New Study to Examine Vet Disorders
July 17, 2009
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Suicides reported among soldiers have tapered off from extreme highs of early this year amid intense Army efforts to stem the deaths, but officials are not yet ready to say they have turned a corner on the problem.
Army leadership said Thursday they hope a newly launched mental health study will help identify what is causing the self-inflicted deaths and what programs are best for preventing them.
Separately Thursday, other researchers reported that 37 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking care at Veterans Affairs clinics for the first time are being diagnosed with mental health disorders.
That's higher than some other estimates of the conflicts' toll, and researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center said that may be because people still in the military are more reluctant to seek care.
At the Pentagon, Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli said suicides reported among Army soldiers in the last four and a half months totaled 51, compared to 41 in the first two months of the year alone.
"We are not pleased, but we feel better about our efforts in the last four and a half months to at least reduce the number," he said.
Among recently boosted efforts to decrease the tragic deaths, the Army held special training in February and March for unit leaders and a top-down training throughout service ranks after that.
But officials acknowledged they can't explain the suicide decrease of recent months.
"We are not here to tell you we think we've turned the corner - next month could be another tragic month," Army Secretary Pet Geren said at a news conference with Chiarelli.
"We are doing everything we know to do." he said, adding it's not clear which of a myriad of Army programs may be helping, or even if any are helping.
Geren and Chiarelli appeared with National Institute of Mental Health Director Thomas R. Insel to announce a team of four research institutions would carry out what they said would be the largest study of suicide and mental health ever undertaken.
The $50 million study is to include some 500,000 soldiers and likely some troops from the Marine Corps and will be done by researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., University of Michigan, Harvard Medical School and Columbia University.
The Army and Marines are doing most of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and suicide rates have spiked in both services in recent years. Meanwhile Thursday, there was a new look at the mental health of troops after they leave the military.
Researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center used national VA data to track nearly 290,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, not prior conflicts, who used the VA system for the first time between 2002 and 2008.
Some 29 percent of those diagnosed with mental health disorders had two different conditions, and 33 percent had three or more, the researchers reported in the American Journal of Public Health.
Among veterans who had been active duty, those most at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol abuse or drug use were under age 25. Conversely, Guard and Reserve veterans over 40 were at higher risk for PTSD and depression than their younger counterparts. Women were more at risk for depression than men, who in turn were more at risk for drug use
Friday, July 17, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Virtual Therapy Used to Heal PTSD
Virtual Therapy Used to Heal PTSD
June 29, 2009
Stars and Stripes|by Geoff Ziezulewicz
The military is turning to the virtual world to treat traumatized veterans of the Iraq war, giving troops a high-tech way to confront and overcome mental war wounds.
Virtual Iraq uses electronically re-created Iraqi environs that look like a video game, as well as the sounds and smells of deployment, to help those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder revisit the events that affected them so profoundly.
It is a joint venture of the Air Force, Navy and Army, along with the University of Southern California and Virtually Better Inc. The visual environs created for the therapy are based on the video game "Full Spectrum Warrior."
"We help them confront the memory of the trauma," said Dr. Barbara Rothbaum, psychologist and director of Atlanta’s Emory University’s Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program. Rothbaum is a pioneer of virtual reality therapy who co-founded Virtually Better. "Sometimes it’s hard to get at it. What we think is the virtual reality can help create a more potent exposure. ... It puts the person back there."
Almost everyone responds to a traumatic situation with fear, which goes away for most people, according to Rothbaum. PTSD is at least in part caused by a person not dealing with that fear and the emotion of their traumatic event. The event is so painful or horrific, that a person’s natural tendency is to avoid it, she said in an e-mail.
"However, when people avoid thinking about it and all reminders of it, the fear does not [lessen]," she said.
In exposure therapy, a therapist helps the servicemember confront the memories, so that he or she becomes less afraid of those memories, thus being able to look at the situation differently and more rationally.
"Once their fear has decreased enough that they can really look at the situation and what happened and what they did, more than likely they will come to think about it differently, and realize, for example, it wasn’t their fault, or there was nothing they could have done differently, or they did the best they could under the circumstances," Rothbaum said.
Re-creating scenes
Virtual Iraq offers a technological upgrade to standard exposure therapy.
