Birmingham Veterans Blueprint (1) (1)

A comprehensive community based plan to strengthen

Veteran reintegration and settlement in the City of Birmingham, Alabama.

Military on the Outside LLC Veterans and Military Services Consulting

Benjamin Armstrong, MPA Kayla Rhidenour, PhD

The work was prepared with support of Ms. Kimberly S. Rafferty Birmingham City Council, District Two.

Birmingham Veterans Blueprint

Prepared by Benjamin Armstrong, MPA and Kayla Rhidenour, PhD with support of Ms. Kimberly S. Rafferty, Birmingham City Council, District Two. Icons provided by icons8.com.

A Community Need United States Veterans are returning to their communities at the highest rates since Vietnam, and the influx of Veterans is putting a strain on the various community assets designed to ease the transition between military and civilian life. In an effort to better serve their local Veteran community, the City of Birmingham, AL has hired an outside consultant who is experienced in Veteran service organizational development to leverage the inherent leadership of the City’s Veterans as well as streamline Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) operations in the area. Below we offer an overview of the Birmingham Veterans Blueprint (BVB) program.

Introduction The transition from military service back into civilian communities can be difficult. Although there are many prestigious and capable veteran service organizations poised to assist with this transition, the large influx of veterans returning home has placed an undue burden on many aspects of veteran reintegration services. As a result, veteran service organizations and community programs have struggled to keep pace with the demands for their services.

The demographic information concerning Veterans in the state of Alabama, and within the City of Birmingham specifically, are congruent with national averages. For instance, in Alabama alone, the 2014 U.S. Census reports that there are a total of 388,865 Veterans living in the state. Federal government data reveals that 82,060 Veterans are living in the greater Birmingham-Hoover metropolitan area, with 49,613 in Jefferson County alone.1 The Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA) explains that there are 20,500 OIF/OEF Veterans reintegrating back into Alabama communities coupled with 85,186 Military Dependents across the State of Alabama.2 ADVA estimates that within the Alabama Veterans population 16.5% have diagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and 19.5% have suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury.3 The Alabama Department of Labor (ADOL) reports that the Veteran Unemployment rate is 5.6%.4 The Department of Veterans Affairs GI Bill comparison tool explains that there are 1,550 plus veterans and their family members utilizing the Post 9/11 GI Bill and various other Veteran educational benefits at institutions within the Birmingham Area.

Although there are many prestigious and capable veteran service organizations poised to assist with this transition, the large influx of veterans returning home has placed an undue burden on many aspects of veteran reintegration services.

1 Bureau of Economic Analysis, Metropolitan Statistical Area Birmingham-Hoover, AL (U.S. Department of Commerce, November

19, 2015), http://www.bea.gov/regional/bearfacts/pdf.cfm?fips=13820&areatype=MSA&geotype=4 2 Alabama Executive Veterans Network Commission Report, Opening Doors for Alabama Service Members, Veterans, and their

Families, (Montgomery, AL, 2014), http://www.alabamacounties.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/AlaVetNet-Briefing.pdf 3 Alabama Executive Veterans Network Commission Report, Opening Doors for Alabama Service Members, Veterans, and their

Families, (Montgomery, AL, 2014), http://www.alabamacounties.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/AlaVetNet-Briefing.pdf 4 Alabama Department of Labor, 2014 Annual Report, 1, (Montgomery, AL, 2014),

https://labor.alabama.gov/docs/dir/ADOL_2014%20Annual%20Report.pdf



Furthermore, the transition experience of individual Veterans in the Birmingham metro area also mirrors the patterns for many local communities nationwide. Birmingham hosts various organizations ranging from NGOs, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and the Department of Veterans Affairs in order to assist community veterans with their transition. Despite the city’s willingness to assist its veterans, the chaotic elements of the Veteran transition persist. Preliminary evidence shows that the Veteran communities continue to struggle to gain access to the benefits they are entitled to, and far too often the first contact these veteran service organizations have is when a veteran is facing a crisis. In order to best serve the community’s veteran population it is imperative that local veteran services are streamlined and made more accessible.

The Fragmented Veteran Transition Out of Service As a majority of service members transition to Veteran status they leave their bases of operation and return to their home communities with general knowledge of benefits developed through attending the DOD programs but with very little understanding of how to access or engage with Veteran service organizations in their community. Often Veterans and the communities that they return to believe that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the organization in the community there to assist Veterans with their transitional needs as they exit service. In reality, the VA mainly functions as a service provider for Veterans to provide medical and behavioral healthcare for Veterans properly enrolled in the VA system, and/or nationally located administrative assistance for specific federal benefits and burial services. Of our nation’s 2 million Veterans, the VA Healthcare system at this time services “40% of all veterans and 61% of all eligible Post 9/11 Veterans.”5 While the VA is vital to areas of healthcare and earned federal benefits, it is impossible for this organization to service all areas of the transitioning process. Thus, it is pertinent that communities step in to fill these gaps in service.

Each Veteran entering the Birmingham community has to communicate individually with each individual VSOs, NGOs, non-profit organizations, and state-level agencies in order to learn what the organization provides, what they have access to, and potentially to perform the administrative protocols involved with their Veteran benefits. Individual Veterans must learn to navigate the local benefits system alone in order to receive the assistance needed to access the federal benefits systems such as the VA. As of now, there is no reliable data or research to show how the Veterans of Central Alabama or more specifically the Greater Birmingham area access these organizations, but it can be assumed that some contact is being made between Veterans and these organizations.

A Community-based Solution for a National Issue

5 Nicholas J. Armstrong, Col. James D. McDonough, Jr., and Daniel Savage, Driving Community Impact, Institute for Veterans and

Military Families, 3-4 (Syracuse University: Syracuse, NY, 2015), http://vets.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Driving-Community-Impact.pdf



The lack of collaboration and fragmentation is present throughout Veteran service communities across the nation. Across the nation “outside entities are having to create infrastructure in order for veterans to understand and interface with the VA” and the other Veteran service organizations in their home community.6 After reviewing Veteran service models across communities coupled with current research, the solution is clear: to ensure successful Veteran settlement within communities local civic and NGO leadership must work together to develop local community based analytics for their Veteran populations, catalogue available resources at one source, and design and implement a collaborative “collective impact” model of service.7

In order for the community to collaborate and support Veterans, robust research and information collection must occur. Here we offer a three-step model for initial research and implementation for community action. The first step is bringing community leadership together in order to assess the true needs of their population by conducting a thorough and research based needs assessment survey. Second, a leadership organization or agency must be selected as the area’s collaboration agent providing them with the opportunity to establish connectivity between the separate community service organizations. Third, based on the needs assessment survey results the community must develop a “collective purpose” and select a “collective impact” model that is right for their community. This model has been tested in communities throughout the nation, and as a result, stronger and more successful Veteran community reintegration is obtainable.

Developing a Model in Birmingham To show the City’s level of dedication towards developing a strong community based transition program for Veterans, an outside consultant with experience in developing and delivering consolidated Veteran programing was contracted in January of 2016 to perform the preliminary stages of program implementation and to draft the Birmingham Veterans Blueprint (BVB). The BVB will act as the initial catalyst for action in the community and establish a path forward towards the implementation of the community-based model approach. As the City moves forward there are several key steps involved in this solution: conducting a community needs assessment, civic and NGO leadership team development and service model selection.

Between January and June of 2016 the City will perform a preliminary needs assessment of the local Veteran population. The assessment will be facilitated by the hired consultant with guidance and input from community based Veteran services programs throughout the nation. The assessment will gather the information needed to ensure a solid service model is selected. Simultaneously, the City will bring together stakeholders from all seven areas of Veteran need: education, medical and behavioral health, housing, employment, family strength, social engagement and financial and legal issues, to gather community perspective and create a

6 Richard Rainey, “New Orleans’ VA Hospital Readies for Patients as Construction Slogs On,” NOLA.com, February 5, 2016,

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/02/new_orleans_veterans_hospital.html 7 Nicholas J. Armstrong, Col. James D. McDonough, Jr., and Daniel Savage, Driving Community Impact, Institute for Veterans and

Military Families, 3-4 (Syracuse University: Syracuse, NY, 2015), http://vets.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Driving-Community-Impact.pdf



program leadership committee or steering group. With the information from the assessment and the leadership component in place the City will work with the public and private sector to augment a model of service within the community.

The motivation of the collaborative BVB process is to bring all stakeholders together, catalogue available resources, develop potential models of services for the Veteran community, and assess the capacity of the community to support the development of service models. Within this process the City will review and solicit information from programs and potential funding sources, nationally and locally, to see what current infrastructure is in place that could be adopted or secured to support the model’s development. The final goal of the BVB is to provide the community with a concrete plan for the development of a collaborative community-based transition assistance program focused on successful and sustainable Veteran settlement in the Birmingham Metro area.

Benefits to Greater Birmingham and Alabama The adoption of a collaborative community-based transition assistance program model in the City of Birmingham would immediately have a positive impact on the Veteran population, VSOs and the community as a whole. The Veteran population already settled or attempting to settle in the community would gain access to an organization that serves as a single point of access or intake for a network of service providers in their area. The organization would be dedicated to ensuring that Veterans transition successfully from service to their next stage in life. Within this model local VSOs would have the opportunity to develop and deliver joint programing, implement information sharing and individual service tracking software as well as gain the ability to develop evidence based evaluations through tracking services provided to Veterans and a program’s success rate. The Greater Birmingham area would be making a strong investment in the City’s metropolitan future by focusing efforts towards and empowering a concentrated special population that brings with it an internal civic pride and a massive skill set to the community. An organization model such as this coupled with a community-based transition program will ensure that Veterans settle into the community seamlessly while allowing them to blossom into the true civic assets we know they represent.

Developing a Plan Birmingham, AL is a community in rebirth that needs strong community members. A City that knows well the great value that military members, Veterans and their family members bring to our community. It is imperative that we come together to ensure that we make our community as welcoming as possible for this important population. Join us in our work to create and implement a sustainable community-based model for Veteran transition assistance and settlement in the Greater Birmingham area.



The Veteran Experience in Central Alabama Initially, in order to gather an understanding of the Veteran experience in Birmingham, AL and Central Alabama the research team executed a Veteran population experience and needs survey and a survey of those organizations providing serving Veterans in the Central Alabama area. Gathering comprehensive information from both of these sources proved to be a difficult task in the 6 month cycle set aside to deliver this report. However, the participation from the localized Veteran Service Organizations in this survey was phenomenal. Over 20 organizations provided extensive information on their interactions with local Veterans and personal inputs on the Veteran Service environment in Birmingham and in Alabama. Veterans were much harder to reach because of their individual status and in some cases because of their inherent distrust of anyone involved in Veteran related work. In this case, the research team was able to secure 15 separate interviews within the region to gather an understanding of their perspective and experience. Veteran Service Organization (VSO) Results Twenty local VSOs participated in the Birmingham Veterans Blueprint Veteran Service Organization survey. 50% of the participating organizations identified as Veteran service nonprofits, and the other organizations were universities, government agencies and private companies. 31% percent receive some type of government funding to support their work. 71% of the organizations explained they have at least a part-time employee that is dedicated to serving Veterans, and 25% of the organizations that participated have membership components. Examples of Veteran organizations with membership components: American Legion, Marine Corps League and Veterans of Foreign War (VFW). 54% of the organizations with membership components stated that their membership consists of 100 individuals or less. The majority of the organizations explained that their main service areas are Veteran employment, Education, Transition Assistance or Mental Health related. In the Birmingham area, overwhelmingly services are accessed by Veterans and their family members, and not active duty or reserve service members. 43% explained that a majority of Veteran who utilize their services are Post 9/11 Veterans, or Veterans who have exited the service in the last 10 years. 43% of the organizations provide some type of mentoring services of Veterans, and 23% have some type of involvement in military transition courses or programs that assist military members entering the civilian world after service. However, 79% of the organizations surveyed explained that they have interest in increasing their involvement in the military transition resources across the State. The 3 most challenging aspects of providing Veteran Services in this area were identified as: engagement (outreach and marketing), staffing and funding. Because of the challenges surrounding engagement 50% of the organizations have a dedicated team member focused on this aspect in some capacity, volunteer, part-time or full-time. And, word of mouth and social media are identified as the most successful outreach strategies utilized in this space. We were



able to gather information on how these organizations deal with the challenge of outreach, but because of how the survey was set up we were unable to collect information on how they approach the challenges of staffing and funding. 36% of the organizations stated that based on their experience family related issues are the most pressing reason why individuals transition out of the military, and 21% explained that in their experience that individuals leave the service for career change reasons. 65% explained that in their experience serving Veterans that the population is in a majority of only “somewhat prepared” or “not prepared” at all to reintegrate into the community. One of the main challenges they see facing Veterans is trying to secure employment once leaving service. 85% of the surveyed organizations shared that Veterans need assistance with resume preparation and development, 62% see Veterans challenged by professional networking and learning how to search for careers once exiting service. The various organizations surveyed were asked to describe the Birmingham Community's Veteran Service Model. The responses varied. One organization explained “The resources in the city are limited”, and another representative explained “there is much focus to assist the Veteran community however I have seen very little organized networking to get this accomplished.” Many of the representatives explained in some variation that the environment is very fragmented, but one put it best “currently, the model is fragmented. There are a great many organizations available to assist. The issue is that veterans nor their families know where to go for the help.”

