8/7/2007

More than $1.6 million in grants were awarded to seven 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 Fund (TRIAD) of The Dallas Foundation. This brings the total amount awarded this year to $2.9 million. These grants are designed to help veterans and their families cope with the challenges of daily life during and after their service.

Grants include:

• $553,260 to Mental Health America and American Red Cross over two years to support mental health care and case management. Approximately seven hundred Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and family members will receive free mental health services. The Red Cross and MHA will provide intake and assessment, referral to an appropriate specialist and additional support services.
• $414,857 to the National Organization on Disabilityover two years for the first of three pilot sites for a demonstration program to provide free job training and employment for the Army’s most severely wounded Iraq and Afghanistan veterans living in Dallas/Fort Worth.
• $351,600 to The Pinnacle Foundation to assist at least 260 North and East Texas military personnel wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan and their caregivers with job training and employment.
• $234,599 to Metroplex Military Charitable Trust to fund three wheelchair vans to transport veterans wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan to outpatient treatment appointments at the Dallas VA Polytrauma Unit, the Bonham VA Medical Center and the Fort Worth VA Outpatient Clinic. The vans will be driven by DFW Honor Guard volunteers and will serve veterans in the North and East Texas area.
• $50,000 to Operation Homefront - Texas to support emergency assistance funding and home repairs for North and East Texas military personnel that have served in Iraq or Afghanistan and their families.
• $25,000 to the Texas Military Family Foundation for emergency assistance and programs for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans at the TexasMilitarySupportCenter at FortHood. The Center is open 24 hours a day and serves 2,000 Guard and Reserve soldiers per month.
• $10,000 to CampLIFE! for a free three-day camp for surviving dependents of soldiers from Ft.Hood killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. The camp, organized through Helping Unite Gold Star Survivors (HUGSS) is at Ski ‘n Scats Camp on CedarCreekLake, and will provide grief counseling for the surviving youth and parent, as well as recreational activities.

Utilizing data from surveys of Texas National Guard and Army Reserve personnel and families, the TRIAD Fund Advisory Committee established five funding priorities: mental and physical health care, emergency assistance, family reintegration, job training and employment and dependent youth services.

"I am very proud of the TRIAD initiative, the grants awarded and the difference they are going to make for the men and women serving our country and their families,” said Robert Jordan, former USambassador to Saudi Arabia and a member of the TRIAD Fund advisory committee. “These grants were awarded to both large and small agencies with programs addressing unmet needs and hardships caused by deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan."

The largest grant, more than half a million dollars, will support a mental health service collaboration between Mental Health America and the American Red Cross.

"For many Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families, accessing and paying for mental health services can be difficult,” said Tim Simmons, executive director of Mental Health America. "MHA is very honored to sponsor a program in cooperation with the Dallas Chapter of the American Red Cross that will assist them in locating and paying for mental health services. It is our way to thank them for their service to the Country and help them transition home."

Cheryl Sutterfield-Jones, CEO of the Dallas Chapter of the American Red Cross, added, "The Red Cross has been serving the military since its inception and this opportunity to collaborate with MHA is a wonderful way to expand our service to Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom service members and their families."

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 deadlines for 2007 are September 17 and December 17. For more information, please visit www.triadfund.org.