12/11/2007
Four recipient organizations offer assistance to military personnel and their families

DALLAS (November 9, 2007) – Fueled by an increased need for mental health care, more than $1.45 million in grants was awarded to four non-profit organizations assisting military personnel who are serving or have served in Iraq or Afghanistan and their families through the Texas Resources for Iraq-Afghanistan Deployment (TRIAD) Fund of The Dallas Foundation. This brings the total amount awarded this year to $4,022,596. These grants are designed to help veterans and their families cope with the challenges of daily life during and after their service. Grants include:

• $750,000 to Scott & White Memorial Hospital, over two years, to support the Home Front Rehabilitation Program. This program has two components: free mental health care for a minimum of 900 eligible servicemen and women and their families when recommended by a family practitioner in their clinics in Temple, Killeen, West Killeen and Waco; and 20 workshops for returning units and their families in North and NE Texas to educate the family about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Disorder, as well as to offer family counseling. A minimum of 1,500 individuals will be served through this grant.
• $490,150 to Mental Health Association – Tarrant County, over two years, to support mental health care and case management in Tarrant, Johnson, Parker, Wise and Hood Counties. Approximately 400 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their family members will receive free mental health services. The Chisholm Trail Chapter of the American Red Cross and MHA – Tarrant County will provide identification, intake and assessment, referral to an appropriate specialist and additional support services.
• $118,820 to Helping Unite Gold Star Survivors (HUGSS) at Fort Hood, overone year, to provide support for the Gold Star Families who have lost a loved one in battle in Iraq or Afghanistan. These funds will be used to pay salaries and benefits for three full-time client outreach representatives as well as to start a Mother’s Day Out program and provide additional office supplies.
• $91,410 to Texas Hearing and Service Dogs, over two years, to create the Assistance Dogs for Soldiers program which will train and provide Hearing Dogs and Service Dogs as working partners for five veterans in North Texas who sustained traumatic hearing or mobility injuries while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.

"The $750,000 grant to Scott & White Memorial Hospital is the largest award made to date from the TRIAD Fund," said Phil Ritter, Vice Chair of the TRIAD Fund Advisory Committee and Senior Vice President at Texas Instruments. "Everything we have heard from the military and the nonprofits serving the personnel and families impacted by deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan indicates that the need for additional mental health care is already at a crisis point and will only intensify as more troops return home to North Texas. This grant will provide additional access to mental health care for the soldiers and families around Fort Hood and counseling services for the Guard and Reserve Units and their families in their hometowns."

"We know from our colleagues in the Department of Defense and the Texas Military Forces that our soldiers and their families are suffering from the impact of war and deployment,” said Kathryn J. Kotrla, M.D., Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. “As mental health providers, we also know that early intervention can heal both the wounded warrior and his or her family. This grant will allow Scott & White to seamlessly treat soldiers and families, bodies and minds, and to strengthen the brave men and women who have served our country, their families, our communities, and our state,” she said.

According to a recent article in USA Today, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) says mental health is the second-largest area of illness for which Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seek treatment at VA hospitals and clinics. It follows orthopedic problems and is increasing at a faster rate. When combined with the grant to the Mental Health Association of Tarrant County as well as one awarded in July to Mental Health America of Dallas, the TRIAD Fund has awarded almost $1.8 million to area nonprofits to address mental health issues.

"We are most grateful for this support from the TRIAD Fund at The Dallas Foundation and pleased for the opportunity to assist area U.S. military service personnel and their families who are serving our nation so bravely," said Linda Ragsdale, Executive Director of the Mental Health Association of Tarrant County. "It can be extremely challenging for a new veteran to get into the VA service system in the Tarrant County area. This initiative for early intervention with a coordinated community-based response to those in need will hopefully reduce the debilitating effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and other mental health disorders frequently experienced by veterans and/or their family members."

The TRIAD Fund selects nonprofit organizations through a competitive application process. The Dallas Foundation has created a special advisory committee, comprised of business, civic and military leaders, to prioritize the region’s needs, determine grant criteria, and review and award the grants. The Dallas Foundation’s TRIAD Fund remaining application deadline for 2007 is December 17. For more information, please visit www.triadfund.org.