Conference heightens quality of life Published Feb. 2, 2012 By Airman 1st Class Ryan Throneberry Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- The Integrated Delivery Systems team held a two-day Community Action Plan Conference Jan. 24 and 25 at the Health and Wellness Center to brainstorm ways to improve the quality of life for servicemembers and their families living and working on the joint base. The goal of the conference is to develop a comprehensive, coordinated plan for integrating and implementing community outreach and prevention programs. The 26 conference participants, including joint base enlisted leadership, used the results of the Air Force's 2011 Caring for People Survey and the 2011 Military Family Action Plan to assess how well the needs of the community are met, explained Bettie Kuzmick, IDS Chairperson and Warfighter and Family Readiness Center chief. A Community Action Plan conference is prepared approximately every two years by the installation's team of community-support agencies and their partners, collectively known as IDS, for approval by the Community Action Information Board. "Our mission is to help people work better together," said Randy Thomas, Aligned for Results co-facilitator for the conference. "The participants are what made this event so productive. They all share a deep commitment to helping joint base community members maintain the focus, readiness and resiliency needed to achieve their mission." The IDS team uses the conference to help focus and evenly apply resources to take care of the people here. These resource include programs like financial management, violence awareness, intervention and prevention of sexual assault, substance abuse, domestic violence and suicide prevention. This is accomplished by working to improve the delivery of service programs through collaborative partnership and coordinated activities. "Developing a community action plan helps the base leadership and support agencies meet the needs for community members' well-being and quality of life," said Susan Berry of Aligned for Results, one of the conference facilitators. "This is especially important and challenging at JB MDL, because the Joint Base process has brought together people from many different services and units for collaborative planning." Top issues discussed included increasing support to families impacted by deployment, enhancing personal coping skills, preventing alcohol abuse and revamping a JB MDL community newcomer's orientation to increase information and help acclimate community members new to the joint-base environment. "The conference was a terrific opportunity to learn from each other," said Kuzmick. "It was also interesting to see the cultural differences between each branch of service represented on the base." The IDS encourages the facilitation of information flow across the base and welcomes any suggestions and feedback. Community members can contact the IDS directly with questions or concerns by calling the Warfighter and Family Readiness Center at 754-5749.