There are about 40 Virtual Iraq systems in Defense Department and Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics, according to Navy Cmdr. Russell Shilling, who helped create the system and is now the senior scientific adviser for psychological health at the Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.
Citing privacy regulations preventing contact with therapy participants, military officials would not provide Stars and Stripes with access to troops who had used Virtual Iraq.
The Navy invested about $6 million in research and development of the system in the past five years, Shilling said. The Army and Air Force are investing funds to study the system, as well as deploying it to various locations as the studies continue.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is among the most common diagnoses made by the Veterans Health Administration. Of approximately 300,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with access to VA care, nearly 60,000 were diagnosed with PTSD, according to a 2008 House Committee on Veterans Affairs hearing.
Virtual Iraq helps PTSD patients access traumatic memories by replicating the war zone in a safe way that therapists can control, according to Dr. Beth Davis, a deployment behavioral health psychologist at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., where the program was introduced this spring.
"When servicemembers are experiencing PTSD, on certain occasions [they] have difficulty accessing particular memories or sensations," she said.
With Virtual Iraq, a troop is back driving a Humvee down an Iraqi highway, or exploring a city on foot patrols, she said. Ambient sound recordings including prayer calls, gunfire, men yelling and taunting, can be varied in intensity by the therapist.
The smell of fire, diesel, cordite, body odor and burning rubber are also used to facilitate memory recall and emotional processing, Davis said.
"It allows the therapist to manipulate the situations to best suit the individual in a standard therapy hour," she said. "We can re-create this scenario in an environment that is safe."
A variety of scents can be manufactured, both pleasant and unpleasant, according to Shilling. Scent devices have also been used in other virtual reality applications aimed at helping people overcome addictive behaviors such as smoking or drinking, Shilling wrote in an e-mail.
Therapists who conduct the virtual therapy train at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash.
The Air Force has eight Virtual Iraq systems at base clinics around the States and is setting up another at Germany’s Ramstein Air Base this fall, according to Lt. Col. Timothy Lacy, chief of telehealth and enterprise imaging for the Air Force’s Medical Support Agency.
About a third of the troops using Virtual Iraq so far at Air Force clinics are from other branches, primarily the Army, Lacy said.
"They are bearing the brunt of the trauma," he said.
But the Air Force also tweaked the program for airmen, incorporating Air Force uniforms and scenarios.
"A lot of our folks have PTSD from collecting bodies and mortuary services," Lacy said.
Studies are ongoing to gauge the prospects for further investment in therapeutic tools similar to Virtual Iraq, Shilling said.
A Virtual Afghanistan is also in the works.
‘Too real?’
In the future, the military may build on the virtual world’s potential by allowing deployed troops and their families to create online avatars. A deployed troop could walk around a virtual war zone with their family, conversing and describing day-to-day life during a deployment.
Despite its video game look, Rothbaum said virtual reality therapy has proved effective. In the past, virtual therapy was used to help patients with a fear of elevators, for example. Even though the elevator wasn’t real and was digitally rendered, it still evoked anxiety, she said.
The system was used 10 years ago on Vietnam veterans at a less technologically advanced time. Rothbaum said patients reported seeing tanks and people in the simulation that weren’t there. Survivors of 9/11 using virtual reality therapy have also reported seeing things that aren’t in the program.
"It triggers it enough where people’s memories complete the images," she said.
In Virtual Iraq, therapists say a servicemember’s traumatic memories would fill out the virtual Iraqi street, helping them relive and overcome the incident.
"People tend to project things into it," Shilling said. "One of the debates we had was, can this be too real?"
In PTSD sufferers, disconnects often form between the memory of a traumatic event and the emotions associated with it.
"The memories almost get stored without the emotions," Rothbaum said. "We have them go back in their mind’s eye to the moment of trauma and have them recount it. The therapist tries to match the virtual reality to what they’re describing is happening to them."
©
This article is provided courtesy of Stars & Stripes, which got its start as a newspaper for Union troops during the Civil War, and has been published continuously since 1942 in Europe and 1945 in the Pacific. Stripes reporters have been in the field with American soldiers, sailors and airmen in World War II, Korea, the Cold War, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Bosnia and Kosovo, and are now on assignment in the Middle East.
