Developing a Veteran Community Navigator Program using the Collective Impact Model: A Stakeholder Analysis

Overview: This research highlights the use of the collective impact (CI) model to create systemic change for veterans living within one (state name) county. Key components of the CI model were identified that stakeholders believed were imperative to program development and successful implementation.Proposal text: Veterans and service members face human rights challenges when returning to local communities. Mental and physical health issues such as PTSD, major depression, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and anxiety are experienced by veterans at higher rates and can pose significant challenges for active duty or veteran reintegration (Elnitsky et al., 2017; Author & Long 2020). Indeed, Clifford and Graesar (2016) emphasize that about one third of veterans return from service with behavioral health symptoms such as PTSD. These mental and physical challenges combine with social, occupational and other resource deficits to create complex and interconnected issues (Authors et al., 2022). One such complex issue is veteran homelessness. Veterans are approximately 12% of the homeless population, and characteristics of unsheltered veterans include higher rates of mental illness and medical problems, older, less likely to stay in shelters, and more likely to stay outdoors than non-veteran homeless populations (Ramaswamy et al., 2017). Yet despite these consistent risks, without coordinated community responses, chronic unemployment, homelessness and untreated mental health problems are potential outcomes (Clifford and Graeser, 2016). Even when services are available, community needs assessments indicate that veterans are not aware of services, or if they are, do not understand how to access them (Clifford & Graeser, 2016). Thus, a lack of coordination and poorly understood eligibility criteria create access problems across communities.

This research highlights the use of the collective impact (CI) model to create systemic change for veterans living within one (state name) County. Needs assessments conducted in 2011 and 2013 indicated that the county had limited mental health resources, poor coordination among service providers, and a lack of continuum of care. In the summer of 2015, a countywide Behavioral Leadership Team was established, and used the collective impact model to begin to address these problems. Key informants were interviewed about using the CI model to develop a veteran serving, community-based program, and model components they believed were most effective in developing a coordinated response. Major findings included: getting the right people in the room, a shared passion for the client population, consistent and intentional communication, coordinated assessment, infrastructure that provided a framework for early coordination, and a flexible, community-based adaptation. This presentation will explore these findings along with recommendations for the implementation of a CI model to initiate change and address human rights challenges among disadvantaged populations.

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