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Give an Hour(TM) Honors National Volunteer Week with Call to Service

Posted on: Monday, 20 April 2009, 08:30 CDT

Mental Health Professionals Encouraged to Join Network to Provide Free Counseling to Military Members, Veterans, and Their Loved Ones

WASHINGTON, April 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Give an Hour(TM) is honoring National Volunteer Week (April 19-25, 2009) with a call to service to licensed mental health professionals to join the Give an Hour(TM) network to provide free counseling and other mental health services.

Give an Hour(TM) is a nonprofit organization that has created a national network of licensed mental health providers who have agreed to donate one hour of their time each week to provide free counseling and other mental health services to military members, veterans, and their families who are experiencing the psychological effects of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Currently, there are nearly 4,000 providers nationwide - in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

"National Volunteer Week is a great opportunity to celebrate volunteerism and to ask of ourselves, what can I contribute?" says Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen Romberg, founder and president of Give an Hour(TM). "The idea behind our organization is to provide a means for volunteers to do what they know how to do. With approximately 400,000 licensed mental health professionals in the United States, we know there is a great opportunity to make a tremendous impact on the lives of so many of our returning troops and their families - just by donating one hour a week," she explains.

Give an Hour(TM) providers offer assistance to individuals, couples, children, and families. In addition to direct counseling, volunteers give presentations, provide consultation, teach skills, offer support and, perhaps most important, demystify mental health care for those who serve as well as for those who seek to support our troops. Give an Hour(TM) has excellent relationships with the VA, the DoD, and many veterans service organizations. In addition, Give an Hour(TM) has the support of the major mental health associations in the United States, including the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, and the Anxiety Disorders Association of America.

Although it is not required, Give an Hour(TM) offers people who receive services the opportunity to give back, by matching them with volunteer opportunities within their own communities.

Mental health professionals interested in joining Give an Hour(TM) can complete an easy online form at www.giveanhour.org. In addition, Give an Hour(TM) has volunteer needs in a variety of areas, including public relations, marketing, fund development, and event planning.

SOURCE Give an Hour

Source: PR Newswire

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