June 29, 2009
Stars and Stripes|by Geoff Ziezulewicz
The military is turning to the virtual world to treat traumatized veterans of the Iraq war, giving troops a high-tech way to confront and overcome mental war wounds.
Virtual Iraq uses electronically re-created Iraqi environs that look like a video game, as well as the sounds and smells of deployment, to help those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder revisit the events that affected them so profoundly.
It is a joint venture of the Air Force, Navy and Army, along with the University of Southern California and Virtually Better Inc. The visual environs created for the therapy are based on the video game "Full Spectrum Warrior."
"We help them confront the memory of the trauma," said Dr. Barbara Rothbaum, psychologist and director of Atlanta’s Emory University’s Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program. Rothbaum is a pioneer of virtual reality therapy who co-founded Virtually Better. "Sometimes it’s hard to get at it. What we think is the virtual reality can help create a more potent exposure. ... It puts the person back there."
Almost everyone responds to a traumatic situation with fear, which goes away for most people, according to Rothbaum. PTSD is at least in part caused by a person not dealing with that fear and the emotion of their traumatic event. The event is so painful or horrific, that a person’s natural tendency is to avoid it, she said in an e-mail.
"However, when people avoid thinking about it and all reminders of it, the fear does not [lessen]," she said.
In exposure therapy, a therapist helps the servicemember confront the memories, so that he or she becomes less afraid of those memories, thus being able to look at the situation differently and more rationally.
"Once their fear has decreased enough that they can really look at the situation and what happened and what they did, more than likely they will come to think about it differently, and realize, for example, it wasn’t their fault, or there was nothing they could have done differently, or they did the best they could under the circumstances," Rothbaum said.
Re-creating scenes
Virtual Iraq offers a technological upgrade to standard exposure therapy.
There are about 40 Virtual Iraq systems in Defense Department and Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics, according to Navy Cmdr. Russell Shilling, who helped create the system and is now the senior scientific adviser for psychological health at the Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.
Citing privacy regulations preventing contact with therapy participants, military officials would not provide Stars and Stripes with access to troops who had used Virtual Iraq.
The Navy invested about $6 million in research and development of the system in the past five years, Shilling said. The Army and Air Force are investing funds to study the system, as well as deploying it to various locations as the studies continue.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is among the most common diagnoses made by the Veterans Health Administration. Of approximately 300,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with access to VA care, nearly 60,000 were diagnosed with PTSD, according to a 2008 House Committee on Veterans Affairs hearing.
Virtual Iraq helps PTSD patients access traumatic memories by replicating the war zone in a safe way that therapists can control, according to Dr. Beth Davis, a deployment behavioral health psychologist at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., where the program was introduced this spring.
"When servicemembers are experiencing PTSD, on certain occasions [they] have difficulty accessing particular memories or sensations," she said.
With Virtual Iraq, a troop is back driving a Humvee down an Iraqi highway, or exploring a city on foot patrols, she said. Ambient sound recordings including prayer calls, gunfire, men yelling and taunting, can be varied in intensity by the therapist.
The smell of fire, diesel, cordite, body odor and burning rubber are also used to facilitate memory recall and emotional processing, Davis said.
"It allows the therapist to manipulate the situations to best suit the individual in a standard therapy hour," she said. "We can re-create this scenario in an environment that is safe."
A variety of scents can be manufactured, both pleasant and unpleasant, according to Shilling. Scent devices have also been used in other virtual reality applications aimed at helping people overcome addictive behaviors such as smoking or drinking, Shilling wrote in an e-mail.
Therapists who conduct the virtual therapy train at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash.
The Air Force has eight Virtual Iraq systems at base clinics around the States and is setting up another at Germany’s Ramstein Air Base this fall, according to Lt. Col. Timothy Lacy, chief of telehealth and enterprise imaging for the Air Force’s Medical Support Agency.
About a third of the troops using Virtual Iraq so far at Air Force clinics are from other branches, primarily the Army, Lacy said.
"They are bearing the brunt of the trauma," he said.
But the Air Force also tweaked the program for airmen, incorporating Air Force uniforms and scenarios.
"A lot of our folks have PTSD from collecting bodies and mortuary services," Lacy said.
Studies are ongoing to gauge the prospects for further investment in therapeutic tools similar to Virtual Iraq, Shilling said.
A Virtual Afghanistan is also in the works.
‘Too real?’
