Serving Those Who Serve: Providing Military Cultural Competent Services

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• $259 Alliance for Children and Families members
• $259 for American Association of Children's Residential Centers or United Neighborhood Centers of America members
• $299 Nonmembers

Fee includes lunch for both days.

To obtain a copy of the Alliance's W-9 form, contact Paula Purcell, project manager for the Alliance Intellectual Capital Division, at 414-359-6581.

Workshop Description 

This workshop is designed to build a caring community that is sensitive to military culture and its unique issues.  Attendees will learn how to serve veterans and their families through a strengths-based, culturally sensitive approach.

The session will concentrate on the cycle of deployment, as well as the normative reintegration challenges veterans experience. It also will highlight the importance of understanding the military culture and the stigmas around seeking help for mental health issues.

In addition, participants will discuss best practices for meeting families' needs.

Day One: Topics will include military values, branches of service, and reasons a service member decides to join the military.

Day Two: Presentation will focus on child well-being and family stabilization after deployment. The trainers will review why military families are at risk for domestic violence and child maltreatment, as well as discuss tools that can be used to increase safety. Attendees also will review the impact of war-related trauma of the returning veteran parent on a military child’s school experience.

Expert trainers will facilitate discussions using experiential activities, video clips, individual reflection, and lecture.

This training is presented by Home Again: Veterans and Family initiative, a program of Alliance member Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services (JBFCS) in New York. It is co-sponsored by two Chicago-based members Children’s Home + Aid and ChildServ.

Attendees will receive a certificate of completion and continuing education units will be made available through Bellevue University.

Who Should Attend

• Human service providers

Objectives

• Reflect on beliefs about the military and its impact on practice
• Recognize the impact of military training on service members, immediate family, and extended family
• Understand military’s values
  • Leadership
  • Initiative
  • Unit cohesion
• Identify the significance of language and discuss concrete tools to interact with veterans
• Discuss the invisible wounds of war and their impact
  • Introduction to post-traumatic stress disorder
  • Introduction to traumatic brain injury
  • Suicide warning signs
  • When to refer a service member for help
• Barriers and stigma that can prevent successful reintegration
• Resources and referral sources

Trainers

Adriana Rodriguez serves as the coordinator of the Home Again at JBFCS's Center for Trauma Program Innovation. In this role, she is responsible for program development, direct service, and consultation to community providers.

Rodriguez also is a clinician at the Trauma and Addiction Project and specializes in Exposure Therapy, Seeking Safety, Relapse Prevention and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies.

Prior to joining JBFCS she was a clinician at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt hospital in the Psychiatric Recovery Center. In this role, she worked with individuals with severe persistent mental illness and co-occurring substance use.

She received her master’s from the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work and her Bachelor’s in social work from Southern Connecticut State University.

Rebecca Wynn is the project assistant for Home Again. Originally from Westford, Mass., Wynn joined the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating high school. She was honorably discharged in 2001. Wynn served with the Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF) and participated in numerous national security events such as the 50th Anniversary NATO Summit and the 2001 presidential inauguration.

After her experience with the Marine Corps, she received her undergraduate degree from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. in administration of justice, with a focus in social work and counseling. She has worked in various capacities in higher education since, notably at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C. and most recently at Brooklyn College as the veterans outreach and education assistant coordinator. She completed her graduate degree in higher education leadership and policy studies at Hofstra University.

Workshop Location

Pritzker Military Library
104 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60603

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Transportation and Lodging Information

The Pritzker Military Library is located across the street from Millennium Park and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Several bus and Metra stations are nearby.

Participants receive $5 off parking at Millennium Garages if they show their tickets to the library assistant on the main level. The closest garages to the Pritzker Military Library are the Millennium Park Garage, Grant Park North Garage, and Grant Park South Garage.

Attendees traveling from outside of the Chicago-area may secure their own accommodations.

Direct questions to Paula Purcell, project manager for the Alliance Intellectual Capital Division, at 414-359-6581.