“Create a one stop shop for the veterans. Then publicize the existence of this entity or organization. This will allow the organizations a central place to

contact to get their information out, as well as provide to the veteran and family member, a venue to go to for assistance”

Furthermore, the organizations were asked how the City of Birmingham could better assist in serving the local Veteran population. There were a lot of different types of responses to this question, but 2 main themes emerged; provide direction and coordination to the local VSOs and help get the information out about what is available. Two VSO representative’s quotes best represent the themes shared by the various individuals. First, the City could “create an organized network of VSO's with a better understanding of the focus of each so that Veterans can be directed accordingly. A more streamlined web site focused on VSOs in the Birmingham area allowing for dropdown options that will narrow the field of what the Veteran may be searching for.” Second, “create a one stop shop for the veterans. Then publicize the existence of this entity or organization. This will allow the organizations a central place to contact to get their information out, as well as provide to the veteran and family member, a venue to go to for assistance.” Veteran Results



As mentioned above, gathering information directly from Veterans in the area proved to be difficult because of the limited timeframe of a research phase and the fragmentation in the Veteran Service community. The research team was able to gather survey responses from 19 separate Veterans who live in the Birmingham area, and was able to conduct in person interviews with 10 of the individuals who completed the survey. The research team suggests that as Birmingham moves forward in building a stronger collective impact based approach to Veteran Service the City could look into partnering with a research organization to conduct a long term and stouter population needs assessment. However, we do believe the inputs received from the Veterans surveyed are a good representation of the experience and population in Birmingham. The age range of the Veterans who participated in the survey skewed higher, 63% were 41+ years of age, and all of the rest fell sporadically between the ages of 24 and 40 years of age. 56% were married, and 31% identified as divorced. A majority of the Veterans surveyed have 1 or more children. 63% identified as Veterans with service connected disabilities. 57% of the Veterans surveyed had full-time or part-time employment, 25% were unemployed or looking for work at the time and 19% were retired. 94% are not currently enrolled in a college or university, but 38% plan to enroll in the future and 19% are unsure if they will enroll. 58% have the Post 9/11 GI Bill and plan on utilizing it in the future to get access to education or training.

38% are enrolled in VA health care, 31% are utilizing employer provided health insurances, and 25% are on TRICARE. 59% of those surveyed receive some type of benefit or treatment from the VA. When asked “Have you had problems accessing local VA services?” the responders split, 50% explained “yes”, 50% “no”.

27%

40%

7%

13%

13%

YEARS OF SERVICE OF VETERANS SURVEYED

1-4 years 4-9 years 9-15 years 15-19 years 20+ years



When asked “Do you feel Birmingham is a "military veteran friendly city"? This can include career opportunities, community support, state of federal resources, nonprofit resources, veteran awareness, etc.” 44% responded Yes, 25% No and 31% Unsure. In this case, a majority of Veterans surveyed, 56%, have a negative view of the military veteran friendliness of the City of Birmingham. 50% are unsure about the job market in Birmingham, 31% believe that Birmingham has a weak job market and 19% explained that they believe Birmingham has a strong job market. 81% of Veterans think that a centralized veteran transition center would have been helpful when they first arrived in Birmingham. When asked what the “biggest challenge/barrier to finding employment” was, 47% explained it was translating their Military experience to the civilian workforce, 20% explained networking and 20% cited the availability of jobs. Only one Veteran surveyed mentioned challenges surrounding resume writing and development. 75% answered “yes” or “maybe” when asked if they were interested in starting their own business or entrepreneurship. 56% explained that the primary resource that you use to find out about Veterans programs or services is basic internet searches, 25% utilize social media and 13% rely on word of mouth to find services.

A Community Level Solution: Elements of Success

Throughout this project review process we worked hard to access and observe various models of community-level Veteran Services initiatives across the nation to gather insights on the intangibles and elements in place that made these various programs successful. Our finding indicated differences across the various communities with regard to how the various initiatives or movements enacted to begin the service model, on the other hand, many cases exhibited shared elements of implantation. In this section we will highlight the elements of success, and best practices, coupled with research, which we believe provides the foundation for Birmingham to move forward in developing a strong reintegration and settlement environment for Veterans in the area. Leadership: Backbone Individual or Organization The most important element evidenced by our research is the need for the development of a backbone organization that can simultaneously support both the Veteran population and the Veteran service providers. The focus of such an organization should be to (1) ensure that the needs of the Veteran population are being met; (2) raise awareness among the Veteran community of the various local and Federal programs they have access to, and (3) offer Veterans a place to call their own in the community. An organization that can simultaneously act as an advocate for Veterans, a social space and act as a resource when they need a trusted agent to help them is our proposed plan for Birmingham moving forward. Second, and maybe more important, an organization needs to be in place to help streamline and formalize interactions between Veterans Service Organizations and various local Veteran populations. In Birmingham, and in most communities that this project reviewed without strong



backbone organizations, there is fragmentation between those providing Veteran services and the Veteran community they are actively trying to access and assist. The presence of a strong backbone organization within the community could professionalize all the services provided by merely acting in the space to ensure that all parties involved are working with each other and tracking Veteran interactions with a formalized system in place. As Birmingham moves forward working to strengthen connectivity and services with Veterans in the community there is the potential to gather national funding to support or completely fund this important work. The existence of a strong community level backbone organization is the essential element if the region wants to utilize national support and gain access to the funding and technology services that comes along with it. Single Access Point The need for a single point of access for Veterans in the community is covered in various sections of this report. It is also a very important element that a community must develop or implement in order to ensure successful Veteran reintegration and settlement. It is quite simple; Veterans and their family members have access to an array of different resources and services. The knowledge needed to access these services, however, is limited in most cases. We must also acknowledge that Veteran related reintegration and settlement into our communities involves a semi-traumatic separation from service, which adds to the complexity of accessing services and resources. The mentioned semi-traumatic separation does not mean that something bad happened to the Veteran or their family members that are separating from service, instead it means that the individuals involved in the transition are in most cases experiencing a dramatic cultural shift from the structure of military culture to a fragmented Veteran culture. The transition from an inherently supportive military culture that provides nearly unlimited funding for social services, associated free healthcare, free or subsidized housing and professional organizational level involvement in one’s personal life, to an environment that fundamentally lacks all of those things is a culture shock. When leaving the military Veterans and their family members are searching for the same type of understanding and access, but in a majority of communities across the nation there is no single access point or resource to mirror their experience in the military. Once you gain an understanding of the cultural shift that occurs once an individual separates from service, a model to assist them becomes evident. Merely by acting in this space to attempt to catalogue available resources, provide simple guidance, and show Veterans the available resources the Birmingham community will significantly outpace similar regions across the nation. The Veteran is not a Victim Across the State and local levels there is an overarching theme; approaching Veterans as victims. At both levels there is a disproportionate focus on the homeless, incarcerated or Veterans with legal issues. While work involving this population is important, this population does not represent the entirety of the Veterans population in Alabama. In reality, it is most likely that this is a small percentage of the state’s overall population. This focus on a certain



portion of the Veteran population gives Birmingham a great opportunity to convene the community and draw attention and efforts towards the larger portion of the Veterans in the area. Specifically, in order to better serve the Veteran population, the community should focus on the positive aspects associated with Veteran populations; the inherent leadership ability in this population, national pride associated with their service that can be transferred into community pride, and the high rate of successful entrepreneurs in this population.8 Instead of seeing this population as a group of victims in need of assistance, Birmingham can choose to view Veterans as a part of the community that can be leveraged to create public good, provide leadership and solve community based issues. Post 9/11 Veteran Leadership One of the key characteristics of the communities across the nation, who are serving veterans well, is the presence of strong leadership from Post 9/11 Veterans in the community. Post 9/11 Veterans are defined as Veterans, officers or enlisted, that served after September 10, 2001, specifically serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.9 In Washington State, Anne Sprute, a Post 9/11 Veteran and a former Army Aviator, heads up Rally Point 6 (R/P6).10 R/P6 works with its community and with the bases in the area to transition service members to live as a Veteran. R/P6 assisted 2,500+ Veterans in 2015.11 In Houston, Texas, John Boerstler, a Post 9/11 Veteran Marine Sergeant, created various Veteran nonprofits including the premier area Veteran fraternal organization Lone Star Veterans Association and a Veteran employment organization named NextOp.12 Currently, John holds a leadership role in the City of Houston’s “collective approach” Veteran service organization Combined Arms Houston.13 As a local Veteran Service provider, Eric Fort, near Birmingham explains, “Veterans need a

liaison or mentor” that comes from their population.14 “This could be a former Veteran” that

served at the same time as them, or in a similar position, that understands them and “can assist

with daily life needs or questions” about the Veteran experience.15 Mr. Fort went on to explain

that “younger Veterans, those under 30, that I encounter often need some sort of mentor or

8Marianne Hudson, “Startup Success: Veteran-Owned Businesses Are Gaining Traction With Investors,” Forbes.com, November 5, 2014, http://www.forbes.com/sites/mariannehudson/2014/11/05/the-right-stuff-veterans-are-building-great-companies/#2628f693e772 9 U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Education and Training: Post-9/11 GI Bill, http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/post911_gibill.asp 10 Rally Point 6, Our Team, http://rp6.org/about/our-team/ 11 Rally Point 6, 2015 Results, http://rp6.org/results/2015-results/ 12 Next Op, John Boerstler, http://www.nextopvets.org/john-boerstler/ 13 Combined Arms Houston, Partner Organizations, http://www.combinedarms.us/partnerorgs-1/ 14 Conversation with Eric Fort, May 12, 2016. 15 Conversation with Eric Fort, May 12, 2016.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mariannehudson/2014/11/05/the-right-stuff-veterans-are-building-great-companies/#2628f693e772

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mariannehudson/2014/11/05/the-right-stuff-veterans-are-building-great-companies/#2628f693e772

http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/post911_gibill.asp



coach, it’s a mentality they got in the military.”16 The Veterans that need this type of leadership

are within the community already, and the Post 9/11 Veterans are in the community available

to assist. An individual or organization simply needs to engage them.

Proactive Outreach Engagement Currently, there are no organizations, in Birmingham or the surrounding areas, attempting to gather and engage Veterans within the community. Furthermore in the Veteran service area a majority of the organizations are serving Veterans on a “walk in” basis and have no funding or staff set aside to strictly preform outreach or engagement in the population. This leads to a fragmentation between those providing Veteran Services and the Veteran population itself. In successful community based programs, Veterans are viewed as an imperative element within their communities. It is our suggestion that the BSO makes proactive engagement with Veterans and those surrounding them a major priority. There are various ways in which the BSO could set out to accomplish the task of engaging Veterans. At first, the organization could utilize social media to create a space for Veterans in the City and surrounding areas to connect and communicate with each other. Social media, more specifically Facebook, is a communication tool that is utilized by many in their daily activities, which could easily be leveraged and utilized for outreach and to create community. Enacting this approach of engaging and gathering Veterans in a social media group is a low cost and would allow the BSO to develop an organic understanding of the community’s true needs. After developing this as an organizational goal, the BSO could transition to a more formalized approach to engagement and outreach. It is important to note again, that our research indicated that the method for initially stepping in and engaging with Veterans was ultimately not as important as the act of engagement itself. Building channels of communication within the communities is vital in order to ensure successful reintegration and settlement in the Birmingham area.

In Birmingham, and across Alabama as a whole, there is no organization solely focused on assessing what Veterans need and providing it to them.

Customer Need Based Service Model One of the first conversations that we had about the development of a community-based approach to solving Veteran reintegration and settlement was with the organization RP/6 out of Washington State. In a conversation with Taylor Rowell, the organization’s Operations and Program manager, she stressed the importance of focusing on the customer level Veterans when developing a plan to better serve them.17 She explained that far too often organizations and individuals start creating or providing services for Veterans because they see a national news story or they feel that Veterans need a certain thing.18 However, Taylor explained, you

16 Conversation with Eric Fort, May 12, 2016. 17 Conversation with Taylor Rowell, February 19, 2016. 18 Conversation with Taylor Rowell, February 19, 2016.



cannot create services based on national perspective, Veterans needs are very different from community to community.19 This same message put forth by Ms. Rowell, was echoed by many individuals we spoke with across the nation. You have to create the services for your Veterans organically within the community. As Perry Jefferies of the website TexVet.org, a website in Texas charged with cataloguing Veteran related resources and services, puts it community-based Veteran service initiatives need to adhere to the “agile development” process.20 Mr. Jefferies explains that “agile development” is a development process utilized in the world of website development.21 For example, as an organization or an individual develops a website, they need to understand that there is no perfect launch point, instead they need to take action and get the website up and running.22 Once the site is live, then they can focus on molding the product to better service the needs of their target community.23 Perry advised, based on his experience, that organizations need to develop themselves in the same manner. In Birmingham, and across Alabama as a whole, there is no organization solely focused on assessing what Veterans need and providing it to them. There are a few VSOs who are very focused on specific areas of Veteran need, and the National and State level Department of Veterans Affairs seem to be focused on attempts to gain access to the communities in order to actually provide the services their missions set out for them. However, these efforts are coming from the perspective of the service providers or organizational administrators, and in most cases these bodies are attempting to get Veterans involved in their efforts but cannot access them. In standing up the BSO the region should focus on involving the Veterans from the beginning by gathering Veteran perspectives, engage them and delegate responsibilities in the formation of the effort. Provide Veterans a space in the community and leverage them to create this space. This approach is currently not being attempted in the State, and as mentioned above a reliance on the community itself to build a successful model is present throughout the nation.

