Technology Links Veterans and the Military Community to a Vetted Network of Resources
Combined Arms empowers veterans with access to professional wellness resources, fostering a global network of support and healing
There are over 43,000 veteran non-profits registered with the IRS, a daunting number to a transitioning service member or a veteran looking for help finding a job, seeking mental health support, or seeking a disability rating from the VA.
“It is inherently difficult to transition from this lifestyle back into the general population,” explains Mike Hutchings, an Army Veteran and the Chief Executive Officer of Combined Arms. “There’s a sea of goodwill of organizations and entities trying to do great things but there hasn't been significant collaboration in the veteran ecosystem.”
To compound the situation, most non-profits offer assistance in just one area, and many are not vetted. In some cases, assistance is also severely delayed or never comes.
"When you give a veteran the runaround, they feel unsupported. Getting the veteran connected to the right provider is the most important thing," explains Frank Filice, an Army veteran who is now the veteran program project manager at CLC Inc. in Texas.
Filice says an organization's responsiveness to veterans' needs can mean the difference between life and death.
"We get the calls from the veteran that says hey, you are the 30th person I have called, and nobody has helped me, and now I am ready to put a gun in my mouth. So that referral, that connection, is lifesaving."
It's why he began partnering with Combined Arms, a non-profit that leverages technology to meet veterans at every stage of their journey and connect them with vetted resources who provide the support and guidance for what they need now, and for what's needed next.
"We wanted to create a nucleus of top performing service providers and build a foundation to have accountability in a clear, seamless user experience by providing the military community with only the best-in-class resources out there," explains Hutchings.
Starting in 2020, Combined Arms has been working to create a digital marketplace of fully vetted and validated non-profit organizations to help the military community. They go the extra mile to ensure the organizations they are referring individuals to are top-notch. In addition to stringent screening, once “accepted,” all organizations must commit to responding to individuals within 72 hours.
Filice says veterans don't just need someone who will respond; they need a village.
"When someone needs financial assistance, they need more than one thing. They need help finding a job, they need benefits, and while those are services that we don't provide directly, with Combined Arms, we can recommend ones that do," explains Filice.
Constantly working to improve how they help the military community, Combined Arms relies on a consistent string of end-user feedback from non-profits within their network and those in need of assistance.
"At Combined Arms we live by the notion that people determine success and data drives everything we do."
"We should never guess what solution someone needs; instead, they should be telling us their needs and we give them the best resources and platform to support those needs," explains Hutchings.
This model has helped Combined Arms address issues that may not be top of mind but are greatly needed. Shortly after COVID, Combined Arms and its partners began to notice a drastic uptick in food insecurity among active-duty service members, specifically in Texas.
"We saw a 447% increase, so we gathered our network of providers, went to the base commanders in Texas, and convinced the base commanders to do mobile food pantries. The first one we did was over 5 hours long, and vehicles were wrapped around the block," recalls Hutchings.
Hutchings says this kind of localized response is critical. The military community doesn't just need national resources. They need ones on the ground level within their local community.
Filice says providing this network of local providers is life-changing.
"The more we network together, the more we help each other, the more people will start to feel better, and trust the system.”
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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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