It’s taken three and a half years for me to truly understand what led me to this place, but there were several factors in life… 

One, I was at a comfortable point in my career where I became open to the idea of ‘how else can I make use of my skills?’  

Secondly, my dad was a World War II veteran.  He was in combat before I was born and was injured, but to this day, I don’t know what happened. He was a wonderful man with a lot of integrity who taught me about service to others.  I remember during the Vietnam War, my father was filled with tension and anxiety about whether my brothers would be drafted in the conflict.  We lived in California, and unfortunately the veterans returning home were treated differently than the WWII veterans.  They were damaged and shunned by the community.   They became lost in society.  I think, given my background, I had naïve ideas we (society) would never again see a war like that.  But we’re facing two wars, and as a mental health official, we know more about the mental health needs for our troop and veterans.  So I felt a compelled to get information and resources out there, that weren’t there before, for this generation of returning servicemen and women, before we face a situation of another lost society. 

And thirdly, I was driving through the city (Washington, D.C.) with my two daughters who were ages nine and five at the time and we saw a man wearing fatigues holding a sign that read ‘Homeless Vietnam Veteran.  Please Help. God Bless,’ prompting my eldest daughter to ask, “Mom, if we’re the richest country in the world, how can we let this happen?”  It was striking to me she felt ownership of the problem. 

At that moment, I realized I wanted to do more.  I was a busy single mom, raising two girls while juggling a career and I knew:  I can’t quit my job, but I can give some time.  Not only that, but this is something others can do too.   So I read ‘Starting a Nonprofit for Dummies,’ and founded Give an Hour. 

Moving forward, what are your goals for Give an Hour?

Right now, we have 3,000 mental health providers volunteering their services and time and our goal is to increase that number to 40,000 providers by 2015.  I think we will reach that number well before then.  It will happen organically.  It’s not just about giving an hour - it’s about providing direct services and creating a network of wisdom about mental health issues that can help support veterans.  

Another goal is to create state-wide initiatives, going into each state and working with local officials by connecting and working together with veteran organizations, schools, hospitals and homeless shelters and sharing our collective knowledge by providing presentations and discussions to help others understand how they can help.

One of our bigger missions right now is working with the Presidential Transition Team and sharing what we know about issues our veterans are facing to help create a continuum of care that meets their financial needs and mental health needs. 

In what capacity did GAH recently work with the Presidential Transition Team?

There is a tremendous opportunity for change, and right now, they’re looking for new models, new paradigms to deal with post-combat issues.  We’ve created a new model of how this can work. We’re gearing up to launch a national campaign with the use of funds we received from grants to help promote and get the word out about how this can be done.

We know now how to coordinate and organize these critical efforts, so we would be thrilled to assist the Presidential Transition Team develop a plan and put it in place by identifying and supporting organizations with successful programs, developing a registry of what works versus what doesn't and by creating social networks - some that connect veterans to each other, some that connect providers who are working with this population - and by developing structures that coordinate community efforts with the Department of Defense and Department of VA to help create a bigger network of support.

What can non-medical professionals or everyday civilians do to support returning veterans?

It’s about offering what you can of your time and making use of your skills and abilities.  We’ve had numerous contributions of time and resources provided by individuals who are non-medical professionals, for example, the person who helped create our first website. 

But I think first and foremost, it’s about becoming engaged.  By learning and being open to information is the beginning of the effort.  It’s also being willing to sometimes be uncomfortable.  This is not easy stuff.

You’ve grown this organization organically, at the end of the day, how do you feel?

It’s been a humbling journey.  I am proud because my daughters are proud of the work we’re doing - this is the hardest work I’ve ever done in my life.  But it’s incredibly important, so I feel a sense of urgency, but I also feel a lot of pride in the organization for stepping up and joining together.   I don’t get much sleep, but the silver lining is societal change.

Describe what the experience has been like as a mother and a professional to engage your daughters in your work?  