Many Veterans, and those that serve them, cited online conversations with other Veterans or media reports as reasons for why they actively avoid Veteran

Services. Develop a Strong Trust At various times during the research phases for the BVB we were told by Veterans and those that serve them that Veterans often avoid interacting with services specifically for Veterans in the State of Alabama. A majority of the individuals who shared this information with us did so

19 Conversation with Taylor Rowell, February 19, 2016. 20 Conversation with Perry Jefferies, April 15, 2016. 21 Conversation with Perry Jefferies, April 15, 2016. 22 Conversation with Perry Jefferies, April 15, 2016. 23 Conversation with Perry Jefferies, April 15, 2016.



under the assurance that their inputs would remain anonymous. The reasons for avoiding the current Veteran Service programs in place in the community focused on two specific areas. First, a majority of the Veterans that we talked to have a distrust of these services as a result of negative past experience with the organizations providing the services. The two organizations mentioned the most were the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA) and the National Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In most cases Veterans explained that when they interacted with the ADVA and VA within Jefferson County, they often received no concrete assistance with the needs they presented or they received incorrect or incomplete information about how to solve their problem. An interesting theme that arose in these conversations was that a majority of Veterans in the area explained that instead of utilizing the Jefferson County ADVA Office they went to the Shelby County ADVA Office instead. When asked why they would travel out of their way to access the same services offered in their home County, they simple explained that the individuals at the Shelby County Office cared more. The local Veterans population’s distrust of the VA stems from the same place as their Distrust with the ADVA, but they do not have the option of going to another county to receive resources. Second, several of the local Veterans’ distrust of current services comes from a perspective developed through popular culture and the media. Many Veterans, and those that serve them, cited online conversations with other Veterans or media reports as reasons for why they actively avoid Veteran Services. The current National VA controversies surrounding Veteran wait times, lack of attention to their service population and malfeasance within organizational leadership have negatively impacted Veterans’ perceptions of local service providers. What might be most important to highlight here is that we have Veterans in need in the community, however because of their negative experiences with current services in place and their perspective they are not engaging with those that can help them. The secondary impact of this distrust between Veterans and current services is that it seems to have affected the willingness of local VSOs to refer to other service providers. Again, highlighting that Veterans are in need in the community, but because of the current environment they are not getting the assistance that is required. The BSO needs to be set up in order to solve this issue. Trust within the community is a very important aspect of a successful community-based initiative to solve issues surrounding Veteran reintegration and settlement. If the BSO continuously focuses on providing strong guidance, referrals and assistance to Veterans and VSOs in the community the needed trust within the community service system will strengthen. This is another area that is not currently being focused on in the State where the BSO can successfully interject itself and create a stronger space in the community for the Veterans of Birmingham. Collective approach A common theme in the recommendations within this report is the guidance to adhere to a “collective approach” or a “collective impact” service model of when developing the BSO within



the community. At its base level adhering to the “collective approach” service model means instead of focusing on a specific need the organization will focus on a holistic approach to servicing Veterans. More specifically, as the BSO develops it needs to focus continuously on bringing together all the service providers and resources for Veterans in one place by understanding them and making them accessible to Veterans within the community. This is a simple but imperative part of the organizational development that needs to be a focal point of the missions. This is the approach shared by all successful models reviewed across the nation.

Needed Community-Level Programming In the research phase of this project a local Military Survivor Outreach Services Coordinator explained “there is no continuity at all” in the Veteran Service world.24 “Worse, there is no real system” in place to help Veterans transition.25 There is a mixture of organizations doing things for Veterans, but “no one, Veteran or service provider, knows where to begin, and there is no oversight’.26

“There is no continuity at all. Worse, there is no real system” Additionally when area Veterans was surveyed two questions provided powerful results. When asked, “Do you feel Birmingham is a military veteran friendly city” 14% of respondents answered “yes” with 43% answering “no” and 43% responding “unsure.” The perception of this small population is powerful. This question illustrates how some Veterans see the City as a whole with regard to Veteran needs, while simultaneously illustrating the immediate positive impact a centralized service provider could have in the community. Our findings show that 86% of veterans felt that a centralized transition center would have been helpful when they first arrived in Birmingham. These statements highlight the need for strong coordinated community-level programming based on the seven areas of need for Veterans in the Birmingham area. There are various VSOs and non-Veteran service organizations that address one or more of those areas of Veteran need, but there is no collective approach in the community to bring all of the service entities together to meet the needs of the customers, which in our case are Veterans. Below we recommend a few approaches, by area of need, which could be successfully applied in the Birmingham Metro area to address the needs of the Veteran population and enhance the formalization in the delivery of Veteran Services.

24 Conversation with Carla Ellis, May 12, 2016. 25 Conversation with Carla Ellis, May 12, 2016. 26 Conversation with Carla Ellis, May 12, 2016.



Education Our survey results indicated that 43% of Veterans in the area plan to attend college or university institutions while living in the Birmingham area. Of those 57% stated that they plan to utilize the Post 9/11 GI Bill in order to pay for their education. Navigating the educational space can be difficult for Veterans and their dependents. Below we address the maze of educational benefits and how the BSO can immediately assist the community’s population in this regard. Various institutions of higher education, technical or professional schools surround the Birmingham Metro area and each is available for Veterans and their family members to attend to gain professional credentials and utilize their educational benefits. Each of the institutions in the area have some level of dedicated staff or VA certifying officials who are there to assist with the application and administration of the individual Veterans’ or their family member’s State or Federal educational benefits. In some cases, like at UAB for example, the institutions hire and assign staff (Veteran Service Coordinators) to focus on the entire Veteran experience on campus, not just on their benefit applications and administration. The assignment of these staff has happened over time in order to address the new administrative burden involved and the needs associated with the influx of Veterans and their family members on the regional campuses. However, even with this focus on better serving Veterans and their dependents on campus, the individual Veteran still struggles with an understanding of how to access each individual institution. Veterans also struggle with figuring out what associated educational benefits they are eligible for and how to use them. Additionally, institutions are challenged with meeting the holistic needs of the individual Veterans and their dependents with the available resources that vary from campus to campus. The BSO can address the needs of the regional institutions and the Veteran population in the area quickly by implementing two community based solutions; the development of a single access point for information about education, points of contact for the area institutions, and the development of New Student Veteran Orientation programing. Single access point for Education information The development of a single access point for Veteran related education resources in the region can be accomplished quite easily and with little effort. This resource could be developed as a checklist, trifold hand out or as a website with our without support staff. The needed information for this resource includes:

Descriptive information about how veterans access a given institution

Titles and contact information for the staff to interface with

Guidance and direction on the various educational benefits they might be eligible for



Discussion of military credit, utilizing community college and how to transfer to a 4-year institution of higher education.

This resource could be developed by simply gathering area research and cataloguing the information, or the BSO could convene area intuitions and foster a community-based approach of development. The end product would provide the area Veteran population with easier access to and understanding of their transition by streamlining information access points to education. Not only would our Veterans have better access to information, the institutions themselves would now be connected to and with one another. The implementation of this plan builds connectivity, networking structures and streamlines information without needing to create a large platform or several points of contact to enact. Campus Level New Student Veteran Orientation programing Second, the development of New Student Veteran Orientation programing, in concert with the regional institutions and Veteran service providers, would allow the BSO to immediately develop legitimacy by creating a resource for the institutions to better serve the holistic needs of their veteran population. Even students entering a regional institution have to complete some type of regional new student or applicant orientation process. These orientation processes are mandatory and are in place so new students or applicants can accomplish all mandatory administrative protocols, information gathering or training associated with new membership within the institution. The orientation process is set up to meet the needs of individual traditional students. A traditional student in most cases is a student who enters the institution immediately after high school. Veterans and their family members, however, are often classified as non-traditional students, because their initial entrances needs are greater than a student exiting high school. Often when this group is entering into a new relationship with an educational institution, they are also going through relocation in conjunction with their transition out of the military. It would be invaluable to the individual if they had direct access to Veteran related services during this period. The BSO can use this as an opportunity to integrate a Veteran services provider into an already existing tool on the campuses around the region. Instead of the Veterans and their family members merely going through an orientation process setup to meet the needs associated with being a student, Veteran related elements could be addressed in the same format. The BSO can convene those in the service community to develop a plan for providing services on campus when their student or applicant body is going through the orientation process. Then in collaboration with the area institutions the BSO can bring the preselected services and representatives to campus on these important programming dates. Examples of the type of services that could be added to the orientation process are:

VA healthcare enrollment

Access to the VA’s Women Program

In person assistance with VA Disability Claims



Enrollment in the VA’s electronic care system

Access to fraternal or faith based veteran organizations in the community

Career assistance and housing resources. Incorporating Veteran Services in the areas provided above would change the orientation process for the student Veterans, while simultaneously providing the opportunity for student Veterans and their new institution direct access to those entities that provide necessary services.

Medical and behavioral health In reality this section of need can be broken down into two much simpler ideas, the need for legitimate information on and access to healthcare and the ability to understand what mental health resources are available and how to access them. This is not an issue specific to the Birmingham area, or to Alabama. This is an issue for Veterans across the nation. In truth, the resources associated with these needs, healthcare and mental health is the specific deliverable that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was established to provide. The VA is not an organization that handles or is in place to address Veteran transition or reintegration into communities across the nation. These areas of Veterans services are outside the scope of the VA’s mission, as they are a medical service provider.

The fundamental problem occurs when the VA, a national organization attempting to address the various needs of the Veteran population, is held

responsible for areas of need outside of their scope of abilities. However, because of the current realities in the VA, the organization simply does not provide Veterans with a comprehensive way to access and understand the resources that are available or how to utilize them. In most cases, Veterans must visit numerous websites to gather information and determine their individual eligibility for services, call multiple national level phone centers to gain access to local service providers and deal with a frustrating level of institutional bureaucracy simply to enter the system or transfer current membership from one location to another. All of this coupled with perceived and experienced lack of customer service, lack of information continuity results in high levels of frustration for our Veterans. The fundamental problem occurs when the VA, a national organization attempting to address the various needs of the Veteran population, is held responsible for areas of need outside of their scope of abilities. In reality, many of the needs our Veterans have when transition from service are a local issue, not a national one. Thus, we propose that the BSO establish and



develop local outreach initiatives (such as a single access point) in order to better serve transition related concerns. Healthcare understanding and access The main issues surrounding Veteran access to healthcare is lack of understanding of individual VA eligibility and access to enrollment staff. If a Veteran is not eligible for VA healthcare there is no single access point for information on alternative healthcare resources for Veterans in the community. First, if an individual veteran wants to enroll in VA healthcare in Birmingham there is a website and available resources on the VA medical center website.27 However, the path to actual enrollment involves various different institutional terminologies that are explaining the same process. The initial link to sign up for healthcare explains, click here to “Become a Patient”, but once the Veteran clicks through the process language is changed to “enrollment” or “eligibility” based on where you look on the page.28 To the organization’s credit they do lay out the options to execute enrollment either in person, over the phone or by mail. In order to execute the online enrollment a Veteran must access various separate webpages, and if they click on the online application and do not have access to the proper software, they will be met with the message below.29

There is a much simpler way to present this information and an easier way to make the proper documentation available without the software limitation. From the outset the BSO can create strong relationships with area enrollment staff and once these relationships are developed it can leverage the information and connections to better serve the Veterans of the Birmingham area. The single access point for information approach will work again in this area. The information provided on the VA Medical Center’s website can be condensed into a single page website and the proper paperwork can be shared on that site without requiring stringent software needs. The BSO can eliminate the unneeded institutional jargon, simplify the language and present the necessary geographical and contract information in a user- friendly manner.

