Serving Together: Using Peer Navigators to Enhance Veterans’ Health and Well-Being Sally Koblinsky, PhD*, Katie Hrapczynski, PhD*, Suzanne Randolph, PhD**,

Serving Together: Using Peer Navigatorsto Enhance Veterans’ Health and Well-Being

Sally Koblinsky, PhD*, Katie Hrapczynski, PhD*, Suzanne Randolph, PhD**, Stefanie Moreno, MS***,

Jessica Fuchs, MS***, & Ernest Spycher, SGT, Ret.***

*University of Maryland, College Park**MayaTech Corporation

***Serving Together, Mental Health Association of Montgomery County

Need for Service

•Veterans and military families: a top national priority •More than 2.6 million American service

members deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq•Approximately 1.6 million of these troops now

veterans • Increasing demand for civilian professionals and

communities to serve veterans and their families

Mission

Serving Together: A collaborative partnership to coordinate and strengthen community-based health/mental health, education, employment, housing and other support services for service members, veterans, and families in Montgomery County, MD

Support

•Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: 4 year grant•Montgomery County Government•10 National Capital Area Foundations •Other Local Donors

Montgomery County, MD

•Almost 50,000: Total Veterans•8,000: OEF/OIF/OND•500: Wounded Warriors•Walter Reed National Military Medical Center•National Intrepid Center of Excellence•Within 1 hour: Ft. Meade, Ft. Detrick, Andrews

Air Force Base, Coast Guard Yard, Baltimore

www.servingtogetherproject.org

Peer Navigation System

•Assists veterans, service members and families of all war eras

•Builds partnerships with community agencies•Provides extensive outreach to potential clients•Conducts referral and follow-up vs. duplicated

case management•Tracks client outcomes• Identifies gaps in service for community

agencies and policymakers

Three Additional Peer Navigation Systems Serving Veterans

•Charlotte Bridge Home (North Carolina)

•Augusta Warrior Project (Georgia)

•AspenPointe Peer Navigator (Colorado)

Serving Together’s Peer Navigator

•Veteran with counseling skills•Orientation to project and county’s

military/veteran serving agencies•Trainings▫Mental Health First Aid ▫American Association of Suicidality ▫Mental Health Association Case

Management Training

Peer Navigator Services

• Information Services

•Short-Term Consultation and Referrals: ▫< 2 weeks

•Long-Term Assistance: ▫2 weeks to a year

Client Use of Peer Navigator June 1, 2013 through May 31, 2014

Type of Case Number of Cases

% of Cases Number of Contacts

Information Services

38 30% 38

Short-term Consultation and Referrals

27 22% 54

Long-Term Assistance

60 48% 475

Total: 125 100% 567

Demographics of First Year Clients

•Cold War veterans (40-50 years): largest group•OEF/OIF veterans: 33% •Equal numbers of men and women•Family members: 21%•Veterans: 60%, Active Duty & Reserves: 40%

Requests for Assistance

•Client Interviews•Most Prevalent Concerns▫Financial challenges▫Employment issues▫Housing insecurity & homelessness▫Behavioral health conditions (e.g., PTSD, alcohol abuse)▫Veterans benefits▫Education

Client Evaluation

Survey Item Mean

Prompt return of your call/email 3.50

Listening skills 3.50

Understanding of your needs 3.25

Knowledge of available resources/services 3.00

Usefulness of information provided(good advice, referrals, answers to your questions)

3.25

Courtesy of response 3.75

Likelihood of recommending Serving Together’s Peer Navigator to others

3.50

Overall satisfaction 3.25

Likert Scale: Excellent = 4, Good = 3, Fair = 2, or Poor = 1

Qualitative Client FeedbackStrengths of Peer Navigator System

1. 24-hour Navigator response to initial contact2. Empathy/support from a fellow veteran3. Navigator’s in-depth knowledge of local

resources4. Personalized, “one-stop” referrals to community agencies

Behavior Change Following Peer Navigator Assistance

•Examples:▫Researched local companies in my job search▫Revised resume to be more “civilian-friendly”▫Identified remaining educational benefits▫Modified/improved my compensation claim ▫Found low-cost rental and obtained free furniture ▫Filed a hardship waiver▫Entered a counseling program▫“Gave me hope…a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Agency Feedback

• Increased client attendance at appointments•Earlier treatment of behavioral health problems•Enhanced ability of police department to provide

appropriate referrals for veterans in crisis (versus taking them to the police station)

• Improved client coping and self-sufficiency•Successful coordination of resource use from

multiple sectors

Challenges

•Outreach to OIF/OEF veterans•Branding of the program linked to the Montgomery

County Mental Health Association•Engagement of business and faith communities• Insufficient resources to address housing for

veterans without a mental health or substance abuse diagnosis

• Large number of cases with multiple problems requiring long-term assistance

•Difficulty in reaching clients for evaluation

Lessons Learned

•Clear need for Peer Navigator▫Number of cases▫Complexity of cases

•Accessible, “high-touch,” comprehensive services•Partnership/systems integration with service

providers• Targeted outreach for OIF/OEF veterans•Additional program evaluation needed on Peer

Navigator intervention for military/veteran families

Program Replication

Planning Grant to Expand Serving Together to Fairfax County, Virginia

Thank you!

For more information: Jessica Fuchs

Project Director, Serving Together (301) 424-0656

[email protected]

Ernie SpycherPeer Navigator, Serving Together

(301) 738-7176 [email protected]

Sally KoblinskyProgram Evaluator

(301) [email protected]