Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

Iava provided membership engagement and services by delivering in-person and online programs to build community, transition assistance and leadership development for Veterans and their families. Quick reaction force (qrf) is iava's signature case management and referral services program, helping Veterans and family members access resources and navigate transition issues related to financial need, legal aid, housing and homelessness, education, employment, mental health, disability claims, and more. During 2023 qrf continued to offer our impressive suite of free to use services, while better controlling costs, and focusing on empowering the community to find the resources they need quickly and effectively. Our on going 24/7 peer support is a best in class lifeline for Veterans to connect quickly and digitally with a peer no matter the time of day and no matter the challenges that they face. 2023 was a milestone year for this program: we provided increased specialized transition assistance to Veterans and our total number of Veterans served surpassed 22,000 lifetime, this year alone helping over 5,700 clients in need. Qrf clients represent all branches of service and live across the united states and internationally.

Awareness programs - iava works to put new Veterans at the center of the national media conversation, as the dominant voice for Veterans in american media. Our goal is to connect the 99% of the population who have not served in Iraq or Afghanistan with the 1% who have. In 2023, iava staff and members were mentioned in thousands of original television and print articles, reaching an audience over 90 million. These astounding efforts were supported by our extensive social media audience; in 2023, our social media followers totalled over 650,000 and our annual #gosilent hashtag campaign for memorial day engaged over 2 million Veterans and civilian supporters.

Advocacy programs - iava conducts non-partisan issue advocacy to ensure that Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans and their families are supported, protected and never forgotten. In 2023, iava fought for all of America's Veterans, defending their hard-earned education benefits and their employment opportunities, demanding accountability from the Veterans administration, standing up for women Veterans, fighting for those who suffered from burn pits and other toxic exposures, and more. During the year, iava's staff and members delivered congressional testimonies on issues affecting our community. Additionally, iava conducted its annual comprehensive member survey, the largest non-governmental survey, thousands of members participated and iava was able to ascertain the most urgent policy issues facing the post-9/11 generation of Veterans, adjusting and tackling accordingly.