Toward a Community Response to 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

As we have done for the past several years, my family and I attended the Fourth of July celebration in a lovely community just outside our nation’s capital. We first chose to join this celebration long ago because it offered a wonderful “small town” feel and had extraordinary fireworks. My girls have enjoyed the games, the food, and the music each year, and I love the sense of community—families gathering on blankets, bleachers, and lawn chairs to celebrate our nation’s birthday. Many of the kids—and adults—wear red, white, and blue. Many carry the miniature flags distributed at the gate by the American Legion. This was an especially delightful Fourth as the weather was nearly perfect: hot but not sweltering, with very little humidity. The sky was clear as the rockets began exploding in the sky. Everyone applauded and cheered; children squealed with delight. Indeed, it seemed that everyone left the event feeling quite satisfied with the experience.

Though perfect in many ways—and clearly well organized and carefully orchestrated with the audience’s enjoyment in mind—the celebration left me with a sense of disappointment after the fireworks display. As the massive crowd politely filed out to cars and homes, I felt a nagging sense that something was missing. Although the emcee was witty and charming, she made no mention (at least that I heard) of the men, women, and families who serve our country. There was only one other speaker, and though he may have made one brief reference to our troops, I couldn’t really hear what he said as he quickly rushed through a few comments about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The lead singer of the band that entertained us—a gentleman in his mid to late 60s who seemed to remember another generation of soldiers who came home to an unfriendly nation—did talk about those who bear the burden of war. He asked the crowd to remember why we were celebrating and what those who died fought to preserve.

Prior to the start of the fireworks, the crowd stood as the honor guard marched to the stage, and everyone applauded after a beautiful rendition of the national anthem. But little attention was paid—on our nation’s 234th birthday—to the fact that our country is at war and that 2 million men and women have been deployed since the September 11 attacks.

Clearly the Fourth of July celebration on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., would have been a different kind of gathering. I am sure there were numerous references to those who serve and repeated recognition that our military families are bearing the brunt of a prolonged engagement. I am certain that many, if not all, of the speakers and entertainers made reference to those who protect our freedom. And this is as it should be during wartime: our administration must lead our country in the effort to honor and recognize the critical role of our service personnel. The difficulty for this and all administrations since World War II is to translate our country’s concern for those who serve into action at the community level. This is a difficult task indeed but one that must  be accomplished if we are to ensure that those coming home and their families receive the comprehensive and integrated care they need and deserve.

On July 5, my family engaged in another tradition, one that began only four years ago. My girls are both competitive swimmers and belong to a wonderful swimming community. Five years ago, as I sat watching my daughters’ evening practice, I mentioned to another swim-mom that I was thinking about starting a nonprofit organization to help meet the growing mental health needs of our military community. The concept was simple: ask mental health professionals of all disciplines to give an hour of their time each week to provide free mental health care to returning troops and their families.

That conversation was the first step in creating Give an Hour™—an organization that now has over 5,000 providers nationwide, who have donated over 27,000 hours of care to our troops, their families, and their communities. Once the other families in our swimming community learned about Give an Hour™, they wanted to do what they could do to help the cause and offered to hold a fundraiser for the fledgling organization. Four years ago the Bethesda Barracudas hosted the first Swim for the Troops over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The fundraiser has become an annual and much loved event at our pool. Parents and children obtain sponsors and swim laps to raise money. Give an Hour™ raises a bit of money while, even more important, the kids in this community discover that they too can help our service personnel and their families. In addition, parents and swimmers learn about the issues affecting those who serve—and sometimes we all learn that the war has touched one of our own. At last year’s event I heard for the first time that several of the families had loved ones who were or had been deployed. This year I heard that one swimmer’s brother is enrolled at the Naval Academy while another other brother is stationed in Virginia Beach, training to become a fighter pilot. On this day, at this event, people engage in conversations about the war, the needs of those who serve and what we at home can do to help. This and other events like it—ones that occur throughout the country on weekends throughout the year—are so very important because they lead to conversations and increase awareness in our communities.

Efforts are currently under way at the national level to create tools for community leaders, for individuals who want to organize their communities to engage and assist those in need. Many leaders would step up to create coordinated efforts if they knew how to proceed. A Community Blueprint is being developed by a number of leaders in the nonprofit and Veterans Service Organization sectors. The Obama administration has been quite supportive of this effort, and corporate leaders are joining the initiative. Current plans are to launch the Blueprint over Veterans Day and give communities that want to do their part the tools necessary to do so.

Efforts are also under way in the Department of Defense. Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has launched his Sea of Goodwill Campaign, which fosters community-level conversations  to encourage efforts to support returning troops and their families. In addition, the Department of Defense is currently seeking proposals for the creation of new and innovative Web-based tools that will increase access to and interaction with all types of services for military personnel.

As a nation we care deeply for those who serve, but we have struggled in our efforts to help. Perhaps by next July 4 every neighborhood celebration will include organized efforts to recognize, honor, engage, assist, and join with our returning troops and their families.  Our country has the interest, the compassion and the necessary skills and services to help these deserving Americans. We will soon have the tools to succeed in our efforts.

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 PTSD Transition Center for its members, with customized news and resources to help in this vital area.