1. The Green Zone Initiative
Veterans Outreach and Service Coordination in Nevada

2. The Green Zone Initiative
The Green Zone Initiative (GZI) is the State of Nevada’s effort to marshal all available resources in the areas of wellness, education, and employment for Nevada’s veterans.
It is a statewide strategic planning initiative designed to improve services to Nevada’s service members, veterans, and their families, to increase collaboration among service providers, and to provide a roadmap for ways to improve the current offering of services to policymakers, non-profit funders, and other members of the statewide community.
It is augmented by a statewide infrastructure, including the Interagency Council on Veterans Affairs, local Veteran Community Councils, specific focus area efforts, an online social networking platform, and more.

3. Assumptions The “Sea of Goodwill” Veterans as assets
Evolving, grassroots solutions required

4. Process: Phase 1 Development phase Community convenings/survey
Environmental Scan
Business Case
Funding Analysis
Action Plan

5. Process: Phase 2 Implementation phase The GZI architecture
Interagency Council on Veterans Affairs
Local Veteran Community Councils
Focus Area Efforts for Employment, Education, and Wellness
The Green Zone Network

6. Pillars Policy Development Service Provider Coordination
Connecting with Veterans

7. Pillars in Action

8. Policy Development Pillar
Policy councils created
ICVA (Employment), SVAC (Education), VSPC (Wellness)
Develop priorities
Identify barriers
Identify opportunities for collaboration
Develop legislative recommendations
Easiest

9. Service Coordination Pillar
Partnership with JCF established
Veteran Community Councils formalized
Continued convenings/surveys
Green Zone Network
Moderately difficult

10. Connecting w/ Vets Pillar
Constant Outreach
Job fairs
Resource fairs
Partnerships
Green Zone Network
Most difficult

11. Connecting w/ Vets Pillar
Green Zone Networking
Building on success of SVAC
Leadership events: Arts and Ideas Festival
Service events: Community clean-ups
Engagement events: GZN Breakfast
Changing the narrative
Taking responsibility
Supporting one-another

12. Successes
Injecting “veterans” into every policy/service provider conversation
Leadership from the highest level—YOTV
Architecture leveraged for grants
Building a network for veteran success