|
|
|
Welcome to Give an Hour™
Please take a moment to read our first e-newsletter. We welcome your suggestions and feedback as we seek new, innovative ways to keep you informed and up-to-date.
Write us at newsletter@giveanhour.org. Please also feel free to circulate this newsletter to anyone you think would be interested, from mental health professionals to military personnel to artists. We hear from people from all walks of life and love to get them involved. |
|
|
Give an Hour™ Providers Give Nearly $1.7 Million in Free Mental Health Services
Give an Hour™ periodically surveys its volunteer providers to assess its impact and effectiveness and to determine how programs and services can be adapted to best meet the needs of this population.
Thank you to all those providers who responded. We want to assure you that spreading the word to military communities nationwide remains a top priority. We are confident that our new specialist in military outreach, Sylvia Ankenman (introduced below) will be able to help us with this effort.
The August 2009 survey found:
- 16,895 total hours have been donated in mental health services, not including volunteer hours spent on operations
- 5,965 hours were given in direct, face-to-face counseling
- 1,060 hours were given in phone counseling
- 7,308 hours were given in education and outreach
- 2,562 hours were given in additional ways, such as community events
Using a nationwide average of $100 per hour for mental health services, Give an Hour™ providers have donated $1,689,500 since Give an Hour™ began providing these critical services in July 2007.
|
Who Is Eligible to Receive Services
from Give an Hou  r™?
Give an Hour™ providers deliver free mental health counseling services to active duty service members, members of our National Guard and Reserve forces, and veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who have separated or retired from any branch of military service. In addition to these military personnel and their spouses and children, Give an Hour™is also offering free services to parents, siblings, and unmarried partners who are not entitled to receive mental health benefits through the military. We aim to provide easy access to licensed, skilled professionals offering a wide range of services including individual, marital, and family therapy; substance abuse counseling; treatment for post-traumatic stress; and counseling for individuals with traumatic brain injuries. |
Volunteer Spotlight
Give an Hour™ was conceived as a network of volunteers While the bulk of its volunteers are licensed mental health professionals who are donating their time by providing direct counseling or education/ outreach or both, there are many volunteers working behind the scenes running the organization.
One of those volunteers is Lisa Calixto. Lisa manages Give an Hour™'s non-mental health volunteers, matching volunteers' interests and expertise with the needs of the organization. In addition to her full-time job as a development assistant/fundraiser for Soroptimist International of the Americas, Lisa works approximately 12 hours per week for Give an Hour™. Lisa graduated from American University with a bachelor's degree in International Relations and U.S. Foreign Policy. She was GAH's first intern and currently resides in New Jersey with her husband and daughter. Within the next few years she plans to go back to school to get her Masters degree in Nonprofit Management.
"The majority of our very small staff began as volunteers," notes Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, founder and president of Give an Hour™. "GAH would not be what it is today without the generosity of our volunteers, who continually exceed expectations. I believe this is a great testimony to the importance of the issue and our mission."
|
Extending Military Outreach
Give an Hour™ is pleased to announce the hiring of Sylvia Ankenman (Blackwood) to head
up our outreach to the military community. In this position, Sylvia will focus primarily on connecting military personnel, veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, and their loved ones to our services. In addition, she will coordinate training and education for Give an Hour™ providers on military culture and will work to reduce the stigma often associated with mental health issues.
Sylvia brings her lifetime of military experiences with her to Give an Hour™. Both of Sylvia's parents were in the military, and she herself has over 12 years of service as an officer and soldier in the U.S. Army Reserves. Sylvia served as an Army broadcast journalist in Iraq in 2003 and 2004, and then returned in 2005 to serve with the State Department at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. During her deployments she met Give an Hour™ board member Jim Mitchell and worked with an extensive network of military and civilian reporters. While deployed, Sylvia suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Her treatment experiences were chronicled by Dana Priest in the Washington Post, and by Celia Straus in her book Hidden Battles on Unseen Fronts. Sylvia is a graduate of San Francisco State University, where she majored in English Literature. She is excited about being a part of the Give an Hour™ team. Sylvia is Holden's mom, and is soon to become Jon's wife. She enjoys talking with friends, connecting with people, and reading as many books as she can get her hands on. | |
 Donate Now!
Please consider making a financial contribution to Give an Hour™. Your tax-deductible donation will help with outreach to the military and veterans communities; public education and awareness building about the issues affecting our service members and their families; and training for our volunteer providers. https://www.networkforgood.org/donation/MakeDonation.aspx?ORGID2=611493378If you are a corporation or foundation interested in funding opportunities, please contact us at info@giveanhour.org. | |
|
 |
Testimonial
Jennifer Crane is a 26-year-old combat veteran of the United States Army, who served in the fourth rotation of Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) in 2003. After returning from a combat tour, she began suffering from undiagnosed PTSD. Not knowing what was "wrong" with her, she found herself homeless and living out of her car. Eventually she found her way to Give an Hour™. She notes: "The individuals involved with Give an Hour™
have given me the faith in society that I so desperately needed."
In her own words . . .
During the time before I was properly diagnosed with Chronic PTSD, I used drugs to escape my head, so to speak. I used cocaine and alcohol heavily to numb my pain and to keep me awake so I wouldn't have to close my eyes and become subject to dreams, the night terrors . . . the reliving of every horrible thing I saw while deployed. You not only see these recollections but it is physical as well . . . I used to sweat, scream, kick, and punch in my sleep until it would wake me up. When it was at its worst I did not even have to be sleeping for this to happen. If I closed my eyes my heart would begin to race and I would begin to sweat almost instantly. There are situations that I cannot be in . . . like fireworks. When I see, hear, or even think about them I will shake physically, sometimes cry, sometimes jump to the ground and cover my head, along with having a flashback. Those sounds are the same sounds that incoming mortars make -- it is terrifying. The last time I was exposed I hyperventilated to the point of passing out for almost a whole minute -- scary. Then, there is the impact on relationships . . . .
I came home and was so mentally wounded that I lost everything . . . my friends and my family included. I lost the man I loved because he didn't understand and couldn't help me. I didn't want his help and there was no longer that bond between us. My mind and heart were in Afghanistan, and he could not cope with my pain. The impact deployment has on relationships is huge. When a soldier comes home mentally wounded, trying to adjust to civilian life is near impossible. Hence, the reason for the drug abuse and eventually homelessness.
|
 |
Stay connected with Give an Hour™. Find us on Facebook and on Twitter.
|
Provider Training Opportunity
Providers interested in learning more about the treatment of patients with acute stress disorder or PTSD can visit the following link for guidelines from the American Psychiatric Association.
| |
|
As of July 2009, Give an Hour™ has more than 4,400 mental health professionals volunteering their time. Give an Hour™ has providers in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. If you are interested in joining the network, log on to www.giveanhour.org and click on "providers." If you are in need of counseling, log on to the Web site, click on "visitors" and use the zip code finder to locate a provider in your area. If there is no provider, e-mail info@giveanhour.org and a provider will be located for you.
|
|
|
|
Military Speak! |
Hooah: U.S. Army slang. Actually a shout. Signals approval or solidarity. Means most anything except "no."
As defined in Embrace the Suck by Austin Bay. |
|
|
|
