Expedited Services for Veterans Mental Health and Addiction Treatment
The Hart Foundation for Veterans seeks to provide treatment upon discharge from active duty. Our initiative will allow soldiers to get the help they need in a timely manner by giving them the opportunity to enter drug and alcohol treatment without regard to their ability to pay. Individuals will be supported until such time as veteran benefits become available. Veterans will be able to contact the agency and be directed to an inpatient facility without the regard to the Veteran's ability to contribute financially to their treatment. The aspirations of this inovation are as follows.
To serve veterans returning from active duty suffering from mental health and addiction issues.
First consideration given to veterans without other physical disabilities that are already eligible for services through the veteran’s administration. Based on the established disability ratings of the Veteran’s Administration.
Eligible Veterans will be within 6 months of discharge from active duty.
Enrollment is confidential. No agent of the Hart Foundation is affiliated or responsible to any government agency.
To Provide services in a timely manner
Providing services upon discharge and up to 6 months after returning home.
To provide mental health services until such time when services are available through public welfare or the Veteran’s Administration.
The Hart Foundation seeks to provide expedited services to Veterans and is not intend to provide long term treatment.
To respect the special needs that are not typically addressed in traditional rehabilitation settings
PTSD
Identification with other Veterans
Group meetings addressing issues unique to combat veterans
To provide support through integration to civilian society
Inpatient Treatment and Detox
Medication
Outpatient support
Counseling and psychiatric treatment
Interim short term housing up to 18 months upon successful completion of an inpatient program. Fees for housing to be determined
About You
Location
Project Street Address
Project City
Project Province/State
Project Postal/Zip Code
Project Country
Your idea
Focus of activity
Service/process
Year the initiative began (yyyy)
2007
Positioning of your initiative on the mosaic diagram
Which of these barriers is the primary focus of your work?
Patients not empowered
Which of the principles is the primary focus of your work?
Democratize access
If you believe some other barrier or principle should be included in the mosaic, please describe it and how it would affect the positioning of your initiative in the mosaic:
Veteran's services in this country are based on urgency. The extended presence in the Persian Gulf has seen many casualties of war. The current treatment matrix of the Veteran's Administration gives first priority to gross physical disability. Soldiers returning home with mental incapacity and addictions issues are given a disability rating that requires an average of six to twelve months for initial treatment. During this time the untreated soldier continues to deteriorate and the concern is that a percentage of these soldiers will not be able to obtain treatment at all.
Name Your Project
Expedited Services for Veterans Mental Health and Addiction Treatment
Describe Your Idea
The Hart Foundation for Veterans seeks to provide treatment upon discharge from active duty. Our initiative will allow soldiers to get the help they need in a timely manner by giving them the opportunity to enter drug and alcohol treatment without regard to their ability to pay. Individuals will be supported until such time as veteran benefits become available. Veterans will be able to contact the agency and be directed to an inpatient facility without the regard to the Veteran's ability to contribute financially to their treatment. The aspirations of this inovation are as follows.
To serve veterans returning from active duty suffering from mental health and addiction issues.
First consideration given to veterans without other physical disabilities that are already eligible for services through the veteran’s administration. Based on the established disability ratings of the Veteran’s Administration.
Eligible Veterans will be within 6 months of discharge from active duty.
Enrollment is confidential. No agent of the Hart Foundation is affiliated or responsible to any government agency.
To Provide services in a timely manner
Providing services upon discharge and up to 6 months after returning home.
To provide mental health services until such time when services are available through public welfare or the Veteran’s Administration.
The Hart Foundation seeks to provide expedited services to Veterans and is not intend to provide long term treatment.
