U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Experience Office

Community Engagement News!

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Experience Office sent this bulletin at 04/02/2018 12:09 PM EDT

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Veterans Crisis Line

Community Engagement Website

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Community Veterans Engagement Board (CVEB) Interactive Map

Leveraging CVEBs to focus on outreach, navigational support, networking, and creating a common agenda across the nation to connecting resources and assessing impact!

CVEBs Improving Outcomes for Veterans and Their Families!

Fresno CVEB Leading Support for Veterans

Tyler Hergenrader, a member of the Fresno CVEB out of Fresno, CA, provides therapeutic support for Veterans through his family's non-profit organization, Break the Barriers. Break the Barriers is a training site for senior and adaptive Veteran athletes. There are over 700 Veterans enrolled in the program with 400 active participants. The partnership with the Central California VA Healthcare System and Break the Barriers has been through a Memorandum of Understanding. Many of the Veterans enrolled in the program’s archery training have competed and placed well in the Paralympics. The program works with Veterans to break the barriers of healing and push them beyond their comfort zone to deal with their health concerns. Break the Barriers provides professional training at no charge in archery, biathlon/air rifle, ballroom dancing, boot camp, lap swimming, life coaching, mentoring, shot put, sign language, table tennis, water aerobics, and supervised weight training to veterans. Tyler has a passion for supporting Veterans and has positively impacted the Fresno CVEB. You can reach the Fresno CVEB (and all California CVEBs) here.

Resource Rangers Lead the Way - Arizona’s Military Veteran Resource Navigators!

Arizona is home to more than 625,000 service members, Veterans, and their families. Arizona is also very fortunate to have the Arizona Coalition for Military Families (ACMF), led by Director Thomas Winkel. As Co-chair for the Military/Veteran Community Network (MVCN), consisting of three CVEBs focusing on all counties in the state of Arizona, he has led the way in collective impact efforts to bring local community, state and federal resources, and resource providers together. One such initiative is the statewide training of Resource Navigators provided by ACMF training professionals.

The goal in Arizona is simple, “No Wrong Door and No Wrong Person", and the right resources at the right time for Arizona’s Service members, Veterans, and their families. Resource navigators are members of communities throughout the state who are trained to connect service members, Veterans, and their family members to the right resources at the right time. The ACMF started conducting Resource Navigator Training back in December, 2013. To date, more than 150 half-day classes have taken place across the state resulting in over 3,000 trained Resource Navigators at no cost to participants - quite an amazing feat! Resource Navigators are trained in how to link the military/Veteran community to find resources to address a range of issues, including: employment, family and social support, finance and benefits, higher education, housing and homelessness, legal, mental health and substance abuse, physical health, and spirituality. The Community Engagement Directorate is proud to share that on January 19th, 2018 our Deputy Director, Christopher Olson joined the ranks in Arizona of this highly trained and dedicated force.

Resource Navigator training is available to anyone who wants to be a part of ensuring no wrong door and no wrong person for Arizona’s service members, Veterans, and their families. To make this work the ACMF works closely with Colonel Wanda Wright, Director Arizona Department of Veterans Services; MVCN Board Members; Community Partners; Military, State, and Federal leaders; and VHA, VBA, and NCA Leaders in the State of Arizona. To learn more about ACMF or the MVCN boards go to the Arizona Coalition website and the VEO CVEB contact page for Arizona.

The Reinvigorated Metropolitan New York City CVEB

The Metro NY CVEB is building on the momentum established last year by participating in StoryTellersX and a VA Town Hall Meeting with the former VA Secretary. Metro NY is now planning a seminar on VA Home Loans, the first in a series on benefits to veterans and families. We will also participate in the upcoming multi-city CVEB Networking Event in which the Metro NY CVEB will serve as the HUB for the North Atlantic District. Metro NY is actively integrating federal/state/city government veteran-focused stakeholders, local/regional nonprofits, and other entities in raising awareness, facilitating communication, and developing greater support for our constituents.

To learn more about the Metro NY CVEB go to their Facebook page or the VEO CVEB contact page.

