CFR Receives Pennsylvania Veteran’s Trust Fund Grant
Council for Relationships (CFR) received a $38,500 grant from the Pennsylvania Veterans’ Trust Fund to support CFR’s Operation Home and Healing (OHH). This grant will secure emergency aid for therapy services for veterans and their families, regardless of their ability to pay. Based on demand, CFR is on track to double the service members and veterans they serve in FY2022. With these additional funds, CFR can lower the cost to OHH subsidy clients from a $40 to a $20 per session co-payment.
OHH was founded in 2007 after recognizing a need for specialized therapy services for active-duty service members, veterans, and their families in the greater Philadelphia area. The agency fills a niche that other organizations are restricted from serving. CFR also partners with Headstrong to provide cost-free, unlimited, and confidential individual, couple, and family therapy to active-duty service members, members of the National Guard and Reserves, and veterans of all eras – regardless of their characterization of discharge or combat status – as well as their spouses and children. Family members are eligible for service as well.
For those veterans who don’t fit into Headstrong guidelines, CFR offers the following special counseling services for veterans and military families through OHH:
- Therapists with specialized training in military culture and competency, which includes over 50% of CFR’s staff of 80+ psychiatrists and therapists who meet these veteran-specific criteria
- Counseling to military service members and veterans and married/non-married partners with or without the service member/veteran present
- Extended number of sessions for low fee therapy services
The demand for mental health care has increased throughout the pandemic. In FY2021 CFR therapists, psychiatrists, and interns provided 41,184 therapy sessions, 4.3% more than in FY2020. Approximately 15% were veterans or spouses/loved ones of veterans.
“We are receiving 2-3 calls or emails each week from veterans or family members requesting therapy,” said OHH Director Nancy Isserman, MSW, PhD. “We have the OHH subsidy program for helping them meet the cost of therapy over several months. We are also getting requests from clients who have been at other agencies who limit their therapy. The clients want additional help. With the additional funds from this grant, we can serve three times the population that we served before and cut the cost of therapy in half for our clients while providing them with the high-quality care they deserve having served our country.”
About Pennsylvania Veterans’ Trust Fund:
The mission of the Veterans’ Trust Fund (VTF), administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA), is to assist and support Pennsylvania veterans and their families.
The VTF issues grants to statewide charitable organizations that assist veterans, veterans service organizations and county directors of veterans affairs to assist veterans in need of shelter and necessities of living.
About Council for Relationships:
Council for Relationships is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help people from all walks of life improve their important relationships by providing exemplary therapy, educating and training clinicians in the family systems approach, and advancing the mental health field through research.
More than 70 therapists and psychiatrists provide counseling to individuals, couples, and families in-person at 10 offices and community-based locations in the greater Philadelphia area and online across PA & NJ. Additionally, more than 60 clinical interns per year participating in CFR’s clinician education programs provide counseling on a sliding fee scale. We are committed to providing quality counseling services to all in need, regardless of ability to pay. To learn more, visit councilforrelationships.org.
Media Contact:
Jason Anhorn
Chief Advancement Officer
Phone: 215-382-6680 ext. 3155
Email: janhorn@councilforrelationships.org