27 Birmingham, Alabama VA Medical Center, Become a Patient, http://www.birmingham.va.gov/patients/eligibility.asp 28 Birmingham, Alabama VA Medical Center, Become a Patient, http://www.birmingham.va.gov/patients/eligibility.asp 29 Birmingham, Alabama VA Medical Center, Apply For Your VA Health Benefits or Update Your Information (Birmingham, Alabama VA Medical Center, August 17, 2015) https://www.1010ez.med.va.gov/sec/vha/1010ez/



Also, as the BSO grows the organization can augment the VA healthcare enrollment process into the organizational Veteran reintegration programmatic actions. This would further formalize the process in the area and foster simpler interactions between Veterans and service providers. Second, as mentioned above, if a Veteran is not eligible for VA healthcare and they are not receiving healthcare from their employer, there are no available resources to Veterans that offers information or a catalogue of alternative of available healthcare resources. Veterans can be deemed ineligible for VA healthcare for multiple reasons: type of military discharge, income levels and participation in care. With this said, there are multiple organizations in the Birmingham Metro Area, and in the State, that provide populations in need with healthcare access and resources. Currently this information is not presented in a format or a space that is geared directly toward informing Veterans. The BSO can lead the way in this space, gather representation from the community organizations providing these healthcare services and present them to Veterans in an accessible manner. While we do not know the true percentage of the Veteran population in Birmingham with these types of barriers to healthcare, the creation of a resource in this area will allow the BSO to develop expertise and create community understanding. As the population utilizes this resource, it will give everyone involved the opportunity to review service delivery and create formal programing as needed. Mental Health approachability and available resources While addressing Veteran healthcare needs concerns simplification of access and the programmatic application, the main factors at play when addressing the mental health needs of veterans are a little more complex. First, one must address the stigma involved in the access process. Second, a confusion about what the VA really provides and how to access it is at play. Last, if the Veteran doesn’t want to access the VA because of distrust, confusion or stigma, what else is available and how can they access it? Eliminate the Stigma: The stigma surrounding accessing mental health resources within the veteran community is well documented. There is a general lack of comfort and understanding, and in most cases Veterans do not want to reach out or talk to someone about their personal struggle, because often they have to self-disclose a need in front of a person they do not have a relationship with. The simple individual personal interaction between the Veteran and the service provider often does not occur because the Veteran is not comfortable, and they concerned about what might happen if they present with a mental health need. Furthermore, they have no idea what tangible resources they might receive in return for reaching out and disclosing that they are need of assistance.

“There is a general lack of comfort and understanding, and in most cases Veterans do not want to reach out or talk to someone about



their personal struggle, because often they have to self-disclose a need in front of a person they do not have a relationship with.”

The simplest way to address this is to provide a viable resource in the area for Veterans to access information without having to present need in front of a service provider. Simply put, remove the human element for the initial interaction. Create a resource that Veterans can access and review on their own terms in an anonymous fashion. In action this would be a legitimate resource curated by experienced Veterans to show other Veterans what is available in the area, discuss who they can trust and give them information on what returns they can expect from involving themselves with the various resources. This is another situation where the development of a regional Veterans’ website will allow the BSO to address an important need in the Veteran population. A page of the website should be dedicated to this information and presented in a manner which is simple and allows Veterans to navigate the community in a manner they felt most comfortable with. Deconstructing VA Metal Healthcare Services An essential part of providing Veterans with an understanding of and access to mental health resources in the Birmingham area will involve presenting what the VA has to offer in an accessible manner. At a basic level, Veterans simply do not know what the VA does on the mental health side of things and how to access it. Moreover, to put it simply, the VA offers two separate access paths to mental health resources. Traditional mental health resources are offered through the medical center, and at the community level Vet Center they offer a wider range of services including: group sessions, family services and referrals related to veteran needs.30 Also, many explained that the Vet Center program is the best kept secret of the VA, because it allows Veterans access to services in a simple manner and does not share patient information with the VA medical system. This simple information about the separate paths to accessing mental health care is not shared at any central location across the VA’s websites or at the local level. To gain an understanding of this Veterans, or service providers, have to gather all necessary information through his or her own through research, individual interactions and multiple phone calls. These are good resources and important information that Veterans need access to, but because of the VA’s administrative infrastructure they are not shared in a complimentary manner. The BSO can again step into this space and create a legitimate resource that simply shares information in an approachable manner for Veterans. Veterans can gain a better understanding of how to access what they need and what they might receive from provided services. Alternative mental health resources: Similar to the case of the of alternative options for healthcare mentioned above, there is no single source in the community for Veterans that shares with them what mental health

30 Birmingham, Alabama VA Medical Center, Apply For Your VA Health Benefits or Update Your Information



resources are available outside of the traditional VA system. Furthermore, in some cases the Veteran might be in need of simple peer-level support from another Veteran that has a similar experience, and there is no resource in the community that identifies or provides information on where the veteran could obtain that as well. As the BSO creates the web-based solution and stands up the organization it can perform the important work of highlighting these various assets in the region. The faith based organizations, the veteran lead organizations, the peer-to-peer opportunities each offer a strong foundation for the development of a peer-to-peer mentoring program. This again allows the BSO to become an expert on what is available in the region, while offering up a strong resource for Veterans in the Birmingham area.

Housing Addressing the need for Veteran housing is very different in nationally across communities, and there are a few ways this could be approached in the Birmingham Veteran population. The strongest thing that comes to mind when first addressing this area of service is the needs of homeless veterans. Second, when thinking about veteran reintegration and settlement, one could easily understand that a transitioning Veteran, and sometimes family, is interested more in community or neighborhood related information. While both areas are important and need to be addressed, in developing the BSO it is important to remember that in the initial phases of organizational development this organization needs to address the gaps in service, not duplicate ongoing work. In reviewing work in this space here in Birmingham there is a large amount of focus on homeless housing assistance as a whole, which in turn has produced an intense focus on issues surrounding Veteran homelessness. As a result, there are a few additional levels of complexity in this space. First, there is national level funding associated with addressing the needs of homeless Veterans and this funding supports the existence of various organizations within the community. Second, homeless Veterans are a small portion of the overall Veteran population. However a large amount of focus including funding and manpower is already being focused on this population by various local, state and national organizations. With this in mind, this report advises that in the initial phases of organizational development that the BSO only focus on understanding these resources and the local stakeholders who are involved. Because of the existing intense focus in this area, if the BSO gets heavily involved in the community level work serving homeless veterans, it will be in danger of merely duplicating existing efforts. In later stages, the organization can move to increasing its efforts and engagement in this area. The second area of Veteran related housing needs, access to community level information, is not focused on by any VSO in the community. However, focusing on the development of this type of resource would be a time consuming endeavor for a fledgling organization like the BSO.



Across our interviews with local Veterans and those that serve them the need for information surrounding housing was not largely focused on. While this is important to a few certain groups in the population, overwhelmingly there are other areas of need that require intense organizational focus in the immediate. However, there is a proven way the BSO could utilize to focus on this area without utilizing too much organizational focus in the immediate, leverage the local Veteran community over social media to address need surround homing resources. Currently, throughout the military experience there are various community level groups, military commands and family groups within communities and on different bases utilizing a Facebook group as an asset to create connectivity and dispense needed community level information to specific populations. This is a proven model of engaging and empowering community level peer support. In the following Family Support section we lay out a strategy for the BSO to utilize this successful model in Birmingham.

Family Strength One aspect of the military to Veteran transition that is not really focused on in national research or in the communities that we reviewed across the nation is the importance of and opportunity associated with Military or Veterans families, more specifically spouses. In a conversation with local Veteran Al Castillo Jr, Army Infantry, retired, the true gravity of how important it is to focus on the spouses of former service members became very clear. Al explained, “Many wives accompanying their husbands” and families “as they depart the service take a big hit to their social-self.”31 As families transition they “think about the usual, employment assistance, house hunting, debt consolidation etc., but the one routinely missed opportunity is spouses being able to connect with other spouse groups as they once did during their service time.”32

“Many wives accompanying their husbands” and families “as they depart the service take a big hit to their social-self.”

Al’s comments echo the larger sentiment we see from many Veterans and their families. Often the focus is placed on what the Veteran loses when they transition from services, and we do not stop and think about what repercussions the transition has on the family unit or his/her spouse. In all of this, it is important to understand the role that the spouse often plays while the Veteran is in the active military. Part of military life is constant transition. Individual members

31 Conversation with Al Castillo Jr., May 18, 2016. 32 Conversation with Al Castillo Jr., May 18, 2016.



of the military and their families are moved from base to base or state to state every 2-3 years. During these transitions the military member is taking on a new professional role, and the spouse is left with the responsibility of transitioning the family unit. The spouse is saddled with learning the new geographical area and base culture, figuring out activities, transitioning children into new schools and all the other social aspects involved with moving a family. Because of this, makeshift networks and outside infrastructures have developed in social circles to support spouses as they transition their families. “An example of this would be the Fort Campbell, Kentucky Wives Facebook page.”33 “There the spouses” can ask other military spouses, “questions about their new city/state, find baby sitters, jobs, establish groups, make friends with likeminded/experienced spouses, etc.”34 Another example of this type of resource is USMC Life, www.usmclife.com, a site create by a military spouse in 2009.35 Kristine Speaks, the wife of a Marine, decided to create the site after her husband asked her what she “thought about which Marine Corps Base” she “would prefer over another.”36 She explains, “I didn’t know anything about either duty station and ended up spending hours Googling, only to get exhausted in the search with nothing concrete in hand.”37 She knew she was not the only one experiencing this trouble and she decided to setup a website to remedy this issue.38 Today, USMC Life gets over 2 million-page views a year and the associated Facebook page is consistently viewed by 1.6+ users million per month.39

The military/Veteran spouse population could work as a force multiplier for the work of the organization and our attempts to better support the Veteran

community. These examples of spousal support resources show us a few things the community can capitalize on in order to create a stronger reintegration and settlement for Veterans in the Birmingham area. First, this is a tested successful resource and we know that experienced military spouses and new Veteran spouses will utilize this if available. Second, spouses are not focused on at all in the current conversation or programs addressing Veterans in the State. If the BSO develops resources for supporting military spouses then it will automatically have the ability to access another population to service. The military/Veteran spouse population could work as a force multiplier for the work of the organization and our attempts to better support the Veteran community. A quick example of how the BSO could better serve this part of the population and bring them on board to help in the support of local Veterans is the creation of web resources like the ones 33 Conversation with Al Castillo Jr., May 18, 2016. 34 Conversation with Al Castillo Jr., May 18, 2016. 35 United States Marine Corps, The Inception of USMC Life, http://usmclife.com/hom/about/ 36 United States Marine Corps, The Inception of USMC Life. http://usmclife.com/hom/about/ 37 United States Marine Corps, The Inception of USMC Life. http://usmclife.com/hom/about/ 38 United States Marine Corps, The Inception of USMC Life. http://usmclife.com/hom/about/ 39 United States Marine Corps, The Inception of USMC Life. http://usmclife.com/hom/about/

http://www.usmclife.com/



mentioned above. If it is understood that the spouse of Veterans often take the lead on matters surrounding the transition of the family and the social interactions, then a first step would be offering them a catalogue of those resources or information and connecting them with individuals with similar experiences. Al Castillo and his wife explained that a resource providing information “without being subjective” would be a great addition to the community.40 “We talk about it all the time” there needs to be a place to find out information about “local volunteer events, recreation options, churches, military faith based ministries and children’s programs.”41 The information is already out there it just needs to be framed in a manner that can be accessed and understood by the military/Veteran population in a familiar format.

Employment In May of 2016, national Military and Veteran related media sources in various articles highlighted the efforts of a group of Veterans who joined forces nationally to collect data concerning “military transition experience.”42 This group of veterans developed a survey and made it available online. Since the posting of the survey in 2015 over a thousand Veterans have completed the form and submitted answers.43 The survey results offer some great insights into the Veteran transition in general, but there are some very interesting results related to Veteran Employment that can be leveraged as we develop a plan in Birmingham. This information gives great insights into what the Veteran population looks like professionally and what areas they need assistance with. Note it is worthy to mention, while this is a fairly new survey Veterans from various generations have participated.44 To start, 20% of Veterans are transitioning to the Southeast of the United States; this is the second highest percentage nationally.45 Also, the number one reason why they select a civilian position is based on location.46 Of the Veterans surveyed, 52% noted that the part of their personal transition surrounding employment required the greatest deal of effort, and 37% of that same population agreed that this took longer than expected.47 Having assistance with a transition plan was paramount to 63% of the population, while 58% stated it was extremely

40 Conversation with Al Castillo Jr., May 18, 2016. 41 Conversation with Al Castillo Jr., May 18, 2016. 42 Task and Purpose, New Veterans Initiative Aims to Shed Light on Long-Term Transition Trends, http://taskandpurpose.com/new-veterans-initiative-aims-shed-light-long-term-transition-trends/ 43 Task and Purpose, New Veterans Initiative. 44 2016 Veteran Transition Survey, Demographics, http://www.military-transition.org/dashboard.html 45 2016 Veteran Transition Survey, Demographics. 46 2016 Veteran Transition Survey, Demographics. 47 2016 Veteran Transition Survey, Demographics.



important to learn to translate military skills to civilian world.48 Half of the Veterans surveyed went on to work for large and small private companies, non-government related, once leaving service.49 Furthermore, the education profile and technical expertise of this population is higher than most community subgroups with 78% holding an associate degree or higher while in service or after leaving. The highest percentages of professional specialties of those surveyed are Maintenance, Medical, Aviation, Engineering, Logistics/Transportation and Law Enforcement.50 Last, 70%, of the Veteran surveyed explained that networking was the number one element to their successful reintegration and settlement in their eventual community.51

20% of Veterans are transitioning to the Southeast of the United States; this is the second highest percentage nationally.