To respect the special needs that are not typically addressed in traditional rehabilitation settings
PTSD
Identification with other Veterans
Group meetings addressing issues unique to combat veterans
To provide support through integration to civilian society
Inpatient Treatment and Detox
Medication
Outpatient support
Counseling and psychiatric treatment
Interim short term housing up to 18 months upon successful completion of an inpatient program. Fees for housing to be determined
Innovation
Define the innovation
The Hart Foundation for Veterans seeks to provide treatment upon discharge from active duty. Our initiative will allow soldiers to get the help they need in a timely manner by giving them the opportunity to enter drug and alcohol treatment without regard to their ability to pay. Individuals will be supported until such time as veteran benefits become available. Veterans will be able to contact the agency and be directed to an inpatient facility without the regard to the Veteran's ability to contribute financially to their treatment. The aspirations of this inovation are as follows.
To serve veterans returning from active duty suffering from mental health and addiction issues.
First consideration given to veterans without other physical disabilities that are already eligible for services through the veteran’s administration. Based on the established disability ratings of the Veteran’s Administration.
Eligible Veterans will be within 6 months of discharge from active duty.
Enrollment is confidential. No agent of the Hart Foundation is affiliated or responsible to any government agency.
To Provide services in a timely manner
Providing services upon discharge and up to 6 months after returning home.
To provide mental health services until such time when services are available through public welfare or the Veteran’s Administration.
The Hart Foundation seeks to provide expedited services to Veterans and is not intend to provide long term treatment.
To respect the special needs that are not typically addressed in traditional rehabilitation settings
PTSD
Identification with other Veterans
Group meetings addressing issues unique to combat veterans
To provide support through integration to civilian society
Inpatient Treatment and Detox
Medication
Outpatient support
Counseling and psychiatric treatment
Interim short term housing up to 18 months upon successful completion of an inpatient program. Fees for housing to be determined
Context for Disruption:
The Veterans Administration has been inundated with soldiers returning from active duty with disabilities and need to assess what disabilities require the most immediate care. Soldiers with physical disabilities are given the higest priority and the current treatment matrix does not place a value on the treatment of mental disorders that allows for treatment in a timely manner. These service men and women are given an initial diagnosis and placed on a waiting list for treatment.
Delivery Model
The Hart Foundation is a small agency but tackles the problems its clients face from multiple perspectives. Our goal is to provide assistance to not only treat addiction and mental health issues but relieve the burden faced by many in seeking ways to finance the treatment required to reintegrate these men and women back into civilian society. The VA has been inundated with requests for help, with the overwhelming number of troops returning home. Based on the shear number of men and women returning addiction and mental health issues are being ignored in favor the treatment of physical disabilities as a result of war.
The Veteran’s Administration is overwhelmed and our goal is to make services available and provide hope that freedom from active addiction is possible. Over the past six months The Hart Foundation has identified the resources required to fulfill the vision of our founder. To accommodate this demand, we need to raise $300,000 from foundations and corporations this year.
Key Operational Partnerships
We are negotiating a partnership with Eagleville Rehabilitation Center to develop a model for treatment that will address the needs of soldiers returning from active duty.
The center has a great interest in what we are trying to accomplish and have suggested that they are willing to work closely with our agency to provide services to the service men and women with Grants for treatment in thier facility.
Impact
Financial Model
PROGRAM EXPENSES
Residential Treatment $250,000
Therapy 2x week 38,000
Psychiatry 12,000
Housing allowence after treatment 20,000
TOTAL EXPENSES $320,000
Cost base for ten men with an aspiration to help ten veterans Quarterly. Ultimately the agency would aspire to help ten soldiers per month. The figures below represent the program cost an additional 250,000.00 is currently required for the administration of the program. This figure will continue to change as the needs for adminstrative service expands.
Estimated cost for the first year 1,280,000.00
Subsequent years cost 5,120,000.00
What is your annual operating budget?
350k
What are your current sources of revenue? (please list any sources that are foundation grants)
The Hart Foundation for Veterans has been submitting inquiries to secure funding from many sources. Our goals are extensive and we are looking for benefactors who will believe in the vision that we've set to achieve.