My daughters are now ages 13 and 8, and when I told them about the being awarded the grant they were so excited! (Give An Hour was recently awarded a major grant from the Lilly Foundation.)  They’ve watched the organization grow. My oldest daughter is a very wise soul and at times throughout this journey has communicated that she worries about me – she sees how chronically tired I am and how much effort goes into building this – but I’m energized at the same time.  I want to grow the organization even more so I’m not sleep deprived!  It’s exciting.

It’s been a truly wonderful experience as my daughters have been very involved.  They helped create the logo, and picked out the design colors. They help out at GAH Board meetings and have been quoted in articles. They’ve been good little ambassadors.  Once we attended an event where there were several servicemen and women, and the girls walked up and said ‘thank you for your service.’  They’re just very aware of service to others, and felt no hesitation or awkwardness going right up to these men and women to thank them.

What do you think has been the most beneficial for them?

I think it’s helping them because they see that Give An Hour is such a good cause, and now they’re even more excited to participate in homeless walks organized by the school, or giving money to individuals on the street.  In the winter, we’ll go to the store together and buy gloves for people living on the streets. They’re very engaged.  I think it comes down to the human connection.  It’s been wonderful to watch, and very moving.

That raises an important question, do you feel it’s better to give money to homeless people on the street or to decline giving money on the basis it perpetuates survival in an unsafe environment?

I think it’s a difficult issue, and one that each person has to determine how they feel about it.  To give to others is wonderful and noble.  I recognize that sometimes you don’t know how the money will be used; it may be for drugs or drinking if that person has a substance abuse problem.  But, on the flip side, to teach children that giving what you have, or are able to give, helps others with basic necessities…  It’s a tough issue.  There are a lot of schizophrenics and mentally ill who are homeless.   It’s a personal issue that each individual will have to determine what feels right to them.

The real issue is what our society needs to do differently so that people aren’t living out on the streets.  A huge percentage of homeless people are veterans.  There’s so much (work) to do. But our goal is to create a major shift, and provide a comprehensive way of supporting our nation’s men, women and families.

From your standpoint as a mental health professional, what lessons do you think we’ve learned collectively from the Vietnam conflict that are helping provide better support to this generation of troops and veterans?  

We understand post-traumatic stress a lot more now than we did before. 

I actually don’t use the term PTSD.  Why?  Because post-combat stress is not a disorder, it’s a normal reaction to abnormal events.  It only becomes a disorder if it’s not treated.   The stresses will magnify if there is no treatment.  Behaviors or collective circumstances that may have been perceived as negative, criminal, or such, we now know are more complex and layered situations, often indicating that a person is dealing with an exorbitant amount of stress that continues to accumulate even after combat is over.

Many veterans who have deployed for long periods of time or have experienced traumatic events want to go back into combat rather than transition to civilian life, as a therapist who treats and meets with veterans who are re-adjusting,  why do you think that is?

Often times, there is unfinished business.  They feel attached, invested, or feel ownership of the missions and their outcomes.   In combat, there’s also extreme stimulation, an adrenaline pumping experience that cannot be simulated at home.  Life back home can feel deadening flat, but there’s still this hyper-vigilant, hyper-stimulant mindset.  That’s why some veterans will go to a bar and end up in a fight.  Many will get thrown in jail.  We understand these complexities more now than previously.

Last year at the American Psychiatric Association’s conference in Washington, D.C. an audience member asked a panelist about the term, ‘malingering,’ in reference to veterans seeking treatment for PTSD for long periods of time, what is your take on that?

That also is not a term I use.  It is an older term that was referred to veterans not responding to treatment, or perceived resistance to treatment in the case of a veteran receiving treatment for PTSD for ten years or more. 

Now we know it’s not always resistance on the part of the patient to do that work to feel better; rather, sometimes there is too much damage done for that patient to trust.  For some, their conscience was ripped to shreds, and when they came home they didn’t trust the system or trust society.  It’s extremely complicated and layered, but they want to be educated. 

Education is necessary.  What people need is an opportunity to tell their story.


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