In the future, the military may build on the virtual world’s potential by allowing deployed troops and their families to create online avatars. A deployed troop could walk around a virtual war zone with their family, conversing and describing day-to-day life during a deployment.
Despite its video game look, Rothbaum said virtual reality therapy has proved effective. In the past, virtual therapy was used to help patients with a fear of elevators, for example. Even though the elevator wasn’t real and was digitally rendered, it still evoked anxiety, she said.
The system was used 10 years ago on Vietnam veterans at a less technologically advanced time. Rothbaum said patients reported seeing tanks and people in the simulation that weren’t there. Survivors of 9/11 using virtual reality therapy have also reported seeing things that aren’t in the program.
"It triggers it enough where people’s memories complete the images," she said.
In Virtual Iraq, therapists say a servicemember’s traumatic memories would fill out the virtual Iraqi street, helping them relive and overcome the incident.
"People tend to project things into it," Shilling said. "One of the debates we had was, can this be too real?"
In PTSD sufferers, disconnects often form between the memory of a traumatic event and the emotions associated with it.
"The memories almost get stored without the emotions," Rothbaum said. "We have them go back in their mind’s eye to the moment of trauma and have them recount it. The therapist tries to match the virtual reality to what they’re describing is happening to them."
©
This article is provided courtesy of Stars & Stripes, which got its start as a newspaper for Union troops during the Civil War, and has been published continuously since 1942 in Europe and 1945 in the Pacific. Stripes reporters have been in the field with American soldiers, sailors and airmen in World War II, Korea, the Cold War, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Bosnia and Kosovo, and are now on assignment in the Middle East.
Saving Homes for our Veterans across America!
Hi Everyone,
Here is another link just to show that the mission of USA Cares is not just touching lives here in Kentucky, but across America. The Home Sweet Home Campaign is an initiative started by a Beth Ann VanHoose in Arizona to help returning veterans who may be having trouble adjusting to their normal lives. The article is wonderful and inspiring, and I hope you all enjoy!
http://www.evliving.com/2009/06/17/7450/groups-that-care/
Here is another link just to show that the mission of USA Cares is not just touching lives here in Kentucky, but across America. The Home Sweet Home Campaign is an initiative started by a Beth Ann VanHoose in Arizona to help returning veterans who may be having trouble adjusting to their normal lives. The article is wonderful and inspiring, and I hope you all enjoy!
http://www.evliving.com/2009/06/17/7450/groups-that-care/
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Warrior Treatment Today Program
As a follow up to the blog about the grant from the McCormick Foundation, I wanted to post the new quarterly report about the Warrior Treatment Today Program so that people will know exactly where the generosity of the Foundation, the MLB, and everyday men and women goes.
The report is only a glimpse of all of the work of the organization, but I plan to post others in the future to help bring all of our hard work and effort out in the open in hopes of being able to continue to achieve our mission of assisting those who selflessly protect our freedom day in and day out.
Warrior Treatment Today Program –Quarterly Report June 2009
Program Overview:
Warrior Treatment Today is a USA Cares program designed to bridge the gap between personal financial demands and the need to receive treatment. Specifically, our program seeks to remove the financial barrier that exists for many service members who suffer from PTSD and/or TBI, but cannot afford to leave their employment for treatment. National Guard and Reserve personnel are particularly vulnerable as they resume their civilian lives upon return from deployment. Should they be referred for treatment of a significant duration, they have to not only keep their jobs, but also acquire the dollars necessary to continue to meet their financial obligations.
USA Cares will take on the responsibility for paying essential household bills (rent/mortgage/utilities/car payment) while the service member is attending residential type PTSD/TBI treatment. In so doing, USA Cares will facilitate attendance to mandated/recommended treatment programs by removing the financial obstacles many face today. The recent Rand study suggests over 300,000 suffer from PTSD/TBI, with fewer than half of these cases actually identified. Thus, the magnitude of the problem is significant. We believe any program that will help diagnosed service members attend necessary treatment is of great value and deserves our full support.
Brief description of activities:
Since the program was implemented 11 February 2009, we have assisted 22 clients in six different states with over $46,000.00 of funds paid directly to service providers. Most funds were focused on saving homes from foreclosure and meeting basic quality of life needs.
