| Veterans
News Flash 
American Psychiatric Foundation, Lilly Foundation and Give an Hour Join Forces to Provide Mental Health Care to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans
Editiors Note: Give
an Hour is a partner of Veterans Advantage. For
more on our partnership, click
here
Expanded Network of Volunteer
Mental Health Professionals Will Respond to a
Growing Public Health Crisis for Thousands of
Veterans and Their Families
WASHINGTON D.C. (May 19, 2008) – Heeding
the call of a growing public health crisis — the
unmet mental health needs of returning soldiers
and their families — Give an Hour (GAH) and
the American Psychiatric Foundation (APF) announced
today a major expansion of a nationwide effort
to help U.S. veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
GAH and APF, the philanthropic
and educational arm of the American Psychiatric
Association (APA), will be using a $1 million
grant from the Lilly Foundation to recruit and
educate volunteer mental health professionals,
who will become part of a network aiming to bridge
the gap in mental health services for soldiers
returning from service, as well as their families. Among
troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, approximately
40 percent of soldiers, a third of Marines, and
half of the National Guard members report psychological
problems, but mental health services are in short
supply.
Details of today’s announcement were made
public by the three organizations at the Reserve
Officers Association (ROA) building on Capitol
Hill — one week prior to the nation’s
Memorial Day holiday. The ROA represents
the interest of the soldiers of the Army National
Guard, who suffer high rates of post-combat psychological
problems, exacerbated by repeat deployments, detailed
front-line combat positions and little access to
the services of military treatment facilities.
“This all-volunteer effort provides badly
needed support to help our veterans, many of whom
come home with mental health needs,” said
U.S. Representative Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), Chairman
of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “I
applaud the hard work of Give an Hour, the American
Psychiatric Foundation, and the Lilly Foundation,
which are stepping up to help those who have selflessly
served.”
Efforts will be made
to create a large, national, volunteer network
over the next three years to address postwar
mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI),
drug abuse, anxiety and depression.
“This grant will allow us to get out the
message that help is available. We want to
normalize what our military personnel and their
families are experiencing and support the sacrifices
that they are making by providing critical mental
health support at no cost,” said Dr. Barbara
V. Romberg, founder and president of GAH. “We
will be educating the military community and broader
public about these mental health needs in hope
of helping veterans keep their lives and families
intact.”
GAH is recruiting mental
health professionals to volunteer one hour each
week for a minimum of one year to provide direct
services in person, by phone or in consultation
with schools and community organizations that
serve the military community. Services
are wide-ranging and include marital and family
therapy, substance abuse counseling and treatment
for PTSD. APF brings strong ties to the psychiatric
community and is actively encouraging psychiatrists
to join the network.
“This grant will help us reach our goal
of recruiting 10 percent of the 400,000 mental
health professionals in the United States by 2011
to assist in this effort,” said Dr. Carolyn
Robinowitz, past president of the American Psychiatric
Association. “It is an ambitious goal,
but we are confident it can be achieved.”
The Department of Defense
(DoD) is making an unprecedented attempt to encourage
personnel to seek mental health treatment, but
a significant increase in demand, in some areas,
has forced the rationing of services, created
long waiting lists and limited individual counseling
sessions. In addition, some members
of military families such as parents, siblings
and unmarried partners do not qualify for care
through the Veterans Administration or DoD but
are affected nonetheless by the mental health of
the veteran.
“We’re privileged to be able to give
something back to our troops, but we know there’s
still much more to be done,” said Steven
Paul, M.D., executive vice president for science
and technology and president of Lilly Research
Laboratories. “Lilly is fully committed
to assuring that the best possible medicinal treatments
are available, but unfortunately, we also know
that having access to the best care – in
this case mental health services – is essential.”
About Give an Hour
Give an Hour is a nonprofit 501(c)(3), founded
in September 2005 by Dr. Barbara V. Romberg,
a psychologist in the Washington, D.C., area. The
organization’s mission is to develop national
networks of volunteers capable of responding
to both acute and chronic conditions that arise
within our society. Currently, GAH is dedicated
to meeting the mental health needs of the troops
and families affected by the ongoing conflicts
in Iraq and Afghanistan. Give an Hour now has
approximately 1,200 providers across the nation
and continues to recruit volunteer mental health
professionals to its network. For more information
or to volunteer to become part of the effort,
please visit www.giveanhour.com
About The American Psychiatric Foundation
The American Psychiatric Foundation is the charitable
and educational subsidiary of the American Psychiatric
Association. The mission of the foundation is
to advance understanding that mental illnesses
are real and can be effectively treated. For
more information, please visit the foundation’s
web site at www.psychfoundation.org
About Lilly
Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation,
is developing a growing portfolio of first-in-class
and best-in-class pharmaceutical products by
applying the latest research from its own worldwide
laboratories and from collaborations with eminent
scientific organizations. Headquartered in Indianapolis,
Ind., Lilly provides answers — through
medicines and information — for some of
the world's most urgent medical needs. Additional
information about Lilly is available at www.lilly.com
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