Free Counseling for Military Families across U.S.

The  past 18 months has had a serious impact on all of our mental health and emotional well-being in ways that are yet to be fully understood.  The extended quarantine and resulting isolation brought into focus the importance of human-contentedness and a deeper understanding of how our individual mental health is inextricably tied to a community of support around us.

Now more than ever, it is important to pay attention to your mental health as much as your physical health. To find the balance between work, school, hobbies, self-care and other responsibilities. Give an Hour moved to modernize our mental health service delivery during the pandemic, with nearly 69% of all of Give an Hour providers now offering telehealth services that were in direct response to client needs and requests.

Give an Hour continues to serve our post 9-11 veterans, service members and their families and partners with several leading veteran and military service nonprofits, governmental agencies, and others to provide enhanced programming for specific military populations. 

We are proud of our work:

• Give an Hour’s Reserve component works with existing National Guard and Reserves  to encourage help-seeking behavior, promote available mental health services, recruit service providers and raise awareness of the Five Signs of mental health
• Military spouse mental health profession program helps ease the transition from graduate school through licensure to jobs in behavioral health for military spouses by encouraging connections between licensed mental health professionals and military spouses
• Give an Hour released 16 free educational documents, downloaded thousands of times around the world
• Integrated Give an Hour’s and the Campaign to Change Direction’s websites to a single new site so news and resources are now under one roof

Most recently, like many of you, we have been watching the recent events in Afghanistan unfold and we know they are distressing and especially difficult for our veterans and their loved ones who served during the OEF/OIF campaigns.

For those of us who are not veterans or in a military family, it’s important for you to understand what the military community is feeling right now. And we are challenging you with a call to action! We encourage each of you to do a Buddy Check with a veteran, military member or loved one who might be feeling anger, frustration, helplessness or sadness - which are common feelings in times like these. Let them know the thoughts. You do not have to be a mental health provider to show someone you care.

If you are feeling this way or know someone who is struggling, we want you to know you are not alone. 

Those in need of care can connect with a Give an Hour provider or find additional resources on our website.

And lastly, Give an Hour congratulates Dr. Randy Phelps, our former CEO who has led Give an Hour the past two years through unprecedented challenges. Randy began his retirement on July 1^st, 2021.  Give an Hour welcomes our new CEO, Dr. Trina Clayeux who will continue to build on our legacy while leading us to new heights and to ensure that those in need receive the care they deserve.  

There is much more to do, with rates of anxiety and depression more than doubling as a result of the pandemic. Give an Hour is grateful to our GlobalGiving donors.  We rely on your support.  We know if we work together we can continue to service our veterans and to change the culture of mental health.  

Thank you!

 Sally Charney

Director of Marketing & Spexial Parrtnerships

PS: DON’T FORGET - Give to Give an Hour during the GlobalGiving Little by Little Campaign on September 13 – 17^th.  GlobalGiving will match up to 50% all donations up to $50.  You next donation goes farther.

Links:

• Free Mental Health Resources to Download
• Access Free Mental Health Care
• Give an Hour has a New Website

Together we will elevate and amplify the mental health conversation

As we are beginning to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, we must get ready to face the next one: the mental health crisis. As we are slowly emerging from a year of isolation, we encourage everyone to stay connected and stay mentally healthy.  

“This has been a difficult year for everyone.  Anxiety, depression and substance misuse have doubled in one year, affecting more than 40% of the U.S. population.  The need to care for our emotional health is as important as caring for our physical health,” said Randy Phelps, PhD., CEO of Give an Hour

Throughout our fifteen year history, Give an Hour has heard incredible stories of triumph and courage from those who have been on the frontlines, especially as they reclaim their mental health. It’s time to share some testaments of healing  – we need them more than ever. 

A disabled veteran who was matched with a Give an Hour mental health care provider shared:

“I want to thank you for organizing this program to provide pro bono services to veterans. I am a service connected disabled veteran and the therapists we found through your program have been working with me and my family. I wholeheartedly believe they saved my life and marriage and I am thankful every day for you putting them in our paths.”

One of our mental health providers who volunteer their time at no cost shared: 

"I find it more meaningful than just a “Thank you for your service!”  Expressing gratitude certainly counts, but is starting to feel perfunctory to me—even when it’s meant. Giving a little time to help folks who have stepped up like these people have is more meaningful to me."

And now that we are coming out of the pandemic, we must ask ourselves what’s next for mental health? Give an Hour has created some tips to help you now in our latest one pager Coming Out of the Pandemic. You can sign up to download it and our other free resources here. 

What can you do to make an impact? 

Give an Hour is hosting a week-long virtual global event called A Week to Change Direction. Join us from May 10th to May 16th to change the culture of mental health by encouraging everyone to stay emotionally healthy. In these times, this event is more important than ever.

This has been a successful event for many years, touching hundreds of thousands across the world, but this year is different. It will be much harder to reach the same amount of people virtually across the world without your help. 

During A Week to Change Direction, we invite you to share our free resources: we’ll be asking everyone to complete five critical steps to change the culture of mental health for Military and Veterans, Healthy Habits, Five Signs of Emotional Welling.

Register for A Week to Change Direction – tell us how you’re changing the culture of mental health. 

Thank you to our GlobalGiving donors who continue to support our project.  Together we will elevate and amplify the culture of mental health.

Links:

• Check out our new Give an Hour website
• Register for A Week to Change Direction