Code of Support Foundation Receives 2nd Round of Critical Funding From Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation to Launch Essential and Life-Changing Veteran Technology Platform

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Code of Support Foundation™ (COSF) has been awarded an additional round of critical funding by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation (BMSF) to complete the pilot phase and publicly launch PATRIOTlink™, an innovative cloud-based navigation platform in 2018. Out of the 22 million veterans in the U.S., an estimated 30% of veteran families in crisis require critical assistance from one or more service providers (e.g., case managers, social workers) to ensure they have wrap-around support for their needs. COSF's PATRIOTlink is a strategically populated technology platform of qualified veteran support resources that enables service providers to be substantially more efficient and effective in finding resources they know would benefit their clients (e.g., troops, veterans and families).

"We are thrilled that the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation continues to find credence during our piloting of PATRIOTlink. Unlike other technology veteran resource platforms, the human element for Code of Support's PATRIOTlink is significant to ensuring the data remains accurate and the program's navigation is intuitive for service providers," said Kristina Kaufmann, Code of Support Foundation's Executive Director.  "This recent funding from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation allows us to reach our national public launch of PATRIOTlink platform in 2018. We are able to retain program staff expertise and add military and veteran caregivers/spouses/survivors as virtual contractors to assist in populating this essential and life-changing platform. The funds will also bring an unprecedented veteran support from GuideStar, the world's largest source of nonprofit information, to help further identify organizations that might be a fit for PATRIOTlink."

"We are encouraged by the success of the pilot program and the difference Code of Support is making in the lives of service members returning to civilian life by making the connections to much-needed veteran services more accessible via their online platform," said John Damonti, president of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation.  "The new funding will allow Code of Support to significantly enhance efforts to remove barriers and ensure veterans and their families can find and obtain the best possible support services to address their needs."

Currently, there are more than 40,000 non-profits and thousands of local and federal government agencies with varying scope and eligibility requirements that are committed to assisting our nation's heroes. COSF's additional hiring focus on the caregivers/spouses/survivors demographic is based on the personal knowledge and skills gained when seeking help from the overwhelming number of veteran support organizations across the nation. The virtual contractors' experience along with GuideStar's assistance in delivering significant data needed from veteran service organizations to meet the eligibility requirements for the platform will increase the momentum needed to publicly launch PATRIOTlink in 2018. In order for any organization to be qualified for PATRIOTlink it must meet these requirements: 

• Provide a direct and a cost-free service (e.g., legal, mental health, retreats)
• Be fiscally responsible and financially transparent (i.e. 990)
• Ensure capacity to serve additional service members, veterans and their families.
• Be responsive when contacted by phone and/or email

COSF recognizes that no one agency or organization has the capacity to fulfill their clients' often complex needs. It is not for the lack of resources but the lack of coordination of resources. The need for greater efficiency in navigation, identification and leveraging of veteran resources was recognized in early 2014 from COSF's own case coordination program when working with veterans in dire circumstances. It was then that COSF conducted an in depth external environmental scan of the veteran support services space and determined that existing resource databases were difficult to navigate and often ineffective in identifying the multiple resources needed. That was when COSF began to develop PATRIOTlink with the goal to enable all service providers to collaborate more effectively and have greater collective impact than any organization is capable of alone.

Since 2015, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation has committed $1 million to COSF's PATRIOTlink platform through its Mental Health & Well-Being initiative. The initiative focuses on community-based solutions for the mental health and community integration needs of the post-9/11 veterans in the U.S., military service members, their families and the families of the fallen.

Code of Support Foundation (COSF) was founded in 2011 and is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides essential and critical one-on-one assistance to those struggling service members, veterans and their families who have the most complex needs. COSF is dedicated to leveraging the nation's full spectrum of resources to ensure all members of our military, veterans and their families receive the support services they need and, through their collective sacrifice, have earned. COSF's integrated programs include personalized, holistic long-term case coordination services that serve all service eras across the nation.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation is committed to improving the health outcomes of populations disproportionately affected by serious diseases by strengthening healthcare worker capacity, integrating medical care and community-based supportive services, and addressing unmet medical need. The Foundation engages partners to develop, execute, evaluate and promote innovative programs to help patients with lung cancer and removing barriers to accessing care in the United States, HIV and comorbid diseases such as cervical and breast cancers and tuberculosis in sub-Saharan Africa, hepatitis B and C in China and India and veterans' mental health and well-being in the U.S. For more information about Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, visit us at BMS.com/Foundation.

Media Contact:

Amy McWethy
(703) 629-2875
[email protected]

SOURCE Code of Support Foundation

Related Links

http://www.codeofsupport.org

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