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Give an Hour(TM) Partners with American Red Cross and Calls All Mental Health Professionals in Texas to Volunteer Their Services

Posted on: Monday, 9 November 2009, 08:00 CST

SAN ANTONIO, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In the wake of the Fort Hood tragedy, Give an Hour(TM) is issuing a call to action to all mental health professionals in Texas to join the Give an Hour(TM) network.

Give an Hour(TM) is a national nonprofit organization providing free counseling and other mental health services to active duty service members, members of the National Guard and Reserve forces, and veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who have separated or retired from any branch of military service. In addition to these military personnel and their spouses and children, Give an Hour(TM) is also offering free services to parents, siblings, and unmarried partners who are not entitled to receive mental health benefits through the military or VA.

Currently, there are 300 licensed mental health professionals volunteering their time on the Give an Hour(TM) network in Texas. Nationwide, the network has more than 4,500 providers.

"Given the size of the military community in Texas and the losses Texas had already suffered in terms of lives lost and otherwise altered as a result of the wars, we had already been working on launching a statewide initiative in Texas," says Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, founder and president of Give an Hour(TM). "It is clear after the Fort Hood tragedy that the need for our services will be greater than ever and that we must immediately mobilize the mental health community to deal with the aftermath."

In addition to providing direct counseling services, Give an Hour(TM) will be partnering with other organizations, including the USO and Blue Star Families, to ensure that the needs of Texas's military families are continually met.

Give an Hour(TM) is also ready to provide mental health consultants to other veterans service organizations, first-responders, congregations, and schools.

Licensed mental health professionals wishing to join the Give an Hour(TM) network can visit www.giveanhour.org to register. Give an Hour(TM) asks that providers agree to give a minimum of one hour a week for a year.

Anyone eligible to receive services should visit www.giveanhour.org and use the Provider Search to locate a provider in his or her area.

About Give an Hour(TM)

Give an Hour(TM) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3), founded in September 2005 by Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, 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, Give an Hour(TM) 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(TM) has more than 4,500 providers across the nation--in all 50 states, D.C., Guam, and Puerto Rico--and continues to recruit volunteer mental health professionals to its network. To learn more, visit www.giveanhour.org.

SOURCE Give an Hour

Source: PR Newswire

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