8 Community Veteran Engagement Boards participate in America's Warrior Partnership Task Force Discussion

On March 1, 2018, eight CVEBs along with fifteen national organizations and VA representatives participated in the America’s Warrior Partnership (AWP) CVEB task force discussion during AWP’s first of 3 scheduled task force meetings. The success of this meeting was attributed to the willingness of everyone to participate in conversations and critical thinking about the current state of CVEBs and opportunities to make CVEBs even more impactful in the future. Two follow-on, in-person discussions are planned to occur on May 24th and July 26th as well as several teleconferences. AWP has hired a group to lead the discussions and gather data. This is designed to be a 6 month task force that will deliver a tangible document focused on CVEB metrics and will be shared with all CVEBs and community partners.

Participating CVEBs:

Northern Shenandoah Valley Community Veterans Engagement Board; Winchester, VA

Coastal Carolina Veterans Coalition; Jacksonville, NC

Upstate Veterans Alliance Network; Greenville, SC

MyVA Pikes Peak; Colorado Springs, CO

Northeast Ohio Veterans Community Task Force; Cleveland, OH

San Antonio Coalition for Veterans and Families; San Antonio, TX

Military and Veterans in Greater Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh, PA

Delaware Valley Veterans Consortium; Philadelphia, PA

Community Veterans Engagement Boards Added to the Network

Since our last publication, we are pleased to announce we have 138 CVEBs in the network. As CVEBs across the country continue to impact communities; it is our goal to ensure CVEBs are accessible to Veterans and community partners.

Veteran-Friendly Community Appreciation Events

The Veterans Experience Office is proud to announce that the first Veteran-Friendly Community Appreciation Events are beginning in April. Since the CVEB initiative (formerly MyVA) launched in 2015, VA leaders have been actively participating in community-based efforts to maximize the collective impact of local services, stakeholders, and federal/state agencies to improve Veteran outcomes. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs would like to show appreciation for this community-based effort by thanking those that pioneered the boards.

Upcoming appreciation events for Veteran-Friendly Communities include Colorado, Arizona, and Michigan. All CVEBs will be appreciated for their hard work with a certificate of appreciation from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Contact Veteran-Friendly Communities at Vet-FriendlyCommunities@va.gov.

Community Clergy Training Program

The Veteran-Friendly Community Division is working on a Community Clergy Training Program pilot with the VHA Office or Rural Health and selected CVEBs in Maine, Missouri, Colorado, and Ohio. The training program, offered by the VHA Office of Rural Health, aims to educate local clergy on key Veteran issues. When Veterans are seeking help, they are likely to contact a trusted resource, such as a member of the clergy. Clergy provide anonymity, confidentiality, and there is less stigma associated with seeking counseling for posttraumatic stress, depression, or difficulty transitioning from military life. However, local clergy members often have limited knowledge about the unique health issues and readjustment difficulties common with some Veterans.

The mission of the Community Clergy Training Program is to increase rural clergy’s ability to identify and support rural Veterans with reintegration challenges. Through the program’s Train-the-Facilitator Initiative, clergy members and others caring for and serving Veterans in rural communities can gain the knowledge and tools to become a refuge, resource, and referral point for Veterans. By working with the pilot CVEBs our hopes are that it facilitates partnerships, develops relationships for continued Veterans work, supports logistics and marketing, and more community clergy attend the training to be equipped with the knowledge and resources available for them to connect Veterans with the care they may be seeking. Down the road, your CVEB may see a voluntary toolkit to host your own Community Clergy Training Program event with the local VA trainer!

For more information on the Community Clergy Training Program contact Benjamin.Kaler@va.gov, or read about it on the VA blog here.

StorytellersX Sharing Positive Veteran Stories Nationally

StorytellersX continues to be a popular and impactful program the CVEBs are utilizing to share positive, local Veteran’s success stories happening in their very own communities. Recent events by the Massachusetts MyVA Community Veterans Engagement Board and Michigan’s Region 10 Veterans Community Action Team (Detroit Metro) kicked off 2018. To date the StorytellersX events have had over 700 live audience participants, with 20K live streaming views, at 13 location host sites.

Upcoming CVEB- hosted StorytellersX events include: Denver, Colorado – April 7th ,Saint Louis, Missouri – April 28th, Missoula, Montana - May 5th, and Albuquerque, New Mexico – May 26th.

For more information on hosting a StorytellersX contact David.Francavilla@va.gov

CVEB Networking Events Sharing Best Practices

The CVEB Networking Events bring together the CVEBs and other Veteran stakeholders to bring awareness of VA initiatives, share community resources, guides, and tools, and give CVEBs and other Veteran advocacy groups the opportunity to share best practices, lessons learned, and success stories in meeting the needs of their Veteran, family, caregiver, and survivor community.