The report is only a glimpse of all of the work of the organization, but I plan to post others in the future to help bring all of our hard work and effort out in the open in hopes of being able to continue to achieve our mission of assisting those who selflessly protect our freedom day in and day out.
Warrior Treatment Today Program –Quarterly Report June 2009
Program Overview:
Warrior Treatment Today is a USA Cares program designed to bridge the gap between personal financial demands and the need to receive treatment. Specifically, our program seeks to remove the financial barrier that exists for many service members who suffer from PTSD and/or TBI, but cannot afford to leave their employment for treatment. National Guard and Reserve personnel are particularly vulnerable as they resume their civilian lives upon return from deployment. Should they be referred for treatment of a significant duration, they have to not only keep their jobs, but also acquire the dollars necessary to continue to meet their financial obligations.
USA Cares will take on the responsibility for paying essential household bills (rent/mortgage/utilities/car payment) while the service member is attending residential type PTSD/TBI treatment. In so doing, USA Cares will facilitate attendance to mandated/recommended treatment programs by removing the financial obstacles many face today. The recent Rand study suggests over 300,000 suffer from PTSD/TBI, with fewer than half of these cases actually identified. Thus, the magnitude of the problem is significant. We believe any program that will help diagnosed service members attend necessary treatment is of great value and deserves our full support.
Brief description of activities:
Since the program was implemented 11 February 2009, we have assisted 22 clients in six different states with over $46,000.00 of funds paid directly to service providers. Most funds were focused on saving homes from foreclosure and meeting basic quality of life needs.
STATE CLIENTS ASSISTANCE
Texas 16 $27,034.09
Georgia 1 $0.00
Ohio 1 $3160.72
North Carolina 1 $9053.29
Maryland 1 $1499.45
Alabama 1 $4312.36
Florida 1 $1583.79
TOTAL 22 $46643.70
The program started in Texas and we continue to enjoy an excellent relationship with the VA VISN 17. Our MOU allows for closer coordination and cooperation – and the above number reflects the number of Texas veterans we have assisted to date. Meanwhile, word of our program has spread to other states who have expressed an interest. At this time we are awaiting confirmation on the MOU that we have initiated from VISNs 8 and 9. (Florida and Kentucky/ Tennessee).
Introduction of our program has been sent to the states of Ohio and Alabama and we are awaiting further follow up with those particular VISNs.
Below you will find examples of some of our cases:
The program started in Texas and we continue to enjoy an excellent relationship with the VA VISN 17. Our MOU allows for closer coordination and cooperation – and the above number reflects the number of Texas veterans we have assisted to date. Meanwhile, word of our program has spread to other states who have expressed an interest. At this time we are awaiting confirmation on the MOU that we have initiated from VISNs 8 and 9. (Florida and Kentucky/ Tennessee).
Introduction of our program has been sent to the states of Ohio and Alabama and we are awaiting further follow up with those particular VISNs.
Below you will find examples of some of our cases:
Army
National Guard
Married
1 Child 1yr
Received 24 April 2009
Cause of Hardship:
Service Member (SM) has been deployed to Iraq four times. Currently SM is at inpatient treatment for severe PTSD.
During his last deployment SM was in country from Jun 2008 and returned in Nov 2008 due to issues with his PTSD. SM was put on suicide watch in Iraq until he was returned.
After SM returned, he was having issues and again attempted suicide and was admitted into the hospital for four days, SM was home for a week and self admitted back into the VA for three more days and an inpatient bed date was secured at that point.
SM is currently diagnosed with PTSD, Visual Disturbances, Headaches, and post deployment adjustment.
SM was a machinist prior to his last deployment, but has been unable to return to work due to his medical issues.
SM needs assistance with mortgage, electric (currently disconnected), and gas.
Mortgage $1322.99
Electric: $399.36
Gas: $1438.37
Total: $3160.72
Army
Medical Discharge
Married
1 Child
Received 6 May 2009
Cause of Hardship:
Service Member (SM) has just completed inpatient treatment for PTSD at Miami FL on 22 Apr 2009.
SM served in Iraq from Jan 05 till Jan 06 and was awarded a Combat Action Badge.
Since discharge, SM has had a 72 hr stay in the local psychiatric unit after one of his regular weekly counseling sessions. The Spouse said he had a “meltdown”.