The organic information shared in this survey gives the BSO an amazing opportunity to create a strong foundation for Veterans in the community by engaging in or leading a few efforts. First, the BSO needs to focus on providing Veterans in the Birmingham area and in the surrounding area with an opportunity to network. This is stated as the most important aspect of the Veteran success, and yet no single organization has embraced this specific mission in Alabama. There are various examples of how this can be done with monthly networking lunches, evening events, happy hours, retreats and coordinated volunteering events. Various professional organizations hold these types of events or efforts for other community subgroups, and the BSO could support developing something like this for the Veteran population as a whole. Efforts like this will not take great financial investment; they merely require population and organizational coordination. The second element of addressing Veteran employment needs in the Birmingham area will be a longer endeavor. In communication with Brian Hilson and Waymond Jackson of the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) two things became very clear. One, there are several open positions which need to be filled in the Birmingham area and, two, the BBA welcomes a formal plan to access Veterans but they simply do not know where to start.52 This interaction with the BBA highlights another major theme that we encountered within the community: in most cases Veteran Services organizations or efforts are very disconnected from the community’s professional and social culture. The sole organization in Birmingham that we reviewed that is progressively connecting with the community as a whole it Still Serving Veterans (SSV). SSV is an organization that operates in three locations across Alabama focused on Veteran employment.53 However, outside of this organization a majority of the Veterans work in Birmingham, and in Alabama, is very disconnected from potential community partnerships outside of the Veteran Service arena. 48 2016 Veteran Transition Survey, Demographics. 49 2016 Veteran Transition Survey, Demographics. 50 2016 Veteran Transition Survey, Demographics. 51 2016 Veteran Transition Survey, Demographics. 52 Conversation with Brain and Waymond, March 16, 2016. 53 Still Serving Veterans, http://www.stillservingveterans.org/



In most cases Veteran Services organizations or efforts are very disconnected from the community’s professional and social culture.

This lack of connectivity and existence of a proven organization to partner with provides a great opportunity for the BSO to facilitate action in the Birmingham area. First, as reviewed in earlier portions of this report section, transitioning Veterans are a skilled and educated group who are selecting professional positions based on location. If the City of Birmingham has available positions to be filled and a culture in transition, this population could be an amazing remedy to address the employment gap. However, in order to facilitate this suggested remedy, the BSO will need to coordinate heavily with the community to help them understand what Veterans have to offer, and work with area Veterans to ensure they know how to properly explain their professional competencies. An easy partnership to formalize in the area is an agreement with SSV. The BSO can focus on bolstering SSV as the resource for Veterans employment in the regional area and the two organizations can work together to inform non-traditional partners of their Veteran population’s professional competencies. Again, in the Employment area of Veterans needs there simply needs to be coordinated action between the BSO and community partners in order to enhance Veteran reintegration and settlement in Birmingham.

Social engagement After a review of the entirety of the Veteran experience in the Central Alabama area and an assessment of representatives in the Veteran Service community it quickly became evident that the Veteran population in the region as a whole is in need of a place to socially engage with each other and access participation in the community. To date, there are a few Veteran fraternal organizations in operation in the region; however, their reach seems to be limited by their geographical locations and the populations within the Veteran community that they serve. Some are specific to Service Branch affiliation, while others serve Veterans of certain generations. A large amount of these organizations have a much older membership population. There are few opportunities for social engagement that are easily accessible for the transitioning Veterans. A very important part of Veteran reintegration and settlement is social engagement and community, but far too often that is the last thing that is focused on. Research in this area suggests that the transition from service for a Veteran is akin to a traumatic event. In a recent article in Task and Purpose, a Military and Veteran news source, noted War Correspondent Sebastian Junger explained that he has seen this transition create a “tremendous depression”



within his military peers.54 A “depression that comes from going from a close-knit communal life” in the military “to the alienated life of modern society.”55 As the military member exits service and becomes a Veteran they go from living in a community that requires and relies on consistent connectivity to exist, into a civilian society where connectivity is no longer a stringent requirement. Focusing on creating this type of community or experience for Veterans in Alabama is not currently a focus for any organization. The BSO should take on this mission.

There are few opportunities for social engagement that are easily accessible for the transitioning Veterans.

The national Military Transition survey, mentioned in the Employment section of this report, further highlights just how important community or social engagement is for Veterans as they reintegrate into society. Seventy percent of the Veterans surveyed explained that developing a strong local network is an extremely important element of transition, perhaps even the most important factor. Also, as mentioned in the findings portion of this report, the Veterans in the Birmingham area really feel no connection or support within the Birmingham community; however, they agree that resources in the community focused on social engagement would be an asset. With an understanding of the available information on the need for engagement within this population and the lack of action in this area, it is a prime space for the BSO to act.

A very important part of Veteran reintegration and settlement is social engagement and community, but far too often that is the last thing that is

focused on. Research in this area suggests that the transition from service for a Veteran is akin to a traumatic event.

Based on a review of other organizations in the country that work on creating this type of community asset and through discussions within the Birmingham Community there are two steps the BSO can take to begin the successful development of strong social engagement in the Birmingham area. In the first phase of organizational development it is extremely important that the BSO undertakes the actions suggested in the Family Strength and Employment sections of this report. The need to develop a robust community resource supported by leveraging social media and work with local professional organizations and employers to create opportunities for interactions between Veterans and the community. Both of these elements would allow the BSO to dispense important social information to the Veteran population in the area, also in doing this the BSO can gather information on the true needs and desires of the area population and develop programing to match. The figure below highlights manners in which to utilize a web-based resource to catalogue and promote social engagement events.

54 Sebastian Junger, “Over-Valorizing Vets Does More Harm Than Good,” Task and Purpose, may 24, 2016, http://taskandpurpose.com/sebastian-junger-we-need-to-stop-over-valorizing-veterans/ 55 Junger, 2016.



In the second or later phases of the organization the BSO should develop the potential opportunity for Veterans to obtain membership with the organization. There are several older models like this, The Veterans of Foreign War and American Legion, which are tied to national bureaucratic organizations, but there are no organizations within Alabama communities attempting to create a local level Veteran membership organization. A great example of this type of venture is the Lone State Veterans Association (LSVA) in Houston, Texas. The LSVA was started by local Veterans in 2009 “to become an online and physical network of veterans.”56 Today, the organization has 6,840 members and is recognized as the largest OEF/OIF organization in the State of Texas.57 They specialize in resource referrals related to all Veteran needs while also providing social engagement opportunities for Veterans in the area. In conversations with LSVA leadership, they welcomed the opportunity to assist the BSO with best practices and lessons learned as they relate to building organization membership.

Financial Assistance or Issues Much like needs or issues in the housing area needs associated with financial assistance or legal issues can be framed and approached in a few different manners. Much of the available

56 Lone Star Veterans, About Us, http://www.lonestarveterans.org/aboutus 57 Lone Star Veterans, About Us, http://www.lonestarveterans.org/aboutus



information purely focuses on those with financial hardships, however in our research there is little focus on providing comprehensive information on what is available and how it can be accessed. Moreover, when reviewing this area of need with local Veterans and some service providers there were three consistent areas of concern:

Confusion about compensation from various VA/DOD programs

VA education benefits financial issues

Lack of good information about funding of financial hardships. These areas may not cover the entirety of Veteran needs in the Birmingham area, but focusing on these would alleviate many of the needs we observed during our project’s development. First, there should be a focus on gathering information on the various VA/DOD programs that involve financial compensation and getting it to the Veteran population. There are various national programs that provide compensation to the disabled Veterans, some that provide funding to certain types of combat Veterans, VA home loan programs and various medical related compensations programs. These are all national programs, but there are local or regional employees or representatives associated with each of these programs. There is no single place providing Veterans with an understanding or at least with information on these various programs and who their points of contact are. In gathering this information and putting in a location to share with Veterans the BSO would be provided with an opportunity to convene representatives of these various programs to foster connectivity. The main deliverable that could be obtained by the convening of these representatives could be a monitored and formalized application process supported by a backbone organization. In a majority of cases, when a Veteran is applying for one of the listed benefits or resources mentioned above they most likely have eligibility for another listed benefit or resource. However the application and eligibility review processes are completely separate. Various representatives at various organizations carry out these processes. Inserting a common application process in this area will allow Veterans a greater understanding of the process and provide assistance in applying with all programs for which they are eligible. Also, in doing something like this the BSO could look at providing guided information about other needed programs like the VA home loan program with trusted agents from the community that understand the program. The second area that causes issues surrounding Veterans finance is VA education benefits. Basically, in most cases, the Veteran or the dependent utilizing VA education benefits is going to rely on those benefits to pay for their schooling and to support their living expenses while enrolled in school. The benefits are presented to Veterans and/or dependents as their support system while they are in school. However, the administration process of the benefits at the school and national level often involve unknown delays, abbreviated or incomplete payments and restrictions that are applied after the application periods. So, in reality these benefits are not a reliable source to support ones living expenses while enrolled in school. The benefits will



pay out eventually, but when a student has rent, phone bills and other monthly expenses due, waiting on the administration of these benefits can lead to hardships. In this area the BSO could work directly with area universities and colleges to support the students’ understanding of the reality of the benefits when they enter the education process. This could be done by holding community level benefits briefings, providing information on a webpage in an accessible manner and by working with the universities to support a strong orientation process for their veteran students. At the same time the BSO could work in the community to catalogue and develop contact resources at the various organizations that provide assistance for Veterans with financial hardships. Work in this area would directly support providing assistance to two areas of documented Veteran financial needs. Simply put, there are a ton of Veteran and non-Veteran service organizations currently operating that provide some type of financial need or hardship resource. These organizations provide everything from medical assistance to funding in support of keeping the lights on at a person’s house. However, outside of 211, there is no real organization that has a comprehensive and accessible list of these resources, and particularly there is no organization that frames this to Veterans/Military in a way for them to fully understand the resources available. Again, in this area the BSO could act as a curator for the community when it comes to gathering, presenting and vetting this important and helpful information.

Legal Issues On Friday April 22, 2016 Judge John Carroll, USMC veteran, at Samford University convened 25+ Legal and Veteran Service stakeholders in order to address their experience with and understanding of the common legal needs of the Veterans in and around the Birmingham area. The meeting was wide ranging and the discussion focused on the efforts of those in the community that support a majority of the Homeless Veteran population and Veterans having issues securing employment. The major themes addressed were:

Identifying those in the community that are experts in legal issues associated with the Department of Veterans Affairs

Assisting Veterans with felonies

Increasing access to Veteran Courts to violent offenders and State Identification related issues.

The United Way of Central Alabama (UWCA) and Judge John Carroll are committed to addressing these needs. Time will tell, but it seems that this relationship will lead to the



development of scheduled legal briefs for Veterans, a potential resource list and the development of a leadership organization in this space. An interesting aspect of this meeting was the consistent focus on the most extreme cases in the Veteran community. In most cases, Veterans were identified or presented as a victim. The discussion was overwhelmingly focused on needs associated with criminal action or homelessness, there was little to no discussion about legal issues or needs associated with Veteran entrepreneurship, VA compensation, pension claims or Military/Veteran spousal needs. With an understanding that the UWCA and Judge Carroll are going to focus on addressing the needs of the most disadvantaged in the Veteran population, the BSO should support their work but shift organizational focus to the areas not addressed.

An interesting aspect of this meeting was the consistent focus on the most extreme cases in the Veteran community. In most cases, Veterans were

identified or presented as a victim. The BSO should work with regional partners to develop a Veteran entrepreneurship resource. Various organizations or institutions throughout the country or in the State have implemented examples of a type of workshop or course work: Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EVB)58, The Texas Veteran Commission (TVC) Veteran Entrepreneur Program (VEP)59 or the Alabama Small Business Development Center Network Alabama VetStart.60 There is a wealth of information and available potential partnerships that could be accessed and leveraged to create this type of resource in the Birmingham area. The BSO could work with the local non-profit Veteran employment resource Still Serving Veterans to bring together regional University Schools of Business and entrepreneurship legal resources and create programming for area Veterans. A strong benefit of this type of legal programing for the Veteran is that it has a positive focus. Based on a review of the currently available legal resources and through an observation of regional discussion about Veteran legal needs, this programming would be the only positively focused legal programming for Veterans in the regional area.

