Coordinating Our Resources for Those Who Serve

Barbara Van Dahlen, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist and the founder and president of Give an Hour

Special to Veterans Advantage

On January 24, the president—joined by the First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden—hosted an event at the White House to unveil a critical and unprecedented initiative, "Strengthening our Military Families: Meeting America’s Commitment." I was honored to attend and truly moved by the words of our commander-in-chief as he described the culmination of an internal review that he had ordered eight months ago. It was in May of last year that the president directed the National Security Staff (NSS) to develop a coordinated federal government–wide approach to supporting military families. The document reporting the results of this effort, posted at www.whitehouse.gov, details forty-seven "commitments" by the administration across four key areas of focus:

• Enhance the well-being and psychological health of the military family
• Ensure excellence in military children’s education and their development
• Develop career and educational opportunities for military spouses
• Increase child care availability and quality for the Armed Forces

The report’s introduction was written by our president and begins as follows:

"As President of the United States, I have no greater responsibility than keeping the American people secure. I could not meet this responsibility, and we could not enjoy the blessings of our liberty, without the extraordinary service of our Armed Forces."

It is clear from this opening statement and the words and sentiments expressed on the twenty-fourth by the Obamas and Dr. Biden that this administration takes very seriously the needs of those who serve and their families. In addition, several top ranking military officers, many high level officials from the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, all of the cabinet secretaries, and numerous distinguished leaders from the nonprofit and veterans service organization communities attended.  It was truly a gathering of individuals with tremendous commitment to and responsibility for our military community.

Given the power, the reach, and the dedication among those assembled at the White House for this historic announcement, it would seem that our service members and their families can rest assured that help is on the way—that they will receive the care and support they need and deserve.  Indeed, there is no doubt that the desire to care for our service members is sincere. To be sure, the administration is putting tremendous resources to bear on this issue. And still, the journey to ensure comprehensive and integrated care for our returning service members and their families will be a long and difficult one.

The task at hand is extremely difficult to accomplish for many reasons. We must understand the issues and the obstacles if we are to succeed—and we must succeed. Our leaders across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors are genuinely well-intentioned and often passionate about this issue. But the demand on them is great. Few have the time to ensure that their directives are carried out at the granular level required to move this effort forward. This is true of our military leaders, our government officials, and the executives who oversee the nonprofits tasked with caring for those who serve and their families. Having the pleasure of knowing many of these leaders personally, I can attest to the fact that if they had the time they would connect all of the dots for every service man and service woman in our country to ensure that these men and women, along with their spouses, children, and extended family members, receive the best care and support our country has to offer. The reality is that they don’t have this luxury. And their attention is pulled simultaneously in multiple directions, making it difficult to ensure that staff members follow the thread to ensure that progress is being made.

In addition, we live in an age of information overload. We all experience it, we all struggle to manage it. This issue affects those attempting to connect the dots and integrate efforts as well as those who are the intended beneficiaries of these efforts. There are so many projects designed to support our military community; some are excellent programs and others are not. Determining which is which is difficult both for those attempting to coordinate care and for those in need of that care. There is no single clearing house to assist our military families and guide them through the maze of organizations, programs, and efforts. And new programs with efforts that duplicate existing ones spring up daily. Perhaps there are too many smart people working independently on this task; as yet, no effective unifying theme or vision to coordinate their efforts has emerged.

And then there is the human factor: many who run agencies, departments, organizations, and efforts of all sizes do not coordinate well with others. For some it is a lack of understanding of the need—they simply don’t grasp that their efforts could be much more effective if combined and coordinated with other complimentary efforts. For others it is a lack of awareness—they simply don’t see that other efforts exist with which to join forces. Sadly, a few seem unable to shift their focus from personal status or credit.

There are also factors that affect those in need of support and care, factors that interfere with their ability to receive the best that is available. As noted above, there is too much information coming at our military personnel, making it difficult for them to sort through opportunities, options, and resources. This information overload leaves families feeling overwhelmed but unsupported. After nearly eight years of sustained warfare, our service personnel continue to come home to a poorly organized collection of efforts. Granted, some organizations provide superior care and critical support but if lost in the sea of confusion, they are useless to those who are unaware of the excellent services they offer. In our attempt to provide additional resources beyond what is offered by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, we may have unintentionally added to the challenge to provide effective and necessary care.

Clearly, we are in need of an organizing structure and a common language by which we can coordinate the dizzying array of services offered to our military community. This goal sounds like it could, perhaps should, be relatively easy to accomplish—but the horse is already out of the barn. It will take tremendous work to organize all that is currently available in communities across the country. It will take tremendous dedication to ensure that those in need will eventually have a clear path and an understandable directive on how to proceed, where to find care, and where to locate opportunities that are effective and accessible.

Fortunately, there are efforts underway to tackle this Herculean task, efforts that have the support of many of the leaders required to ensure success. Clearly the president, Mrs. Obama, and the Bidens are doing their part to lead the way. As our First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden said in a USA Today interview on September 3, 2010:

"We can do this. In every community, every day, we can find concrete ways to show our military families the respect and gratitude that each of us holds for them in our hearts. They deserve our support long after the welcome home ceremonies are over. You don’t have to come from a military family, have a base in your community, or be an expert in military issues to make a difference. Every American can do something."

This message inspires us to do more, but to meet the challenge before us, we need also to work more effectively together. By directing his administration to step up to the task with concrete offers of assistance and coordination of care—so that federal programs work in tandem to provide care where they can and should—our president has set the tone.  Our task in our own communities is to be ready, willing, and available to coordinate, to work collaboratively, and to fold our efforts underneath a common vision as it emerges.  We have little time to waste: too many who serve continue to suffer.  Yes, the task is great but so are our collective resources.

Give an Hour, providing free mental health services to military personnel and their loved ones, at www.giveanhour.org.

Editors Note: Give an Hour is a strategic partner of Veterans Advantage. Learn more about our partnership with Give an Hour.

Veterans Advantage is also hosting a special online PTS Transition Center for its members, with customized news and resources to help in this vital area.