supportvets@stp-sf.org
Swords to Plowshares has developed several publications that highlight the issues facing veteran communities. We aim to raise awareness and inform stakeholders who can work together to improve the systems of care veterans and their families need.
During the 2017-2018 academic year, the Institute for Veteran Policy conducted qualitative research with 75 veterans and nine campus staff from four Bay Area colleges to assess formal and informal supportive practices on campuses, and to better understand the direct challenges and needs of student veterans. The information in this report provides research-based recommendations to colleges to improve services and education outcomes of student veterans.
During the 2018-2019 academic year, Swords to Plowshares conducted qualitative and quantitative research with 78 veterans and 15 campus staff from five California colleges to assess formal and informal supportive practices on campuses, and to better understand the direct challenges and needs of student veterans. The information in this report builds off of our previous study, “The Path Forward: What Universities Need to Know to Help Student Veterans Succeed” and provides research-based recommendations to colleges to improve services and education outcomes of student veterans.
Unlike other types of service related trauma, military sexual trauma (MST) is an interpersonal trauma, the dynamic of which has many implications for the service member’s career, perception of value in service, and moral foundation. MST increases the risk for post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions. This issue brief summarizes the various agency definitions, reporting parameters, and access to care; as well as provides policy treatment considerations for care of those who have experienced military sexual trauma
This primer provides an overview of health indicators of aging veterans who are pre-disposed for a variety of physical and mental health issues impacted by their military service related injuries. Veterans ages 55 and older represent 66% (13.9 million) of the veteran population.
In Section 202 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act (VACAA) of 2014, Congress established the Commission on Care, charging it to examine veterans’ access to Department of Veterans Affairs health care and to examine strategically how best to organize the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), locate health resources, and deliver health care to veterans during the next 20 years. In order to amplify the veteran narrative within the Commission on Care, Swords to Plowshares investigated access to VA and non-VA systems-of-care, and measured perceptions of the quality of services among the Swords to Plowshares veteran community. We conducted one-on-one in-depth interviews with 22 veteran clients and staff who have accessed VA care locally and throughout the country using a human-centered design for our user research.
This report summarizes the Mental Health Summit, jointly hosted by Swords to Plowshares, the San Francisco VA Health Care system and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and KQED Veterans Coming Home. Participants focused discussion of access to care and suicide prevention around aging veterans, veterans with bad paper, women and LGBTQ veterans. The summary includes new resources, key challenges and proposed next steps to strengthen community approaches to care.
This Toolkit provides a framework of understanding traumatic brain injury (TBI) from a community behavioral health and social service perspective. Many veterans with TBI seek care from community systems for services that don’t fall under the typical umbrella of TBI therapy. Providers need to understand how TBI manifests throughout many aspects of a veteran’s life, such as housing, employment, legal assistance, and mental health needs. This practical guide includes research on impacts, screening tools, treatment considerations, and resources when working with veteran clients.
