Day 136: Gave An Hour

Many times, even for the troops that make it home from overseas, fighting to protect our freedoms come with a substantial price.  There are so many things which take a toll on our fighting men and women during their time serving to protect us: the anguish of losing friends, the strain of being away from loved ones, the intense day to day conditions that they live under.  Many times the psychological wounds are as bad, if not worse, than the physical wounds that soldiers return home with.  It is estimated that about 18%, or 300,000 soldiers, return home with symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depression.  There are so many instances, however, where these severe psychological issues go untreated either due to a wrong classification of symptoms or due to the stigma associated with getting psych treatment.  That is where Give An Hour comes into play.  Give An Hour acts as an intermediary between soldiers in need of psychological treatment and the providers that offer services paid for by donors.  So today, for my random act of kindness, I became one of those donors and funded an hour of psychological services for a soldier.  It isn't insanely expensive (only $17) and can really help to get these heroes as healthy mentally as possible.