Group Offers Free Psychiatric Care to War Vets

Stars and Stripes | Leo Shane III | May 20, 2008

WASHINGTON -- A coalition of mental health groups announced plans Monday to establish a nationwide network of psychiatrists, psychologists and other experts to provide free counseling to combat veterans and their families.

"Citizen soldiers have had extended, long deployments, and that has created a difficult situation for them and for their families," said Dr. Richard Harding, president of the American Psychiatric Foundation. "Those people need help ... and we have a duty to take care of them."

The groups' goal is to enlist about 40,000 mental health professionals -- about 10 percent of the nationwide force -- to donate time and services to individual veterans, their families, or veterans groups.

Their web site is: http://www.giveanhour.org/skins/gah/home.aspx

"Give an Hour" Valuable Web Site

Give an Hour is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop a national network of volunteers capable of responding to both acute and chronic conditions that arise within our society. Our first target population is the U.S. troops and families who are being affected by the current military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.  We are now creating a national network of mental health professionals who are literally giving an hour of their time each week to provide free mental health services to military personnel and their families. Individuals who receive services will be given the opportunity to give back in their own community. By providing critical psychological support to military personnel and their families, we will support the sacrifices they are making and ameliorate the difficulties they face.

Click on the "Give an Hour" Program Menu (to the left) to access further material about this Program.

Their web site at www.giveanhour.org has additional useful material.

Links to "Give an Hour" Program Material

The mission statement and current status contained in the first two pages of their July 2008 "Give an Hour" Summary and Progress document gives the reader an instant feel for what their organization does and what they can accomplish.

This link is to a pamphlet distributed at a 12 Aug 08 Wounded Warrior Mentor Program Steering Committee meeting.  Mentors and Follow-On Mentors are encouraged to make copies of this 9 page pamphlet and give it to Wounded Warriors and their families to begin the process of getting "Give an Hour" involved.  (This PDF file is 7.53MB, so it will take a little time to download.)