Program Support Staffing

58 Institute for Veterans and Military Families, EBV National Program, http://ebv.vets.syr.edu/about/ 59 Texas Veterans Commission, Veteran Entrepreneur Program, http://www.tvc.texas.gov/Entrepreneur-Program.aspx 60 Alabama Small Business Development Center Network, Alabama VetStart, http://asbdc.org/alabamas-veteran-business-assistance-program/



Two consistent themes in the research about developing a community-based Veteran service model is the need for Veteran Employment assistance and Veteran community reintegration. With the right focus, the staffing of the Birmingham Solution Organization (BSO) can address both of these needs simultaneously. The proposed programming below would allow for BSO to secure staffing and support for the actions of the organization, while at the same time offering an access point for Veteran reintegration and service within the community. Mission Continues (MC) Fellowship Program The Mission Continues Fellowship program provides Post 9/11 Veterans with “the opportunity to continue service to their nation by leading in their communities.”61 The Fellowship provides the Veteran with training, a monthly stipend and involves 20 hours of service per week, for 26 weeks, at a nonprofit organization within their community.62 Some of the benefits this program offers are: access to an immediate vocation in their home community upon separating from service, specialized training, professional development and financial support in their transition out of the military. This program could easily be leveraged by the BSO in the immediate to develop staff resources, and in the future the BSO could act as a hub for these fellowship participants as they support multiple nonprofits throughout the community. In the beginning phases, BSO could act as a convening agent for the MC operations in the Greater Birmingham area. The first participants in the program would act as staffing resources for the development and implementation for BSO. After the initial cadre of Veterans finish their Fellowship, the BSO could shift focus to a second phase of developing local Fellows that would work in partnership with other nonprofits. The benefits of this phased process are twofold. First, this approach will establish a strong foundation for area veterans in relations to the MC Fellowship Program in the Greater Birmingham Area. Second, during the second phase of development, this program will allow direct collaboration between Veterans and their surrounding communities. The fellowship Veteran would have the ability to work with local professionals, interface with community members and be offered an opportunity to show the community their abilities all while being financially supported through the fellowship. In conversations with the MC Executive Director, Barry Mattson, he explained that the organization has two specific goals at this time. One, the organization wants to continue to support and grow their fellowship program, and two; they want to create anchor communities across the nation with project service platoons. Anchor cities are areas where MC will place staff and service platoons (defined as groups of individuals within the community) comprised of Veterans and non-Veterans who are registered with MC. These groups are in place and tasked with engaging support service projects in the area as needed, and are encouraged to develop service projects of their own with the support from MC. Additionally Mr. Mattson explained that Birmingham, AL is currently defined as a grassroots city according to his organization’s

61 The Mission Continues, https://www.missioncontinues.org 62 The Mission Continues, Fellowships, https://www.missioncontinues.org/fellowships/



formula for defining cities.63 MC grassroots cities are defined as those cities that must first develop a plan without the MC staff on site and engage MC as a unit. Barry explained Birmingham could easily shift from a grassroots city to an anchor city in order to collectively work towards developing a mission of building MC fellowship participation in the area. This is another opportunity for the BSO to convene the community and support collective action with an eye towards national support. AmeriCorps: Vista and Veteran Corps The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) AmeriCorps program has a rich history of supporting individual service in communities across the nation. In 2009, CNCS adopted a directive to focus more energy on Veteran engagement and access to their program areas by establishing the National Veterans Corps.64 After communication with State and Local level representatives of CNCS it is clear that there is little to no Veteran involvement in their efforts or services across Alabama.65 This is another excellent opportunity for the BSO to act as a convening agent for this type of program in the Greater Birmingham Area. The BSO’s involvement in this program can be structured in the same manner as the organization’s involvement in the Mission Continues Fellowship program mentioned above. In the immediate, the BSO could work with existing AmeriCorps programs in place within the City and attempt to introduce Veteran participants into the programs. As the organization grows the BSO can operate as the convener for Veterans participation in AmeriCorps programs at the regional level. The initial cost to develop a standalone AmeriCorps program requires a cost share of $11,300.00+ from the participant organization.66 This cost share allows a program to facilitate the hiring of 3 to 5 individual AmeriCorps Vista participants to support their operations.67 The BSO could use this staffing resource to stand up the initial operations of the organizations and as the programs grows the organizations can support transitioning these Veteran financial support resources into the community to work with and enhance area nonprofit operations. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Work-study Program The VA Work-study Program allows Veterans and their family members who are utilizing VA Federal Education benefits and attending a college degree, vocational, or professional program to “earn while they learn.”68 The individual participant in the program is allotted a bank of work hours for their educational period and is eligible for an hourly wage equal to the Federal minimum wage or your State’s minimum wage, whichever is greater. Program participants

63 Conversation with Barry Mattson, March 23, 2016. 64 National Veteran Corps, Corporation for National and Community Service, http://www.nationalservice.gov/focus-areas/veterans-and-military-families/national-veteran-corps 65 Conversation with Jacqueline Bishop, March 18, 2016. 66 Jacqueline Bishop, March 18, 2016. 67 Jacqueline Bishop, March 18, 2016. 68 U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Educational Benefits: Work Study Program, http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/workstudy.asp



must perform work or tasks associated with the work of the VA, examples include: work directly at a VA facility, assist Veterans with documentation associated with VA benefits, or offer support for cooperative programs carried out jointly by the VA and other organizations. A large part of the work associated with the proposed BSO service model is assisting Veterans and their family members in accessing the benefits they are entitled to in a clear and concise manner. The VA Work-study program will allow the BSO access to programmatic funding that would support the hiring of Veterans and their family members to do this work. In partnership with local Universities the BSO could advertise and obtain Veteran participants and/or their family members who are eligible for this program. Once the participants are selected and properly funded, they would act as Veteran peer level support for the BSO program. These individuals would be trained on how to understand and navigate the complex array of VA benefit processes and would work directly, under the supervision of organizational leadership. This would provide the BSO with another financially supported opportunity to integrate Veterans within the community. Also, leveraging this program would add to the legitimacy of the BSO customer experience. The work-study participant would not only be trained on how to properly provide guidance, but in most cases these work encounters would also provide organic experience with the VA benefits process that the work study participants could then use and apply when tackling the benefits process themselves as well as future customers. The learning opportunities are limitless within these types of work-study positions. Collegiate Internship Programs The Greater Birmingham Area is surrounded by various Institutions of Higher Education each with undergraduate and graduate programs that support multiple types of internship programs for their student population. Various national community-based Veteran service models have leveraged this type of Collegiate Internship Program to create solid relationships and gather staffing resources for their programs. The type of student employees that could be accessed through partnerships with Institutions of Higher Education range from individuals interested in careers in various types of Veteran Services to individuals training towards professional certifications in social work, counseling and nonprofit management. This would offer the BSO the opportunity to access local individuals with a passion for serving Veterans, while simultaneously offering the BSO as a professional resource for area Institutions of Higher Education. As with the above examples, a partnership with collegiate internship programs would provide yet another outlet for the BSO to engage the Veterans within the Greater Birmingham Area by offering employment opportunities for Veterans and their family members. These positions would allow Veterans and their family members to work within the community during their transition away from military involvement towards reintegration within their community. Additionally, by accessing these internship programs BSO fosters the vital development of strong relationships/partnerships with the Institutional educational programs. Through these partnerships BSO gains another opportunity to immediately develop legitimacy across the



community and allows us to gain access to areas of professional service housed in the Veteran population.

Birmingham: A Path Forward

1. Community Veteran transition and access web-based initiative.

If a transitioning service member, the newly minted Veteran or a Veteran who has been out of

the service for some time goes on the internet and uses any of the various internet search

engines to search for Veteran related transition or settlement information in the Birmingham

area, or for the State of Alabama as a whole, they are faced with National Department of

Veteran Affairs (VA), Alabama Department of Veteran Affairs (ADVA) and Homeless Veteran

related websites. The VA websites are strictly related to the organization’s healthcare

operations in the State or Metro Area. The ADVA website is focused on showcasing the

organization’s featured programs; State Veterans Homes, Veterans Cemetery and the locations

of their Veteran Service Offices. Also, the ADVA website catalogues State Veteran related

information or laws and provides links to various VA related programming websites. The

Homeless Veteran related websites present information and guidance on meeting the needs of

a very specific Veteran population.

“Simply put, there is no website out there that shows a Veteran how to be a

Veteran in Alabama or the Birmingham Area”

All of these websites provide good and needed resources, however none of the websites

provide Veterans with access to a basic understanding or guidance on the transition out of the

military or on how to access the community itself. The individual veteran has access to various

links about State and National level programs they might be able to access to, if they meet the

requirements, and list of phone numbers they can call, but they have no legitimate access to an

organization, an individual or a space that can provide them with a holistic understanding of



what to expect in the transition, guidance on the community or to Veteran peer level support.

Simply put, there is no website out there that shows a Veteran how to be a Veteran in Alabama

or the Birmingham Area, or that gives the individual Veteran an understanding of all the

Veteran services, support or fraternal organizations in their area and information on how to

access them.

The lack of this type of web-based resource for Veterans provides a great opportunity for a first

step by the City of Birmingham stakeholders and the Central Alabama Veteran service

community to collaborate and to create a centralized website resource that provides transition

and community based guidance and resources for area Veterans. Our community lead research

findings support the creation of a website resource. Participants asked for “one resource

website has it all: people, places, and services” while another highlights the “need for central

coordination center for resources.”

Utilizing the seven identified areas of Veteran need: education, medical and behavioral health,

housing, employment, family strength, social engagement and financial and legal issues, as

guidance this endeavor will serve as a great convener for all stakeholders in the community.

Also, this should act as an opportunity to formalize relationships amongst providers in the

respective areas of Veteran need. These newly formed relationships should be maintained in

order to inform future actions in these areas of need. Additionally, the collective nature of this

process could be leveraged to engage national partners who could provide funding or guidance

on how to obtain community funding.

After conducting a review of various national community-based Veteran assistance websites,

two types of helpful resource models present themselves. First, sites developed by

organizations to identify and catalogue all available resources, services and area organizations

that provide assistance or programming for Veteran populations. Second, a one-stop shop

model based on the seven identified areas of Veteran need broke down by individual expertise

with an associated subject matter expert point of contact. An organization north of Austin,

Texas, TexVet’s website serves as an excellent example of the cataloguing of service model.69

While a great example of the one-stop shop model is the Rochester, New York Veteran

Outreach Center Inc. site.70 While the models are slightly different, both types of websites

provide Veterans with guidance and direct accessibility to individuals or programs directly in

their communities or in surrounding areas.

Resource Cataloguing Model

Because there is no viable guidance or available resource right now for Veterans in Alabama to

turn to in order to figure out how to access the complexities of the Veteran experience, this

type of website needs to be implemented immediately. Through a strong partnership with an

69 TexVet, Educational Benefits, http://www.texvet.com/ 70 Veterans Outreach Center, http://www.veteransoutreachcenter.org/



Organization like TexVet the BSO could quickly and easily develop this needed resource.

TexVet’s Executive Director Perry Jefferies stressed the need for immediate action on the

development of this website, Birmingham needs to “stick a stick in the ground and start.”71 Mr.

Jefferies also explained that it is important that a plan like the BVB or an organization like the

BSO executes the implementation of this website, because the plan or the organization is not in

competition with others for funding or clients.72

He explained that the TexVet web resource model works because of three specific reasons.

First, an important part of the model is that the organization and the site are setup to act as a

curating resource.73 The focus on curating forces the organization to stay in constant contact

with those providing resources to keep information up to date and with those in need of

resources. By default this organizational cycle enables TexVet to be the expert networking

resource and referral tool for veterans in the community because they are the only

organization consistently involved in this space.74 Second, there is a sense of continuity created

by the implementation of this model amongst those in the Veteran Service arena. Mr. Jefferies

stated that because TexVet established the resource, made it easily accessible to those serving

Veterans and Veterans themselves and have made trusted and successful referrals to program

participants his organization is a trusted agent in the VSO landscape.75 Individuals are

comfortable with utilizing the resource and trust the information provided, and as such, this

trusted cycle has allowed for new adopters easy access for participation.

Finally, Perry explained that once the model was up and running the sustainability of the

process is simpler than other models because it involves both the service provider and those

that require services.76 While it is true that TexVet has access to a greater level of sustainable

funding than the BVB or the BSO, Perry explained that getting the resource in place does not

take a large amount of capital.77 Once in place, obtaining sponsorships to support the work of

the site should prove easy due to the validity of the resource.78 Based on information shared in

the conversation with Mr. Jefferies the BVB is going to pursue a partnership with TexVet to

establish and implement a web resource for Veterans in the Greater Birmingham area during

the summer of 2016.

One-Stop Shop Model

Currently, based on the Veteran related environment in the Birmingham area pursing the

implementation of a web-based model like this is not a logical first step. Again this suggestion is

71 Conversation with Perry Jefferies, April 15, 2016. 72 Conversation with Perry Jefferies, April 15, 2016. 73 Conversation with Perry Jefferies, April 15, 2016. 74 Conversation with Perry Jefferies, April 15, 2016. 75 Conversation with Perry Jefferies, April 15, 2016. 76 Conversation with Perry Jefferies, April 15, 2016. 77 Conversation with Perry Jefferies, April 15, 2016. 78 Conversation with Perry Jefferies, April 15, 2016.



made in direct reflection to our research findings. When asked what Birmingham could do to

better assist VSOs serving Veterans responses pointed to a one-stop shop model. One

participant stated that the creation of “one stop shop for veterans” was key. Build the

organization, “then publicize the existence of this entity or organization. This will allow the

organizations a central place to contact to get their information out, as well as provide the

veteran and family member a venture to go for assistance.”