There is a 2 week program available for him in Gainesville VA and his counselor has recommended the SM to attend and they have agreed. The admission date has not been set yet.
SM only has one vehicle and with all the treatments and appointments, the vehicle broke down and had to be repaired. The repairs used up money that would normally go to bills.
SM is pending 100 percent rating up from his current 70 percent and also SSI is about to start for SM. SP is applying under SSI due to needing to be with the SM as a caregiver.
SM needs assistance with Electric and Insurance.
Electric: $225.07
Insurance: $338.72
Wal-Mart Card $300.00
Total: $863.79
National Guard
Married
1 Child 1yr
Received 24 April 2009
Cause of Hardship:
Service Member (SM) has been deployed to Iraq four times. Currently SM is at inpatient treatment for severe PTSD.
During his last deployment SM was in country from Jun 2008 and returned in Nov 2008 due to issues with his PTSD. SM was put on suicide watch in Iraq until he was returned.
After SM returned, he was having issues and again attempted suicide and was admitted into the hospital for four days, SM was home for a week and self admitted back into the VA for three more days and an inpatient bed date was secured at that point.
SM is currently diagnosed with PTSD, Visual Disturbances, Headaches, and post deployment adjustment.
SM was a machinist prior to his last deployment, but has been unable to return to work due to his medical issues.
SM needs assistance with mortgage, electric (currently disconnected), and gas.
Mortgage $1322.99
Electric: $399.36
Gas: $1438.37
Total: $3160.72
Army
Medical Discharge
Married
1 Child
Received 6 May 2009
Cause of Hardship:
Service Member (SM) has just completed inpatient treatment for PTSD at Miami FL on 22 Apr 2009.
SM served in Iraq from Jan 05 till Jan 06 and was awarded a Combat Action Badge.
Since discharge, SM has had a 72 hr stay in the local psychiatric unit after one of his regular weekly counseling sessions. The Spouse said he had a “meltdown”.
There is a 2 week program available for him in Gainesville VA and his counselor has recommended the SM to attend and they have agreed. The admission date has not been set yet.
SM only has one vehicle and with all the treatments and appointments, the vehicle broke down and had to be repaired. The repairs used up money that would normally go to bills.
SM is pending 100 percent rating up from his current 70 percent and also SSI is about to start for SM. SP is applying under SSI due to needing to be with the SM as a caregiver.
SM needs assistance with Electric and Insurance.
Electric: $225.07
Insurance: $338.72
Wal-Mart Card $300.00
Total: $863.79
USA Cares receives major grant from McCormick Foundation and Major League Baseball!
McCormick Foundation & Major League Baseball Supporting Veteran’s Mental Health & Employment Initiatives
Selects USA Cares “Warrior Treatment Today” program as a major grant recipient
RADCLIFF, KY Retired Navy Commander and USA Cares Executive Director, Bill Nelson, beamed at his Family Resource Coordinators in the organization’s phone center as he announced; “It is official today. We just received word that we have been awarded a $300,000 grant from the McCormick Foundation and Major League Baseball’s Welcome Back Veterans initiative. It is slated for our Warrior Treatment Today program that supports returning veterans who are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. In far too many cases, the veteran cannot afford the three to five months of hospitalization due to financial pressures to keep their family bills paid.” He added “this is our first major funding of this very important program and I cannot express my gratitude enough.”
In April of this year, Nelson testified before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and described how private sector non-profit organizations such as USA Cares can effectively operate as a partner of the VA. In his testimony, he observed “USA Cares is uniquely qualified to offer testimony as we see on a daily basis the real-life issues that veterans and their families face. If there are ‘holes’ in the support structure, we are the first to see their effects, which makes us an excellent source of information for officials seeking to do the right things for America’s troops.”
In their joint press release, the McCormick Foundation and Major League Baseball cited statistics that indicate approximately 300,000 veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depression, and about 320,000 may have experienced traumatic brain injury (TBI) during deployment (Lisa H. Jaycox and Terri Tanielian, Invisible Wounds of War, Rand Corporation, 2008). The Welcome Back Veterans initiative is complementary to and supportive of the ongoing government programs already in place.
