In 2011, the University of Georgia and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill began implementing a community capacity building project directed at providing support initiatives for military members and their families through mobilizing communities.
Led by Drs. Jay Mancini from UGA and Gary Bowen from the UNC School of Social Work, this project includes refining a model of community capacity building geared toward military community members; reviewing existing literature, preparing materials for training professionals, and developing a plan for sustaining community capacity building.
During the first year of this project, as the project team interacted its Department of Defense sponsor, the Office of Military Community and Family Policy, it became evident that the current project would be enhanced by expanding its focus.
Through its partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense has awarded an additional $1.1 million to the initial grant of $909,090 to build a platform for assessing military member and family assets and needs, one that is aligned with mobilizing community systems of support; and an online training delivery system that could be accessed worldwide on-demand.
UNC will receive a sub-award of $452,938 from the additional funding. UNC School of Social Work faculty Jodi Flick, Danielle Swick and Denise Lindley are working with Bowen in performing this cutting-edge work on behalf of military service members and their families.