If the above Resource Cataloguing Model is implemented in the community as suggested the

evolution to this type of model is very promising. Moreover, this type of web resource is

directly associated with the implementation of recommendation number two, the installation

of a Single Access point in the Community for Veterans. While a review of the New York

Veteran Outreach Center Inc. website is warranted in order to see what the BSO could grow

into, at this time it is important to focus more on the first steps of developing a strong web

resource that can bring together all the important information.

The specific difference between the two resources is that in the TexVet model there is limited

professional staff, and in the One-Stop Shop Model implemented by the New York Veteran

Outreach Center Inc. there is a stout organization associated with the web resource with

dedicated staff associated with each specific area of need.79 It is the suggestion of the BVB that

the BSO focuses on the development of the web based cataloguing resource with the support

of regional Veteran Service partners. As this resource is developed the BSO and regional

leadership can discover the potential areas for resources associated with implementing

programmatic staff.

2. The installation of a Single Access point in the Community, A Backbone organization

A theme that quickly became evident in the community-based research associated with the

BVB was that when individual VSOs or NGOs are interacting with a transitioning service

member or a Veteran attempting to provide them service associated with their organization

other Veteran needs arise. These new needs that the Veteran presents to the organizational

representative are often outside of the organization’s service abilities or area of expertise.

Organizational Representatives explained that they have no trusted agent to turn to refer the

Veteran, or access to a legitimate compressive referral network infrastructure to make a

connection to another organization. In most cases, these representatives execute a hasty area

services review, online or through individual networking conversations, to attempt to match

the Veteran with the applicable service that they need. This is an imperfect system with no

continuity, no abilities to confirm that the Veteran received needed services or with any type of

accountability. This is not the Veteran services community’s fault; this is merely the reality they

work within.

79 Veterans Outreach Center, http://www.veteransoutreachcenter.org/



Armed with an understanding of the lack of a trusted agent in the community to turn to, and

knowledge that there is no structured referral network in the community, the second

recommendation from the BVB is to insert a trusted agent, organization or individual, into this

void immediately. The development, implementation and funding of this trusted agent could be

accomplished in various ways: standing up of a non-profit organization and seeking funding,

seeking temporary staffing funding from an area institution or non-profit until national funding

could be applied for or a mixture of seeking funding and leveraging area institutions or non-

profits to provide staffing fringing benefits as an in kind donations. Whatever funding model is

selected, it is imperative that this newly installed agent or resource is in place to meet two very

important needs of both the Veteran Population and Veteran services community, outreach

and convening.

The implementation of an individual or organization that performs strong outreach and

convening of both the Veterans Population and those that serve them would have an

immediate and aggressive impact on both described entities in the Birmingham Metro Area.

First, this new resource would take on a mission that no other community or state level

organization is attempting, finding veterans where they are and engaging with them directly.

This outreach to Veterans can be undertaken in universities across the region, with community

organizations, through social organizations or gatherings and with strategic marketing and

advertising. Once this communication line or mechanism is setup the community itself can

support this as the legitimate access point in the community for Veterans to interface with

other Veterans and for Veterans to gain a legitimate understanding that they have access to

space in the community that is for them.



Currently, in the Central Alabama area there are few organizations setup to

convene individuals in this community in some manner. Through a review of and

communication with the organizations in place with this as a part of their

mission, few can be accessed, have strategies to engage the area Veteran

population or have an active or sustainable membership.

The creation, or sponsoring of the creation, of this organization will also eliminate a frustrating

dilemma for the Veteran service community; they will now have a legitimate organization to

refer Veterans to address the needs outside of the organization’s service area. An organization

setup solely to perform outreach and convening in the Veteran space will be established to

become a stout referral agent. An Intrinsic part of its existence will be networking with all in the

space and cataloguing information, individuals and resources. As the organization consistently

cycles through its mission, the organization will gather information, refer clients and monitor

outcomes. This cycle will allow the referral agent to gauge the effectiveness of the services in

place, also if the catalogued services do not address the needs of the client Veteran the referral

agent can work with the community to address, improve or replace identified services. As this

organization goes about its mission cycle the process itself will allow the organization to

develop its legitimacy amongst both the Veterans and those that serve them.

The second mission of this organization will be to convene those in the Veteran space: the area

Veterans and the Veteran Service providers. Currently, in the Central Alabama area there are

few organizations setup to convene individual in this community in some manner. Through a

review of and communication with the organizations in place with this as a part of their

mission, few can be accessed, have strategies to engage the area Veteran population or have an

active or sustainable membership. These are organizations like the American Legion and

Veterans of Foreign War Post throughout the City and the surrounding area. They are in

existence, but they are not meeting the needs of area Veterans. Also, after a review of those

that serve Veterans in the community there is a palpable need for a change in how the

organizations interface with each other and Veterans.

Currently, a majority of the community players in the seven identified areas of Veteran needs

interface with each other in some manner. In discussion with various organizational

representatives they explained that they often have meetings with others in their space, they

are part of State or Local level committees and that there are State level initiatives that they

take part in to better serve Veterans. However, the constant complaint or theme that they

explained is that they do not feel like these efforts actually have actionable impacts on the

Veterans of the State and they are frustrated that Veterans, for the most part, are not engaged

in any of this.

The responses from our Needs Assessment illustrate the importance of this engagement. One

organization pleaded, “help us get the word out” while another responded similarly, “get the



word out to Veterans, National Guard, and Reserves.” VSOs are providing services yet are

challenged when interfacing with Veterans in order to provide information for their resources.

The creations of a new outreach and convening organization or agent would allow those in the

Veteran space and the Veteran themselves to refocus individual efforts on the individual

Veterans experience. This refocus is an important part of successful community-based Veteran

Service initiatives across the nation. In order for the Birmingham area to meet the needs of this

important population the growth of a legitimate space or agent of outreach to and convening

of Veterans needs to be fostered.

Funding a back bone organization

Establishing a Backbone Organization with the community in Birmingham does come with the

associated burden of funding the work of this organization. Currently, through a review of the

community, there is no specific organization in the City with funding dedicated to establishing

something like this. A majority of the funding associated with Veterans in the area is focused on

Veteran Homelessness and Employment. However, there is a shift going on nationally in the

Veteran Services world that could offer Birmingham the ability to secure funding that could be

leveraged by the community to stand up this much needed resource.

Currently, a majority of the large organizations in the national Veteran Services arena are

refocusing their efforts to focus on Veterans reintegration, settlement and transition.

Organizations like; the United Service Organizations (USO), Houston Combined Arms, the

Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University (IVMF), America's Warrior

Partnership (AWP) and the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP). While these organizations might

not be completely engaged in the work of funding and developing stronger reintegration in

communities yet, all of them have begun to take steps in this direction. In conversations with

both IVMF and Houston Combined Arms we were exposed to their interest in finding and

developing communities of practice across the nation. The USO recently announced their

“Transition 360 Alliance” which is focused on a “collective approach” to serving veterans,80 and

through a review of the recent awards by the WWP grants program the organization is focused

more and more on building capacities within communities.81

While the funding might not be available within the community itself, national trends show that

funding opportunities will be available in due time. In the meantime the Birmingham region has

a unique opportunity to develop the needed community infrastructure that will allow them to

approach these potential funders in the future. The suggested approach to interacting with and

obtaining support from these national organizations is shared in the next section.

80 USO, USO Transition 360 Alliance Overview, https://www.uso.org/programs/uso-transition-360-alliance-overview 81 Wounded Warrior Project, Grant Process, https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/grants



3. Engagement with National Funding Organizations.

Throughout the research and information gathering process for the BVB it became quite

evident that there are various opportunities for communities to gather funding assistance for a

“collective impact” community-based Veteran Services model. There are various national

organizations that are already established or are in the beginning phases of funding this

important work. In addition other examples show grant programs or corporate level

sponsorship across the nation. However, the most important part of approaching these

organizations is ensuring that an already laid foundation of community-based collaboration is

established in order for national the organizations to interface with.

Time and time again in conversation with potential funding agents we were exposed to

information about the similar misstep that was taken in communities seeking funding. Often

communities would reach out to the potential funder before they had completed any concrete

work within the community to gather the needed support for standing up a Backbone

Organization. Potential funders explained that in most cases they would like to see examples of

work done in the community before engaging with a community or providing funding. In most

cases, the potential funding agents were not looking for large amounts of information; they

merely wanted to see structure of collaboration and documentation of services provided. Also,

in a few conversations some of the funding organizations shared that entities within the

Birmingham community had attempted to apply for funding from them in the past, but those

organizations had not shown the proper level of professionalization and documentation to

meet the funding threshold.

Potential funders explained that in most cases they would like to see examples

of work done in the community before engaging with a community or providing

funding.

In order for Birmingham to successfully obtain funding it is suggested that the community

approaches the development of these services in a phased manner with certain goals

associated with each phase. The below graphic illustrates our suggested approach. There are

three key steps involved with obtaining this funding. One, leverage the work and funding

associated with the Birmingham Veterans Blueprint to show community preparation or

research and development. Two, execute phase one of backbone organization development

and implementation. Three, appropriately document community preparation and phase one of

organizational operations and then approach potential funding organizations.



The three-step approach to engaging with national funding organizations is an approach

developed through conversations with potential funders and through a review of how like

organizations obtained funding. This approach will allow for the community to begin serving

Veterans in the immediate with a small financial burden and will facilitate the important first

steps of gathering national support. With an understanding of the steps involved in

approaching a national funding organization, a review of potential partners is warranted.

Listed below are a few potential national organization-funding partners, and an example of an

organization funded by a corporate partnership.

Potential National Funding Organizations

Combined Arms Houston: Combined Arms is a community level initiative in the City of Houston.

In June of 2015 the organization set out to revolutionize Veteran reintegration and settlement

in their regional area. 82 Per the organization’s mission they will house all organizations

providing service to Veterans in one location to create a truly “collective impact” model of

community-based Veteran services.83 Imbedded in the mission of this organization is the

directive that they must find two other communities to partner with and build out their service

model. Currently, the organization is in the beginning phases of finding partner communities.

82 Combined Arms, Resettlement in the U. S., http://www.combinedarms.us/blog/2015/4/23/combined-arms-the-future-of-veteran-resettlement-in-the-us-1 83 Combined Arms, Resettlement in the U. S.



Based on the work already done in Birmingham and the developed path forward, the City could

easily be a potential partner community for this organization.

America’s Warrior Partnership (AWP): AWP is another organization focused on building out

potential partner communities to streamline or solve Veteran reintegration issues. Currently,

the organization is supporting five separate partner communities located across the nation.84

Until recently AWP worked with communities to directly provide funding to stand up backbone

organizations, however, the organization has moved to more of a consulting role in the past

few months. AWP now offers consulting/model adoption assistance for communities at work

on creating a community-based model.85 Once Birmingham has executed phase one of

organizational development we are assured that we could reach out to AWP to create a

relationship that would foster gathering funding to support the organization.

Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF): IVMF is another organization that operates

in the same manner as AWP. They are a national organization that has various levels of

established community partners and they are in search of communities to work with in order to

progress their community-based Veteran service model.86 The organization is primarily focused

on providing technical assistance to communities, helping them evaluate efficacies and

disseminating strategies.87 Again, with this organization like the others, Birmingham could

easily approach this organization as a collaborator once the community stands up the beginning

infrastructure of the Backbone Organization.

Corporate Partnership Model

In the above-mentioned funding models associated with national organizations these

relationships would all manifest themselves as partnerships between national and local

partners. The national organization would come into the community and work with local

stakeholders to stand up a backbone organization. In some cases the organizations would

provide a portion of operational funding to support the local organization and in other cases

the organizations would merely provide expertise.

In setting up the BSO we suggest that the community also looks into the opportunity to

cultivate a locally based corporate sponsor. While this might be easier said than done in some

cases, this needs to be pursued in order to ensure that the potential organization has the ability

to flourish as the community engages in the suggested path forward.

4. Build out a community-based Peer-to-Peer support Infrastructure

84 American Warrior Partnership, Our Communities, http://www.americaswarriorpartnership.org/our-communities/ 85 American Warrior Partnership, Consultation, http://www.americaswarriorpartnership.org/consultation/ 86 Institute for Military Veterans and Families, Engagement, http://vets.syr.edu/community-engagement/ 87 Institute for Military Veterans and Families, Engagement.



It goes without saying that there is a palpable support for the Military and the Veteran

community in the State of Alabama and in the Birmingham area. The State, as a whole, has a

great history of service to our nation, and in recent years the State’s manpower has

overwhelmingly supported operations in the Middle East. Also, it is estimated that around 9%

of the adult population in the State holds a Veteran or Military status. So, we can easily

understand that there are is a large portion of the population that supports Veterans or wants

to assist them and a significant amount of the population who are Veterans. However, when

you survey the landscape in Alabama and in Birmingham there is still a vast gulf between these

populations. In most cases when you engage with those that want to help outside of the

Veterans class, you find that they have no understanding of how to support, access or help. All

of this is derived from what the media and scholars call the “military to civilian divide.”

Sebastian Junger explains that civilians are in most cases truly unaware of the

Veteran experience, but often he has observed military members or Veterans

say, “You’d never understand, so I’m not even going to bother talking to you

about it.”