About USA Cares
USA Cares is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that helps post 9/11 military families bear the burdens of service with financial and advocacy support. Its mission: To help with basic needs during financial crisis, to assist combat injured Veterans and their families and to prevent private military home foreclosures and evictions. In five years, USA Cares has received more than 17,000 requests and distributed more than $5.5 million in grants. Military families anywhere in America can apply for assistance through the USA Cares web site, http://www.usacares.org/ or by calling 1-800-773-0387. For more information on USA Cares contact John Revell, jrevell@usacares.org or call (270) 352-5451.
About the McCormick Foundation
The McCormick Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to strengthening our free, democratic society by investing in children, communities and country. Through its grant making programs, Cantigny Park and Golf, museums and civic outreach program the Foundation helps build a more active and engaged citizenry. It was established as a charitable trust in 1955, upon the death of Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. The McCormick Foundation is one of the nation's largest charities, with more than $1 billion in assets. For more information, please visit http://www.McCormickFoundation.org.
About Major League Baseball Charities
Major League Baseball Charities is a not-for-profit corporation that provides support to local, national and international tax-exempt organizations to directly conduct or sponsor activities for the promotion of good health, physical education, public safety, medical research, literacy, educational or charitable purposes. In addition to supporting Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), the Official Charity of Major League Baseball, MLB Charities provides support to a number of other national charitable initiatives, including Little League Baseball, the National Urban League and the Jackie Robinson Foundation. The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball pays all administrative expenses for MLB Charities.
Links
http://www.pr-inside.com/mccormick-foundation-major-league-baseball-r1293100.htm
Selects USA Cares “Warrior Treatment Today” program as a major grant recipient
RADCLIFF, KY Retired Navy Commander and USA Cares Executive Director, Bill Nelson, beamed at his Family Resource Coordinators in the organization’s phone center as he announced; “It is official today. We just received word that we have been awarded a $300,000 grant from the McCormick Foundation and Major League Baseball’s Welcome Back Veterans initiative. It is slated for our Warrior Treatment Today program that supports returning veterans who are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. In far too many cases, the veteran cannot afford the three to five months of hospitalization due to financial pressures to keep their family bills paid.” He added “this is our first major funding of this very important program and I cannot express my gratitude enough.”
In April of this year, Nelson testified before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and described how private sector non-profit organizations such as USA Cares can effectively operate as a partner of the VA. In his testimony, he observed “USA Cares is uniquely qualified to offer testimony as we see on a daily basis the real-life issues that veterans and their families face. If there are ‘holes’ in the support structure, we are the first to see their effects, which makes us an excellent source of information for officials seeking to do the right things for America’s troops.”
In their joint press release, the McCormick Foundation and Major League Baseball cited statistics that indicate approximately 300,000 veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depression, and about 320,000 may have experienced traumatic brain injury (TBI) during deployment (Lisa H. Jaycox and Terri Tanielian, Invisible Wounds of War, Rand Corporation, 2008). The Welcome Back Veterans initiative is complementary to and supportive of the ongoing government programs already in place.
About USA Cares
USA Cares is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that helps post 9/11 military families bear the burdens of service with financial and advocacy support. Its mission: To help with basic needs during financial crisis, to assist combat injured Veterans and their families and to prevent private military home foreclosures and evictions. In five years, USA Cares has received more than 17,000 requests and distributed more than $5.5 million in grants. Military families anywhere in America can apply for assistance through the USA Cares web site, http://www.usacares.org/ or by calling 1-800-773-0387. For more information on USA Cares contact John Revell, jrevell@usacares.org or call (270) 352-5451.
About the McCormick Foundation
The McCormick Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to strengthening our free, democratic society by investing in children, communities and country. Through its grant making programs, Cantigny Park and Golf, museums and civic outreach program the Foundation helps build a more active and engaged citizenry. It was established as a charitable trust in 1955, upon the death of Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. The McCormick Foundation is one of the nation's largest charities, with more than $1 billion in assets. For more information, please visit http://www.McCormickFoundation.org.
About Major League Baseball Charities
Major League Baseball Charities is a not-for-profit corporation that provides support to local, national and international tax-exempt organizations to directly conduct or sponsor activities for the promotion of good health, physical education, public safety, medical research, literacy, educational or charitable purposes. In addition to supporting Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), the Official Charity of Major League Baseball, MLB Charities provides support to a number of other national charitable initiatives, including Little League Baseball, the National Urban League and the Jackie Robinson Foundation. The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball pays all administrative expenses for MLB Charities.