The Hart Foundation has solicited local unions and corporations to support the works of the foundation through mail campaigns and response has been supportive. These efforts provide a small but essential part of our overall goal.
The Hart Foundation’s fiscal year 2007 goal for private funds is $300,000, this amount represents the amount required to advance fundraising and expand services we are able to provide. Foundations and corporations—leading regional grant makers, grant makers with a special expertise and interest in Veterans affairs, corporate foundations and family foundations alike—are all central to this fundraising effort.
Effectiveness
This project is in an early stage and requires funding in order to continue. We have the support of Senators and military personel indicating the need for the work we set out to do. To date we have turned away those seeking treatment due to a lack of funding. We have refered the to Eagleville for treatment and they have graciously helped secure the funding to treat the individuals.
Which element of the program proved itself most effective?
This program does not regard the discharge status of the affected veteran and qualifications of service do not preclude any servicemen from recieving treatment. The program is confidential and will not affect veteran's benefits because they sought treatment from the agency.
Number of clients in the last year?
In order for the agency to support client services we need to find funding sources to believe in the mission. With support we can provide services as outlined below.
What is the potential demand?
Based on research and discussions of our plans the need for treatment is overwhelming. The services required to treat service men and women returning from active duty without physical disabilities carries a wait of six to twelve months. The burden to provide services to soldiers returning from active duty has produced a strain on the Veteran's adminstration due to the war in the Persian Gulf. Addiction is a disease that progresses rapidly when untreated and many of these men and women will die without a private source to turn to for treatment.
Scaling up Strategy
Over the next three years our goal is to establish the model for treatment for the initial center and to work toward a goal to mirror this model in at least four sites throughout the country.
The agency will continue it's efforts to raise the awareness of Veterans issues with mental health and addiction to provide support for our cause.
Stage of the initiative:
0
Expansion plan:
The foundation has very agressive goals we've partnered with a treatment facility to establish a model of treatment that addresses the needs of veterans not addressed in traditional treatment settings.
Our goal today is to provide service to ten men and women quarterly and eventually we want to be able to support the treatment of ten men and women per month with a long term goal of satelite offices in the cities that the Veterans administration has determined as drop sites for soldiers returning from active duty.
Origin of the Initiative
This initiative was born of the struggles of one soldier in need of help. When he aproached the Veteran's administration it was clear that in order to get the help he desperately needed he would have to wait until those with more immediate physical needs were treated.
Through a partnership with other recovering addicts an idea was born to provide help to treat these soldiers returning from active duty at the critical point when they returned home from active duty.
Since then the members of the agency have dedicated their efforts to changing the way veterans returning home from war seek treatment.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
What are your two main challenges to finance the growth of your initiative
Our biggest challenge is finding benefactors to believe in the initiative enough to support an unproven program. While the need for the service is great it has been difficult finding the financial support to carry out our mission. Secondarily we are challenged by the inexperience of the memebers of this body. Our passion for the foundation comes from a sincere desire to help but our inexperience with funding sources and public awareness has been a challenge to our success.
How did you hear about this contest and what is your main incentive to participate?
While reviewing grant opportunities we came accross the disruptive inovations competition and felt that there was a match for the service we are providing. The foundation is filling a gap in services provided to Veterans with mental health and addiction issues.
The Story
Do you have an annual financial statement?
The articles of incorporation were filed April of 2007 the foundation is currently building funds to carry out our mission statement. An audited financial statement has not been generated to date.
Do you currently have an annual financial statement that tracks profit/loss?
The agency was started in April 2007 with funds from it's members we currently have less than $1000.00 in the bank and have no profit and loss statement as we are still pursuing funds to carry out our mission.
Please describe the amount (and/or type) of funding you need to implement your initiative, at year 1 and at year 5.
Our foundation requires starting capital to implement the program we've developed we respectfully request $10,000.00 to spearhead a public awareness campaign and continue to raise funds and begin serving clients