The “military to civilian divide” is explained in a manner of different ways, but the fundamental

narrative involved in the discussion of this divide is that many think, “we’ve disconnected the

consequences of war from the American public.”88 Moreover, when some discuss this division

they go more to the extreme and explain that the American “civilian population is completely

disengaged from everything that keeps it alive.”89 This is a harsh narrative placed at the feet of

the American public, but some scholars have also highlighted that the Veteran class plays a role

in continuing this division. Sebastian Junger explains that civilians are in most cases truly

unaware of the Veteran experience, but often he has observed military members or Veterans

say, “You’d never understand, so I’m not even going to bother talking to you about it.”90

Junger’s statement provides some great clarity that is not shared in the media, both civilians

and Veterans are indeed disconnected, but both parties play a role in the existence of this

disconnect.

In this disconnect or division we see a great opportunity for the BSO to act. Nationally

throughout the Veteran Services landscape there are versions of peer-network support systems

being created around and within Veteran populations. In some cases community Veteran

Service organizations are teaching Veterans how to spot and help their peers with mental

health needs, and in other cases college campus organizations are presenting military/Veteran

cultural competency training to faculty and staff members to ensure that these professionals

88 David Zucchino and David S. Cloud, “Special Report U.S. Military and Civilians Are Increasingly Divided,” Los Angeles Times, May 24, 2016, http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-warrior-main-20150524-story.html 89 Junger, 2016. 90 Junger, 2016.



understand their students. However, in most cases this training is done in specific population

areas and focuses on the needs of that community. We were unable to find operations or

resources in play within the Birmingham community who focus on this area of outreach. We

suggest that the BSO step into this space at the community level and provide military/Veteran

cultural competency and basic level assistance training stakeholders within the community

outside of the traditional Veteran class.

In researching the potential opportunity for developing and delivering this type of community

level peer support training we reached out to an expert in peer support program development,

Sean Hanna of the Military Veteran Peer Network (MVPN). MVPN was developed to “connect

Veterans and their families to local, state and national resources through an active group of

Veteran peers.”91 Over the last 10 plus years Sean has worked throughout the State of Texas in

various types of communities to inform local stakeholders of the Veterans experience and give

them the tools to help them when they are presented with Veterans in need. However, with all

of his expertise, in the conversation with Sean one simple statement rang true, “we find the

people who want to help, and teach them how. It’s that simple.”92

In Texas, Mr. Hanna, and his organization, have leveraged the people in the community,

Veterans and Non-Veterans that want to be involved in helping others. Instead of explaining to

them that they would not understand and turning them away, they have fashioned training

that gives the community tools to understand and help Veterans. The organization’s education

model is based on the delivery of three different levels of training modules.93 First, a novice

level module that teaches military/Veteran cultural competency and an understanding of

available support programing.94 Second, they deliver a median level training module that

expands the participants’ understanding of Veteran mental health issues and enhances their

capacity to connect Veterans with need resources.95 Finally, the organization delivers an

advanced training module that gives the participants service coordinator level capacities within

their home community.96 These training modules range from four to eight hour training

sessions.

Essentially, Sean and his team are deputizing people across the State within various

communities as local level "experts" on Veteran related issues and how to connect with various

resources. A common theme or conversation that we continuously mention in this report is that

often during our research we encountered people within the community that encounter

Veterans in need but have no understanding or ability to assist them. Developing and

implementing some type of training model, even at the lowest level, similar to what MVPN is

91 Military Veteran Peer Network, http://www.milvetpeer.net/ 92 Conversation with Sean Hanna, May 25, 2016. 93 Conversation with Sean Hanna, May 25, 2016. 94 Conversation with Sean Hanna, May 25, 2016. 95 Conversation with Sean Hanna, May 25, 2016. 96 Conversation with Sean Hanna, May 25, 2016.



doing in Texas would allow the BSO, and the community as a whole, to empower individuals to

help Veterans. Also, a focus on this area hits right in the middle of “military to civilian divide”. If

the BSO engages in this capacity it has the ability to substantially impact the disconnect

between the Veteran and civilian class while building out informed force multipliers to better

support Veterans within the community.

The eventual website of the BSO will act as a resource that the community level experts can

utilize to support their local Veterans. This could easily be started in Birmingham and

surrounding areas with little financial expenditure. As the BSO grows, Sean and his team at the

MVPN welcome the opportunity to expose Birmingham stakeholders to their available training

and the associated organizational protocols. A team of stakeholders could travel to Texas to

participate in the various training models to gain expertise, or the community could invite Sean

and some of his team members to Birmingham to develop a local plan. Once this training

capacity is built out within the community, the BSO could easily engage with faith groups,

administrative organizations, governmental agencies, neighborhood groups and professional

organizations to deliver this important and innovative training. The need is easy to see within

the community, all that is needed is action from an individual or organization to address the

issues and implement a plan.

5. Establish Regional Coordinating Councils for Veteran Services and set area of need

strategies and goals.

Currently, in the State of Alabama there are two specific convening councils in place to address

the greater needs of the Veterans of the State. One, AlaVetNet is a State government initiative,

created by the Governor in 2013 “to address ways to streamline the access of services for

military members, veterans and their families in key areas.”97 The organization’s coordinator

Larry Ross, USMC retired, explains that the organization works as a networking body to ensure

that State level agencies and representatives in Veteran Services are communicating with each

other concerning interactions with Veterans and how to better serve them.98 Two, is the MyVA

Operation Entrust Board, supported by the Department of Veteran Affairs, who is “charged

with building relationships in the community between, local, state and federal service

providers…to improve outcomes and experiences of Veterans, service personnel and their

families.”99 Whereas AlaVetNet has been in operation since 2013, MyVA was recently convened

and as of this date the staff associated with this organization is not yet in place. Both of these

programs were implemented from a top down approach, and in conversations with members

97 “Governor Bentley Creates Commission to Address Delivery of Services for Veterans,” December 10, 2013, http://governor.alabama.gov/newsroom/2013/12/governor-bentley-creates-commission-address-delivery-services-veterans/ 98 Meeting with Larry Ross, April, 8 2016 99 Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, “MYVA Operation Entrust to Host Its Inaugural Community Forum on February 10th,” February 3, 2016, http://www.va.state.al.us/news_detail.aspx?ID=10285



of both programs they have stressed that they have difficulties getting Veterans involved in

their work or proceeding.

The AlaVetNet council seems to be a body that brings together high-level stakeholders to

develop macro-level solutions to address the perceived statewide needs of Veterans, and it is

hard to identity the make-up and outcomes of the MyVA Operation Entrust Board because it is

too new in its operations. However, with both of these organizations there is inherent

uncertainty. The Governor developed AlaVetNet at the end of his term in office and it is

uncertain if the initiative will continue. Also, MyVA is a recent initiative developed by the new

leadership of the VA. We do not know if this program will impact or edit the operational

procedures of the VA. However, we do know that this program is specifically focused on

Veterans access to healthcare and behavioral resources, and not the entire spectrum of

Veteran needs. Based on this knowledge the BSO could undertake a more comprehensive

approach to addressing the needs of Veterans once the organization develops a sustainable

position within the community.

The benefit of this approach was that it separated service providers and let

them suggest solutions based on their organic experience.

An example of a more comprehensive approach to addressing Veteran needs across the

community is the 2012 Texas Coordinating Council for Veterans Services (TCCVS) implemented

by the Texas Veterans Commission for the entire State of Texas.100 The goal of the program was

to create collaboration amongst those serving Veterans and “to identify and address issues

affecting Veterans, service members, and their families.”101 The unique aspect of the TCCVS is

that the Council did not approach veteran needs as a whole, instead six separate working

groups were developed: Mental Health, Employment, Higher Education, Criminal Justice,

Housing and Women Veterans.102 Each working group was tasked with selecting their own

leadership, identifying the greatest needs in their identified area of service and developing

conclusions and recommendations on how to address the identified needs. 103 The benefit of

this approach was that it separated service providers and let them suggest solutions based on

their organic experience. The council itself was then able to evaluate the entirety of all outputs

from the various working groups and address overarching themes, needs and system

deficiencies.

5. Engagement in already existing Military to Veteran Transition Programing.

100 Texas Coordinating Council for Veterans Services, “First Report,” October 1, 2012, http://www.tvc.state.tx.us/documents/TCCVS_Report_2012.pdf 101 Texas Coordinating Council for Veterans Services, First Report. 102 Texas Coordinating Council for Veterans Services, First Report, 6. 103 Texas Coordinating Council for Veterans Services, First Report, 6.



All of the Military members across the nation have to go through a mandatory structured

transition program when leaving the service. The Army has the Solider for Life Army Career and

Alumni Program, ACAP, and the rest of the services have versions of a Transition Assistance

Program, TAPS.104 These courses are set up to provide transitioning with the "knowledge and

practical tools” they “need to make the switch back to civilian life with confidence."105 The

instructors teach service members how to apply for jobs once leaving service, give interviewing

and networking classes and provide guidance on applying for VA benefits. These courses are

held on military instillations all over the nation and within the State of Alabama. In Alabama

they are mostly held at locations in Huntsville, Montgomery or at Fort Rucker.

Within this program service members are provided with training, direct access to military

transition experts and are given various types of official documentation and catalogs of Veteran

related information or advertising. These courses on military instillations across the nation, or

in the State of Alabama, are the individual transitioning service member’s, or soon to be

veteran’s, first involvement in military to Veteran transition. Various Universities and specific

national companies involve themselves in these courses through structured advertising in

course documentation to gain access to this captive audience of transitioning service members.

Engagement in these already existing programs would provide all stakeholders, The City of

Birmingham, the Central Alabama Veteran service community and area workforce development

entities, the opportunity to directly access the population they are attempting to serve and give

that service population a strong access point to available services and service experts.

In effect, the engagement of area stakeholders in the ACAP or TAPS programs

across the State would provide the Central Alabama Veteran service community

and City of Birmingham stakeholders the ability or opportunity to “swim

upstream” in the Military to Veteran transition.

The Central Alabama Veteran service community and City of Birmingham stakeholders face a

few barriers of access to the transitioning service member or the newly minted Veteran. Our

research indicated that only one VSO in the Birmingham area has a contact with the TAPS

program leaving 54% of those surveyed with no working relationship with this program. When

asked if the VSO would like a relationship with the TAPS program, 43% responded yes.

Not having an established contact with these types of programs hamstrings VSOs attempts at

service. First, they do not have access until that individual shows up in their geographical area.

Second, once the individual arrives in the mentioned stakeholders’ geographical area they must

104 Military One Source, Transition Assistance Programs for Military Personnel, http://www.militaryonesource.mil/phases-retiring?content_id=267523 105 Military One Source, Transition Assistance Programs for Military Personnel. http://www.militaryonesource.mil/phases-retiring?content_id=267523



wait for the individual to self-identify their Veteran status or wait for the Veteran to attempt to

access service before they can access them or provide services. In effect, the engagement of

area stakeholders in the ACAP or TAPS programs across the State would provide the Central

Alabama Veteran service community and City of Birmingham stakeholders the ability or

opportunity to “swim upstream” in the Military to Veteran transition.

This earlier engagement in the Military to Veteran transition would allow listed stakeholders

the opportunity to eliminate confusion involved in the Veteran existence in Alabama, reduce

several of the individual Veteran transition stressors and provide the stakeholders with the

opportunity to readily engage or provide guidance to this population. Once engaged, regional

stakeholders could use this as an opportunity to advertise regional workforce opportunities

that the skilled Veteran population could access and promote the revitalized Birmingham metro

area as potential and supportive settlement communities for Veterans.

Conclusion

Birmingham, AL is a community in rebirth that needs strong community members. Individuals

that will take pride in the community, act as assets for the region and support the City as it

transitions. There is great potential in Birmingham and this same great potential is mirrored in

the Veteran population in Birmingham, the surrounding area and across the nation. The city

has a great history with Veterans and knows well the great value that this population and their

family members bring to our community. In order to ensure the best for the City and Veteran

population in the area, it is imperative that we act.

Birmingham, AL is a community in rebirth that needs strong community

members. Individuals that will take pride in the community, act as assets for the

region and support the City as it transitions.

As discussed throughout this review the Veteran experience in Birmingham, and in Alabama in

general, is fragmented and confusing. The local communities and those that serve Veterans

must step into this void of connectivity and lead. Lead to ensure that area Veterans are

provided with a strong opportunity to reintegrate, settle and thrive in the Metro area.

Birmingham can lead by following the directives laid out in this report:

1. Adhere to and implement the Elements of Success

2. Collaborate with local experts to stand up the needed Community Level Programming

3. Follow the Path Forward

There is potential in Birmingham not only to better assist and support the Veterans in the local

area, but in acting, to serve as a spark to revolutionize the Veteran experience across the entire

State of Alabama.



It is imperative that we come together to ensure that we make our community as welcoming as

possible for this important population. Join us in our work to create and implement a

sustainable community-based model for Veteran transition assistance and settlement in the

Greater Birmingham area.

The work was prepared with support of Ms. Kimberly S. Rafferty Birmingham City Council, District Two.

Documents

Birmingham Veterans Blueprint (1) (1)