Links
http://www.pr-inside.com/mccormick-foundation-major-league-baseball-r1293100.htm
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Supporting our troops, one military family at a time
Hello,
This is the first blog posting for the non-profit organization USA Cares. I am posting this because I would like to share a resource for military families who need assistance because they have already sacrificed so much for all of us; they deserve outreach on their behalf. I will periodically post updates on events, activities, and other things that the organization has accomplished in an attempt to spread the word about our work, and our enduring committment to serving America's heros.
Based in Radcliff, Kentucky, USA Cares is a non-profit organization which assists post 9-11 veterans and their families when they need a hand through three different programs. The first is called the Combat Injured Program, and it recognizes the depth of financial strain caused from being visibly or "invisibly" wounded (such as Traumatic Brain Injury, TBI or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD). Often times these service members and their families face additional hardships while recovering from wounds received in combat. The second is known as the Housing Assistance Program. USA Cares has saved hundreds of privately owned military family homes from foreclosure. The program offers budgetary counseling and negotiations with the mortgage holder to bring the account current. Additionally, USA Cares offers similar assistance to those military families facing eviction from rental properties. Together, these efforts have spared thousands of children from the potential trauma of being force to leave their home. The third program is to ensure quality of life by making sure that the basic needs of the family are met until they are able to provide for themselves. USA Cares assists with critical needs such as overdue utility bills, auto payments, insurance, auto repairs and food. The continued ability to meet the needs of military families during temporary financial strains is fundamental to our mission.
USA Cares has had many success stories in its seven year existence, and has received more than 15,000 requests, and distributed more than $5 million in grants. It is the premier military assistance organization, and is proud to have the support of such people as Dennis Miller, Steve Wilkos, and Mark Wills, as well as other organizations such as the Coalition of Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans, America Supports You, and the Veterans Administration. USA Cares also has a thriving partnership with local businesses and organizations, as well as national ones, including Wal-Mart and Hillerich & Bradsby Inc., the makers of Louisville Slugger.
If you or anyone you know is a candidate for any of the above programs, please contact USA Cares for more information. Visit usacares.org today to find out how to not only receive assistance, but also to find out how to contribute to the cause.
This is the first blog posting for the non-profit organization USA Cares. I am posting this because I would like to share a resource for military families who need assistance because they have already sacrificed so much for all of us; they deserve outreach on their behalf. I will periodically post updates on events, activities, and other things that the organization has accomplished in an attempt to spread the word about our work, and our enduring committment to serving America's heros.
Based in Radcliff, Kentucky, USA Cares is a non-profit organization which assists post 9-11 veterans and their families when they need a hand through three different programs. The first is called the Combat Injured Program, and it recognizes the depth of financial strain caused from being visibly or "invisibly" wounded (such as Traumatic Brain Injury, TBI or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD). Often times these service members and their families face additional hardships while recovering from wounds received in combat. The second is known as the Housing Assistance Program. USA Cares has saved hundreds of privately owned military family homes from foreclosure. The program offers budgetary counseling and negotiations with the mortgage holder to bring the account current. Additionally, USA Cares offers similar assistance to those military families facing eviction from rental properties. Together, these efforts have spared thousands of children from the potential trauma of being force to leave their home. The third program is to ensure quality of life by making sure that the basic needs of the family are met until they are able to provide for themselves. USA Cares assists with critical needs such as overdue utility bills, auto payments, insurance, auto repairs and food. The continued ability to meet the needs of military families during temporary financial strains is fundamental to our mission.
USA Cares has had many success stories in its seven year existence, and has received more than 15,000 requests, and distributed more than $5 million in grants. It is the premier military assistance organization, and is proud to have the support of such people as Dennis Miller, Steve Wilkos, and Mark Wills, as well as other organizations such as the Coalition of Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans, America Supports You, and the Veterans Administration. USA Cares also has a thriving partnership with local businesses and organizations, as well as national ones, including Wal-Mart and Hillerich & Bradsby Inc., the makers of Louisville Slugger.
If you or anyone you know is a candidate for any of the above programs, please contact USA Cares for more information. Visit usacares.org today to find out how to not only receive assistance, but also to find out how to contribute to the cause.
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