Resources, Referrals, and Collaboration Program

Program Address
MCVC builds the capacity of our veteran community through our collective impact using consulting, networking, referrals, and collaboration to address our veteran’s complex issues. There is a need to know where to get help, what is available in the community, identify gaps in service, maximize the impact of community resources, identification of complex veteran issues, and what services are needed.

There are many organizations ready to assist veterans, however, a veteran family rarely has only one issue to address. Oftentimes, the veteran and individual organizations assisting the veteran do not know that additional resources exist to address the multifaceted issues facing veterans. With the lack of communication between service disciplines and organizations, an employee of an individual organization is unable to assist the veteran with the various issues the family is facing, because they do not know what resources are available in the community that are not directly tied to their discipline/specialty/area of expertise. For example, a veteran who needs employment due to physical or mental health issues, therefore has past due bills, may need rental assistance, and need marriage counseling. Our program serves to address these issues by creating opportunities for communication and collaboration among organizations, providing a resource guide for community workers, identifying complex veteran issues, and gaps in services. Our Executive Director is available to consult with community workers when they cannot find the needed resource to assist their veteran family.

MCVC is the catalyst for bringing together the right people, at the right time, for the right solutions. We guide systems thinking practitioners in peer problem solving conversations to create solutions for our veteran community. We provide a safe environment for workers to be involved in multi-disciplinary collaborative work to share and learn from one another. MCVC addresses existing issues, our goal is to be proactive and preventative whenever possible.

Goal
To provide a safe environment that fosters collective problem solving for workers to be involved in multidisciplinary collaborative work to share and learn from one another. To provide access to resources that increase the physical and mental well-being of our veteran community, while reducing the risk factors that lead to suicidal ideations, thereby increasing the quality of life for our active duty, veterans and their families.
Program Objectives and Activities
1. Provide access to resources and an avenue to make referrals
a. Include an online in-take form for community workers to request help and allow for MCVC to coordinate efforts and problem solve behind the scenes.
b. Ensure all community workers, veterans, and their family members have knowledge and access to veteran specific information to prevent risk factors that diminish mental and physical health and lead to suicidal ideations.
c. Produce an in-depth searchable online directory to provide resources to properly serve the veteran community.
i. Reduce risk factors for suicidal ideations through access to resources
d. Improve and maintain the vehicle used for the flow of veteran relevant information.
e. Resource and provide solutions for community partners for complex cases with our Executive Director
f. Create and publish various issue specific resource directories
g. Host a monthly coalition meeting that provides resources, presentations, networking opportunities and open discussions.
h. Communication through mass weekly newsletters and social media which provides resources, veteran benefits, events, networking opportunities, employment opportunities, mental and physical health, Legal assistance, housing information, suicide prevention, member activities, and recent research.
i. Community and organizational crisis intervention by executive director

2. Identify community veteran issues, gaps in services, and create and implement solutions through collaboration while reducing the duplication of services.
a. Use surveys and MCVC meeting open discussion times to identify issues and create solutions.
b. Serve as a liaison between organizations to assist them in working together to implement solutions without creating unnecessary duplications, thereby filling gaps and services and being good stewards of community resources.
c. Create and join multidisciplinary teams with multi-mission driven organizations to address complex veteran community issues.
d. Build the capacity of our veteran community through collective impact.

3. Provide opportunities to network among local non-profits, veteran business, veteran organizations, governmental agencies, and churches.
a. Connect organizations and veteran community through direct resource connections, networking events, monthly meetings, and Coalition, member, and community events.
b. Using our monthly meeting discussion time and various board and committees to identify gaps in services and to identify veteran issues
c. Create community solutions and build community capacity through collaboration

Measurable outcomes
Surveys
Attendees at monthly meetings
Number of members and member organizations within Coalition
Networking- Number at events
Number and variety of community events
Number of social media followers
Email open rate
Number of referrals