities must reach out to veterans and military families and embrace them

Compassion

• Armed with passion and with heart, communities collaborate to provide assistance because it’s the little things that matter

• Commitment to make positive changes for our nation’s Heroes and their families

Collaboration

• Determination and desire required: SACV initially started without funding in 2007 with only a core group of volunteers

• Advocated for Texas State Law that passed to help state’s burn veterans

You can do this!

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Developing a Military Friendly Community requires shared vision and commitment across all sectors

.

State / City Gov’t.

Veteran Service Org.

Private Sector

Employment/Labor

Behavioral Health

Legal Services

Education SectorMedical Providers

Faith-Based Org.

???

Non-profit Org.

Tri-sector collaboration builds community alliances and is essential for success

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Contact InformationOrganization Point of Contact

Andrea D. InserraSenior Vice Presidentinserra_andrea@bah.com(240) 314-5944

Alamo Area Council of Governments Martha SpinksProgram Directormspinks@aacog.com(210) 362-5268

San Antonio City Council, District 7 Cris MedinaCouncilmanCris.medina@sanantonio.gov(210) 207-7044

San Antonio Coalition for Veterans Hector VillarrealFounder and CEOhector@sacv.org(210) 347-1597