Over the past few months, the Home Base Outreach team has expanded its national efforts to raise awareness of Home Base programming while also gaining insights into the resources available in these regions and establishing relationships with local communities. These efforts have included participation in events such as the Operational Medicine Symposium in San Antonio, Texas, which brought together representatives of the Warrior Care Network, and the Gathering of Nations pow-wow in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Native communities come together to celebrate collectively. 

Additionally, the team has attended conventions focused on special operations, such as the Special Operations Medical Association Convention, which brought together international exhibitors in various fields related to medical care from pre-hospital services, tactical, austere, mental health, and deployment medicine. Collaboration between the Boston-based outreach and special operations clinical team and the Florida outreach team at events like the SOCOM SOF week in Tampa, Florida, has allowed for the sharing of national and local programming with a diverse audience, including clinical providers, military leaders, politicians, Veterans, Service Members, and Veteran Service Organizations.

One of the key initiatives of the outreach team is to build and nurture relationships within the Veteran community. This includes engaging with local Veteran Service offices (VSOs) to ensure they are informed about new programming and improvements in care for veterans, service members, and their families. The outreach team has been invited to join several local pow-wows and spring events across the New England region, aiming to establish trust and familiarity within local tribes and better serve the Native American population. 

In a commitment to equality and empowerment, Women Veteran Outreach team members have attended women’s panels and symposiums in the northeast region, sparking ideas for recognizing and celebrating women Service Members and Veterans during upcoming events like the Run to Home Base.  As the weather turns warm, you will find the Outreach team joining up with Outdoors Open Doors for several hikes throughout New England as part of our Adventure Series and our continued work in local communities speaking with our first responder communities on resources we can provide with our Save a Life initiative.