For more information visit:  https://www.calvet.ca.gov/Summit

June 7, 2021

2-1-1 San Diego, Community Information Exchange (CIE): Communities struggled to support veterans and military families during the height of the pandemic, indicating a need for a responsive system of care. A Community Information Exchange (CIE) is a community-led ecosystem comprised of multidisciplinary network partners using a shared language, a resource database, and integrated technology platforms to deliver enhanced community care planning. Workshop participants will hear use cases of CIE during the pandemic leveraged to eliminate silos, enable collaboration, and streamline care coordination for veterans, military, family members and caregivers. Presentation by Bill York and Karis Grounds, 2-1-1 San Diego.

Contra Costa County, Virtual Veterans Service Office: Participants will learn how the Contra Costa County Veterans Service Office created a virtual office during the pandemic, allowing them to reach their veteran population more effectively and expand their potential to meet the demands of a growing veteran community. Presentation by Nathan Johnson, Contra Costa County Veteran Service Office.

Nations Finest, Mobile Service Units: Serving veterans in remote locations and rural areas makes it difficult to provide high quality wrap-around services; a challenge even before the pandemic. In this workshop, participants will learn about the impact of the Mobile Service Units deployed in three locations in Northern California and Nevada during the pandemic. Presentation by Chris Johnson and Jason Henry, Nation's Finest.

June 8, 2021

Swords to Plowshares, Aging in Place: Serving High Acuity Veterans in California Permanent Supportive Housing: This workshop will outline the needs of high acuity and aging veterans, including data on preventable evictions related to habitability, and data on premature health decline and death, focused primarily on veterans in permanent support housing. It will also highlight steps taken to increase on-site services, models to measure need and evaluate outcomes for formerly homeless veterans; as well as share strategies to advocate for pilot and permanent funding for a HUD/VASH Plus model, so that veterans may age in place in community-based permanent supportive housing. Presentation by Michael Blecker, Amy Fairweather and Tramecia Garner, Swords to Plowshares.

Veterans Legal Institute, Legal Partnerships: A Case Study of the VA Long Beach Healthcare System and Veterans Legal Institute and Prop. 63 Orange County Funded Legal Clinics: Collaborative approaches between public and private entities can often remove barriers to veterans of all eras from accessing resources. Learn more about the efficacy of such models, along with a case study of a successful medical-legal partnership between Veterans Legal Institute and the VA Long Beach Healthcare System. Presentation by Antoinette Balta, Veterans Legal Institute, Richard Beam, VA Long Beach HCS, and Ericka Danczak, Orange County Community Resources.

Swords to Plowshares, Best Practices in Assisting “Bad Paper” Veterans: Discharge Upgrades & Character of Discharge Determinations: Roughly one out of every four veterans receives a less-than-honorable or “bad paper” discharge, often due to factors outside of the quality of their service or the severity of any misconduct. Participants will learn more about who “bad paper” veterans are, as well as a comparison of the Character of Discharge Determinations to Discharge Upgrades and how to help veterans with each process. Presentation by Holly Christian and Maureen Siedor, Swords to Plowshares.

June 9, 2021

Brothers at War, Innovations in Multimedia and Interactive Workshops for Service-Member Homecoming: This presentation will explore a new approach toward integrating film and multimedia into veteran homecoming - the Brothers at War Resiliency workshop. The workshop is based on the award-winning documentary film Brothers at War, featuring Jake Rademacher who risks his life to tell the story of his two brothers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The workshop provides a new and innovative way for service members and veterans to talk about experiences within their community, allowing for new approaches to ensure service members navigate the harrowing transition home. Presentation by Nate Graeser, Evin Planto and Jake Rademacher, Brothers at War Workshops.

Veterans Legal Institute, Discharge Upgrades - Overview and Current Trends: Knowing the facts about discharge upgrades is more relevant than ever, especially in the context of Military Sexual Trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress, and historic racial and gender discrimination in the military. Learn to separate the facts from the myths, and how to best advocate for those with an unjust characterization of service. Presentation by Antoinette Balta and Caitlin Emmons, Veterans Legal Institute.

U.S. Vets, Military and Veterans Affairs LA County and Outside the Wire: In this workshop, attendees will learn about the benefits of this collaboration and how during the COVID-19 pandemic, it became crucial in maintaining support and strengthening the safety system for veteran students. In addition to continuing the joint referral support, U.S.VETS provided remote workshops, addressing mental health, substance abuse, racial equity and inclusion, and an inaugural Suicide Prevention Summit, hosted with support from CalVet’s California Transition Assistance Program (CalTAP). Robert Stohr, U.S. Vets and Ruth Wong, LA County Military and Veterans Affairs.