Give an Hour

Give an Hour™ is a nonprofit 501(c)(3), founded in September 2005 by Dr. Barbara V. Romberg, 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, GAH is dedicated to meeting the mental health needs of the troops and families affected by the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. We provide counseling to individuals, couples and families, and children and adolescents. We offer treatment for anxiety, depression, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, sexual health and intimacy concerns, and loss and grieving.

GAH has been featured and Dr. Romberg has been interviewed in countless articles, television segments, and radio casts in the last few months, as the mental health needs of the troops have become strikingly apparent.

Operation Military Kids

Operation: Military Kids (OMK) is the U.S. Army's collaborative effort with America's communities to support the children and youth impacted by deployment. This initiative was officially launched in April 2005. Since its inception OMK has touched 88,000 military youth and provided information to 21009 community members across the United States.

Operation: Military Kids, as part of the 4-H/Army Youth Development Project, is a vital part of the Army OneSource (AOS) delivery system. Families and youth can access information about OMK programs, link to OMK partner programs on this OMK website or by contacting their State 4-H Military Liaison.

Through a network of community partners, OMK provides youth program opportunities for school age, middle school and teenaged youth and connects them to support resources where they live. Through OMK, Military Youth can:

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Participate in a range of recreational, social & educational programs
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Gain leadership, organizational, and technical skills by participating in the Speak Out for Military Kids program or Mobile Technology Lab programs
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Receive assistance with school issues by connecting with Army Child, Youth & School Services School Liaisons -- More on School Transition Support
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Attend single day or weekend camps
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Meet other youth who are also experiencing deployment

National, State and Local Partners of Operation: Military Kids provide access to youth programs and support services where military children live. OMK Partners can organize special events, provide transportation to military kids to sporting events or other extracurricular activities, or participate in the Hero Pack initiative.



Army Child, Youth & School Services programs are offered through Army Garrisons, National Guard Family State Program offices or Reserve Regional commands. National 4-H Headquarters provides information to connect military to 4-H programs in their hometowns. You can find the Boys & Girls Club nearest to you at www.bgca.org and participate in wide array of program opportunities such as Keystone Clubs. Schools can help create academic, social and emotional support networks for students. Military Child Education Coalition can provide professional development opportunites on working with military populations for school personnel and community members to make them aware of the stressors that can be associated with a military deployment.. The American Legion has a variety of youth program options such as the "High School Oratorical Scholarship Program" for youth of all ages. The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) can assist military families with child care issues.

OMK Teams operating in 49 States and the District of Columbia include over 600 OMK partner members from both national and local organizations that work together to provide support to the military children in their state.

SBA Patriot Express Loan

The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced the SBA’s Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative for veterans and members of the military community wanting to establish or expand small businesses.

Eligible military community members include:


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Veterans
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Service-disabled veterans
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Active-duty service members eligible for the military’s Transition Assistance Program
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Reservists and National Guard members
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Current spouses of any of the above
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The widowed spouse of a service member or veteran who died during service or of a service-connected disability
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The SBA and its resource partners are focusing additional efforts on counseling and training to augment this loan initiative.

The American Legion

In the 1920s, The American Legion began a national program of Temporary Financial Assistance to keep the children of deceased or disabled veterans at home rather than in institutions. This cash aid is still available for cases not covered by subsequent state and federal programs for the needy. In 2007 of eligible veterans, the TFA program provided more than $562,100 to 521 families, benefiting almost 1198 children.

Through TFA, a local post can call upon the national organization for cash assistance to help maintain the basic needs of veterans' children. The TFA fund has been used to assist families in meeting the costs of shelter, food, utilities and health expense items when the parents are unable to do so, thereby keeping the child, or children, in a more stable home environment.
TFA Case Studies

Not being able to work due to an operation on his shoulder, a 20 percent disabled veteran and his two minor children were in financial difficulty. The mother of the children had abandoned the family, providing no support. While the family was receiving Food Stamps and assistance with their rent, they had fallen behind on the electric bill, and there was a good chance it would be cut-off. While a Service Officer was working to upgrade the veteran's disability claim, the Temporary Financial Assistance program stepped in and paid the electric bill, assuring the children would have a safe and warm home in which to live.

A Persian Gulf War veteran, with two minor children and a 17-year member of the Air Force National Guard, was discharged due to a disability he received while on active duty. When he was granted 50 percent disability VA benefits, he was informed he would have to repay thousands of dollars received as severance pay upon his discharge, reducing his monthly benefit to a paltry $182 a month. This amount, however, coupled with the minimum wages received by his wife, put the family $6 over the income limit to receive food stamps. In addition, the family had fallen behind in their rent. The Temporary Financial Assistance program provided rent money sufficient to ward off eviction as a service officer worked to increase the disability claim with the VA and assisted the veteran in filing for Social Security benefits.

Sometimes the Temporary Financial Assistance program simply provides dollars to help the parents with the general health and welfare of the children. Such was the case when a Coast Guard veteran was discharged with a very serious skin disease developed from exposure to chemicals used in his military trained maintenance position as an airplane mechanic. He was hired by civilian companies, because of his military training, but was again exposed to chemicals similar to those that caused the original problem. As a result, it was finally determined he would have to be retrained through the VA Vocational Rehabilitation program. The veteran's wife was a substitute teacher, and the income from this work was sporadic, at best, and the family was falling behind financially. Assistance was provided to give this family a hand up until the veteran was enrolled in the Vocational Rehabilitation program.