How a Veteran-Created SaaS Platform is Transforming State Support Systems and Changing Lives
Knowledge is power.
Combined Arms takes it one step further. Created by veterans who found transitioning out of the military challenging due to the overwhelming number of resources, this SaaS technology organization is a game changer.
“There is so much ‘noise’ in the veteran resources space that it’s hard to know which organization to work with. Some are great; some are not. This poses a problem for the military and veteran community when they need help and have trouble finding the right organizations to connect to,” says Brian Escobedo, Executive Director of Technology & Innovation at Combined Arms.
Combined Arms reduces the noise by directly connecting veterans and military families with hundreds of best-in-class resources through one simple online platform. It is a network of federal, state, and nonprofit organizations that work together for one common goal: holistically serving the military community.
“The greatest need today and always has been to make veterans and their family members aware of the resources available to meet their specific needs. You can have all the greatest resources in the world. Still, if you can't connect the veterans and their families to those resources, then it doesn't matter,” explains Thomas Palladino, Executive Director of the Texas Veterans Commission (TVC). TVC is the state department of veteran affairs that advocates for and provides many services to Texas veterans, their families and survivors.
Texas was the first interconnected state through the Texas Veterans Network. powered by Combined Arms. Texas Veterans Network is a one-stop shop with user-friendly navigation to connect members of the military community and organizations directly. Using the network is easy, simply create a profile, add resources of interest to your shopping cart, and check out. From there the organizations have made a commitment to respond to the service requests within 72-hours ensuring veterans and military families don’t fall through the cracks.
“If you don’t attempt to connect all of the resources in one place, then it is all piecemeal and confusing for the individual looking for assistance. It is not good enough to just put it on a website or create a daunting list of organizations on a spreadsheet,” says Palladino.
Palladino says the Texas Veterans Network not only provides an online virtual network that meets the various needs of the military community but also enables Texas to make data-driven proactive decisions, fundamentally shifting the approach from reactive to proactive in supporting our veterans and their families.
“Tracking everything in real-time allows us to see the big picture: which agencies are most frequently requested, which specific resources within those agencies are in highest demand, and where there may be gaps in the resources offered.,” explains Mia Garcia, Executive Director of Texas Veterans Network (TVN) powered by Combined Arms.
For example, recent data shows a lack of transportation for veterans. In response, the Texas Veterans Network is now working with others in its network to address this issue. This has transformed the way the state serves the military community using real-time data driven insights versus lag data through surveys.
“States realize that working together would produce better outcomes than working in silos,” says Escobedo. “ By partnering with the state’s Department of Veteran Services, we unify the state’s military and veteran services into a consolidated network.”
Other states are following Texas’ lead. South Carolina and Virginia have partnered with Combined Arms to set up their own networks.
“Combined Arms is not a one-size-fits-all solution; we customize our technology to meet the unique needs of each state. Our goal is to understand the state's business priorities and leverage technology to enhance how military and veteran clients are served,” explains Escobedo. “The result is better service to the military and veteran community, the ability of the state’s network to holistically address client needs, and the ability to collect precise outcome data. For the military and veteran clients, the result is having a world of resources at your fingertips.”
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Combined Arms (CA) is a 501(c)(3) organization committed to transforming the way veterans and military families connect with vetted resources needed to thrive. Through innovative technology and data sophistication, the Combined Arms platform unites top-tier veteran service organizations, state and federal agencies, and communities with data-fueled insights. This optimizes connection to resources and drives network-wide efficiencies and transparency, ultimately improving the quality of life for veterans and military families so they can thrive.
For more information, visit CombinedArms.us.
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