There will be 5 Networking Events in 2018, one in each geographic district. These events will be conducted via multiple venues to ensure maximum participation. For those who can attend in person we will have multiple Cisco telepresence facilities in each district. You may also attend virtually via WebEx or even by telephone.

District dates, times, and points of contact:

North Atlantic District – 13 June 2018, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, CE point of contact Tony Davis howard.davis10@va.gov

South Eastern District – 18 July 2018, 8:00 AM to 12:00 Noon, CE point of contact, Cajun Comeau Cajun.Comeau@va.gov

Midwest District – 29 June 2018, 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM, CE point of contact, Veronica Jackson-Patrick Veronica.Jackson-Patrick@va.gov

Continental District – 12 September 2018, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, CE point of contact Eric Montgomery Eric.Montgomery@va.gov

Pacific District – 7 September 2018, 8:00 AM to 12:00 Noon, CE point of contact Eric Faulkner Eric.Faulkner2@va.gov

Specifics of physical locations and topics of discussion will be forthcoming from your respective CE point of contact listed above. If you have questions or concerns please contact your respective CE point of contact or Tony Davis at howard.davis10@va.gov.

NASDVA Conference Connecting Stakeholders Across the Nation

The National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs (NASDVA) Mid-Winter Conference was held in Alexandria, VA from 25 February through 1 March, 2018. This provided members of the CE Team an opportunity to meet and network with VA colleagues, NASDVA members and support staff. This was a superb networking event. In addition to most of the State Directors of Veterans Affairs nationally, there were key leaders from many other Veteran support organizations, and all three VA Administrations. Many of the State Directors shared challenges, concerns, and good news stories, as well as insightful feedback on some of our VEO tools and products such as the VA Welcome Kits and Veterans Journey Maps.

Additional Resources and Information:

Sharing an opportunity made available to CVEBs by the National Veterans Intermediary

To foster cooperation and innovation, the National Veterans Intermediary will support community partners with a $2,000 grant for collaboration work that aligns with their mission.

To apply for a one-time grant just follow these simple steps:

Contact Deirdre.Armstrong@nvi.org
Fill out the Community Commitment Form and commit to collaborate
Complete a Community Collaborative survey about your community
Receive collaboration funding

All applicants must agree to accelerate the pace of change for Veterans in their community by pledging to act in alignment with collaboration principles; to provide their community with collaborative leadership; and to reinforce the strength of the network of community collaboratives across the country.

For more details see www.NVI.org

Supporting Women Veterans

Through research and listening sessions with female Veterans and their families, VA developed a Women Veterans Journey Map and Building Trust with Women Veterans Storybook. This information is critical in supporting Women Veterans and improving their experiences. Please check out this video. This video is part of set of documentation from research conducted with women Veterans about their experience with outpatient healthcare at the VA. To receive a copy of the journey map and storybook, please email Vet-friendlyCommunities@va.gov. It will be available on-line within the next 30 days.

Veterans Hub and 100 Million Healthier Lives

The Veterans Hub is part of 100 Million Healthier Lives, a global public health initiative.

The Veterans Hub now has an online platform where members can collaborate, network, and post information about the work that they are engaged in to help raise awareness about their efforts.

To join, go to Connect.100mlives.org and create a free log in. All of the posts for the Veterans Hub are located in the Veterans Health tab on the left hand side of the page. Also, under the Community Library tab above the Veterans Health Tab, there is a folder titled Veterans Health where Hub members can attach resources (documents) to share with the Veterans Hub and greater 100 Million Healthier Lives community.

Siri Can Connect You to the Veterans Crisis Line

Finally, we want to share an "ah ha moment" encountered at the NASDVA Mid-Winter Conference.

VA Secretary, Dr. David Shulkin was talking about the Veterans Crisis Line and encouraged everyone to save the number (800-273-8255) into their address books. After this session, a colleague from VHA Community Engagement, shared that if you have an IPhone you can simply say, “Hey Siri, call the veterans crisis line” and Siri will connect you to the Veterans Crisis Line automatically, even if you don’t have that number in your address book.

We are working on getting this same functionality with Alexa and Google, but so far only Siri has it.

Keep updated & let us know how we're doing.

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