Last week, Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services, AlphaROC, and the Dwyer Coalition for Military Veterans & Families held their first project kickoff meeting to advance a shared commitment: helping communities better understand and respond to the evolving needs of veterans and their families across New York State.

The meeting brought together the partners’ complementary strengths. The Center contributed its experience building the capacity of organizations serving military and veteran communities. The Dwyer Coalition brought the knowledge and perspective of its statewide network of veteran peer-support programs. AlphaROC introduced a data-informed approach for identifying emerging trends, regional differences, and challenges that might otherwise remain unseen until they became more difficult to address.

Together, the partners established the foundation for gathering regular insights from participating Dwyer programs and translating those insights into practical information for community leaders and service providers. The work is designed to help organizations move beyond reacting to problems and instead anticipate changing needs, adjust existing programs, and develop locally relevant solutions.

This collaboration represented another step in The Center’s continued work to connect organizations, ideas, and resources that improves outcomes for those who served. Stay tuned for updates as we advance this exciting and innovative initiative.