The Injury You Can’t See Shouldn’t Be the One That Steals Your Life

HEADS UP VET™ Interest Form

Become a Coalition Partner

Meet the HEADS UP VET™ Advisory Team

Uniting science. service. community to accelerate early detection and support for Veterans and service members living with undiagnosed head injury.

Many Veterans carry impact long after the mission ends, head hits, blast exposure, training collisions, “it was nothing” moments. Years later, the symptoms show up… and most people never connect the dots.

Community is the missing link in early brain health detection.

Become a Coalition Partner

HEADS UP VET™ is a national coalition convened by Veterans Collaborative, in partnership with Bonterra and powered by AWS technology, that is built to improve awareness, screening, and community support for Veterans and families living with undiagnosed head injury.

We’re building a “Veteran Passport to Connected Resources” through four focus areas:

1) Awareness & Education that assists veterans, families, and providers in recognizing signs of head injury.

2) Early Self-Recognition Tools that help Veterans identify symptoms and better understand brain health without shame or guesswork.

3) Resource Navigation that connects Veterans and families to trusted local organizations and services that can actually help.

4) Research Collaboration Partnerships that advance understanding, prevention, and treatment, so what we learn becomes what we do.

And we don’t build this alone. The HEADS UP VET™ model connects:
community organizations, technology & referrals, clinical & innovation partners, and funders/philanthropy because this problem requires a whole-network response.

Because The Most Dangerous Injuries Are the Ones That Go Undetected

Head injury doesn’t always look like a dramatic moment.

Sometimes it’s cumulative impacts during military service, stacking over time.

The challenge is brutal and clear:

1 in 3 Post-9/11 Veterans experienced TBI
Most head injuries go undetected for years
56% higher suicide risk for Veterans with TBI
36+ symptoms can surface years after impact/exposure
0+ referral triggers for subconcussive events with no loss of consciousness outside of clinical specialty

Often, Veterans do what they’ve always done: Push through. Adapt. Perform.
Until “pushing through” becomes a crisis.

Because the First Place Veterans Turn Isn’t a System, It’s a Person.

Brain health is finally being recognized as critical to long-term well-being and readiness… yet many Veterans still never receive early screening or real awareness of what head injury can look like.

And the care pathways? They’re complicated.

Here’s what we’ve learned - Community organizations are the missing link.
Most Veterans don’t start with a specialist. They start with what they trust - local community organizations and direct service groups.

But those entry points are often under-resourced and are not always equipped with the tools, education, and referral pathways to catch brain health issues early.

HEADS UP VET™ takes a different approach.

We are investing directly in community-based organizations — equipping them with:

Brain health awareness and education tools
Early self-recognition and screening pathways
Clear referral connections to clinical and supportive care
Technology and data infrastructure to strengthen capacity and navigation

"This is what public, private, and community collaboration should look like. We are not layering technology onto an existing system — we are redesigning the system around veterans and equipping communities with the tools to act earlier and more effectively."

Miguel Bracchini, SVP, Solutions Architect at Bonterra
“Brain health is increasingly recognized as critical to long-term well-being and readiness, yet many Veterans never receive early screening or awareness of potential symptoms. Care systems are complex, and HEADS UP VET™ is committed to strengthening local partnerships that recognize and respond to brain health challenges earlier so Veterans and families can move from uncertainty to clear next steps with fewer barriers.”

Natalie Worthan, Founder & CEO Veterans Collaborative

Veterans Collaborative™ exists to strengthen accessibility to vital support and opportunity through centralized networks so help is local, reachable, and trusted. HEADS UP VET™ is an extension of what we do best: building bridges between the people who need support and the ecosystems that can deliver it without making Veterans carry the burden of coordination.‍ ‍

We don’t just care about awareness. We care about the moment awareness becomes action in real communities.

We Know How to Build Community-Based Access That Works

Because Waiting Costs Lives and Time Is a Trigger

Led by Experts. Guided by Leadership.

Head injuries don’t always announce themselves.

But this is a moment of opportunity- where awareness is rising, research is being operationalized, and the community front line is a part of the solution.

This work requires more than recognition. It requires leadership.

Not from the sidelines — but from those willing to step forward, align across sectors, and build solutions alongside the communities we serve.

HEADS UP VET™ is guided by leaders who are doing exactly that.

Meet the HEADS UP VET™ Advisory Team