CityView Magazine

eight areas: behavioral health, education, employment, family strength, financial/legal problems, homelessness, reintegration and volunteerism. More than 60 organizations contributed to its development, including the American Red Cross, Points of Light Foundation and the National Military Family Association. Fayetteville is one of sixteen communities nationwide to have a Community Blueprint in our city, but only Fayetteville and Nor- folk currently have the pilot project. The Community Blueprint's mission statement is anchored around the dreadful fact that 47,712 service members have been injured during the past 10 years at war. Moreover, approximately 6,400 service members have given their lives during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation New Dawn. In addition to the physical injuries sustained, an unknown number of service members have experienced psychological symptoms directly related to their deployments. According to a RAND report, nearly 300,000 troops who served in Iraq and Af- ghanistan have symptoms of post-traumatic stress or major de- pression. At the same time, about 19 percent of service members reported that they experienced a possible traumatic brain injury. Spouses, children, parents, siblings, and unmarried partners of military personnel are also being adversely affected by the stress and strain of the current military campaign and in need of help. In June of this year the Department of Defense released data showing that the rate of suicide among service members will likely climb higher than the rate of combat deaths. On average, one service member kills himself or herself every day. Between 2008 and 2011 the Give an Hour provider net- work grew over 400 percent, boasting over 6,000 mental health professionals. Every dollar spent supporting Give an Hour has been leveraged to provide over 6 times as much in direct support to our military and their families. During a time when Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has rocked our nation's military, combined with a shortage of mental health providers, Give an Hour's Van Dahlen was named as Time Magazine's Top 100 Most In- fluential People in the World in 2012 for her endeavors. The organization also won the White House Joining Forces Challenge and Van Dahlen and St. Claire received the award at the White House in a reception with the First Lady Michelle Obama and the Second Lady, Dr. Jill Biden. Give an Hour was also recently recognized and has been chosen to participate in Hollywood's Got Your 6 Campaign as the lead activator for health regarding re- turning veterans and their loved ones. Meeting Fayetteville's Needs WHEN IT RAINS,AINS, IT DRAINS! 34 | July/August • 2012 (910) 433-1613 www.cityoffayetteville.org/stormwater More information and more networking is a benefit for all, said Joanne Chavonne, a volunteer since the inception of the program. "We are anticipating with the drawdown, and with those separating from the military before retire- ment, the soldier continues to have support with VA ben- efits, but the family doesn't," Chavonne said, emphasizing the need for more family mental health support programs. On May 11, the Community Blueprint and the Office of U.S. Senator Kay Hagan co-sponsored an event at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum to honor mili- tary spouses for Military Spouse Appreciation Day. The Blueprint offered a Certificate of Appreciation to three exemplary military spouses and a collective certificate for the Command Staff Spouses at Fort Bragg. (CityView Sen- ior Editor Rebekah Sanderlin was among those honored.) On June 7, Give an Hour sponsored a Community Blueprint – Walmart Foundation press event to highlight eight local recipients of the Blueprint-Walmart Founda- tion grants. The Walmart Foundation provided a total of 16 grants (eight per pilot site) totaling $155,000 towards collaborative community projects and initiatives which support service members and their families. Also on June 7, Give an Hour held a media and com- munity event highlighting their efforts through pamper- ing hundreds of local military spouses with different edu- cational stations. The Community Blueprint has also led numerous ef- forts in our community to assist military families and re- ceived national recognition for those efforts. During last year's Dogwood Festival the organization provided sup- plies for youth to make Military Memory Bracelets for their heroes and to share a bit about them. The project and photos were featured in an online blog for the May issue of Seventeen magazine.

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