The Brookfield Institute DBA Homefront Strong

“Description;Amount^Advertiising;87|Equipment less than 1000;375|Special Event Direct Expense;495|Program Direct Expenses;3110|Online Merchant Fees;182|Bank Service Charge;10|Supplies;1044|Telephone Telecommunications;411|Computer and Internet;1803|Meals Expense;98|Insurance;5001|Staff Training;1535|Licenses and Fees;100|Travel and Meetings;173^Total;14424^”

“Description;EOY Amount^Payroll;1698^Total;1698^”

“Our chief programs, HFS Connects & HFS Storytelling are designed to create meaningful opportunities for community building among service members, veterans, and their families. Through Connects and Storytelling, we recruit and train military connected volunteers to be matched with other SMVF in the community to provide a variety of community peer support, including social/emotional and goal oriented support, and/or engage participants in the storytelling process. Through storytelling, we hope to capture the diversity of military service in New England while bridging gaps between the military, veteran, and civilian communities. In 2022, We continued to grow HomeFront Strong Connects with increased in person outreach, two additional volunteer training cohorts and persistent networking: 8 new volunteers were trained, 15 SMVF were matched with volunteers, and 12 SMVF received case management/referral services. Also, We developed a more targeted training under the HomeFront Strong Storytelling and Connects umbrella. Considerable work was done on updating the training and manual. Under HFS Storytelling, 4 volunteers were paired with storytellers and 3 new stories were recorded. HFS also has local programming focused on the Pioneer Valley, including HFS Outdoors, Morning Coffee, and our food security initiative. HFS Outdoors provides opportunities for SMVF to gather once a month and engage in exercise outdoors while forming social bonds. Morning Coffee is our monthly drop-in center in Ware that provides space for conversation in addition to resource links and services like chair massage. Our food security initiative falls under the case management services we provide, connecting SMVF in Ware, Palmer, Belchertown and surrounding areas to vital food resources and filling gaps when needed. All of our programs run on military connected volunteers and are free to participants. Monthly Morning Coffee meetings were held throughout 2022. We had some great guests join us alongside chair massage and Reike practitioners. We launched HFS Outdoors in August with mountain biking in Belchertown and it met 3 times. Each meeting had an average of 6 participants. Lastly, under our Food Security Initiative, we transitioned from receiving food from Project New Hope to the Jubilee Food Pantry at Trinity Church. We distributed boxes out of the American Legion in Ware in addition to delivering boxes to households in Palmer. Distribution took place the second Thursday and Friday of each month. In 2022, we distributed 33-36 boxes each month, serving 80 family members. In December we were able to distribute 10 $50 Stop and Shop gift cards in addition to the boxes thanks to our partnership with the Veterans Collaborative out of the Greater Boston/Metro West area. These cards were provided through a grant awarded to the Vets Collaborative by the Bob Woodruff Foundation. In addition to the above, we participated in various educational and outreach events. HFS served on the committee to plan the first Massachusetts Women Veterans Network event in Worcester, MA, where HFS hosted a table to provide information. A presentation on resilience and military and veteran families was provided to medical students under the UMass Medical School Clerkship and considerable work was done on the committee for the annual Baystate Veterans Conference, to take place in 2024. Lastly, HFS participated in regular meetings to conduct outreach among local and partner organizations, including: Baystate Community Benefits Advisory Council (CBAC) - virtual, monthly Central MA Veterans Coalition (CMVC), quarterly virtual and/or in person Quaboag Hills Community Coalition (QHCC), monthly on Zoom Veterans Outreach in Community Engagement (VOICE) - monthly, in person (have not been able to attend since the switch to an in person setting). North Central Veterans Service Provider Coalition (NCVSPC) - virtual 3X's/year Veterans Collaborative (Greater Boston) - virtual monthly”