Saturday, August 18, 2012

Grant Opportunity: Kenya Arid Lands

Kenya Arid Lands Disaster Risk Reduction-WASH Program

Agency for International Development


 http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=0hBKQvGNvQLjBPMqhJKhrQH1CpcDYvs3YlyK1Ry8hqq3ZNgH3ygJ!1460891328?oppId=185653&mode=VIEW







The synopsis for this grant opportunity is detailed below, following this paragraph. This synopsis contains all of the updates to this document that have been posted as of 07/20/2012 . If updates have been made to the opportunity synopsis, update information is provided below the synopsis.
If you would like to receive notifications of changes to the grant opportunity click send me change notification emails . The only thing you need to provide for this service is your email address. No other information is requested. 
Any inconsistency between the original printed document and the disk or electronic document shall be resolved by giving precedence to the printed document.
Document Type:Grants Notice
Funding Opportunity Number:RFA-623-12-000005
Opportunity Category:Discretionary
Posted Date:Jul 20, 2012
Creation Date:Jul 20, 2012
Original Closing Date for Applications:Aug 31, 2012   
Current Closing Date for Applications:Aug 31, 2012   
Archive Date:Sep 30, 2012
Funding Instrument Type:Cooperative Agreement 
Category of Funding Activity:Agriculture
Disaster Prevention and Relief
Natural Resources 
Category Explanation:
Expected Number of Awards:3
Estimated Total Program Funding:$8,000,000
Award Ceiling:$8,000,000
Award Floor:$4,000,000
CFDA Number(s):98.001  --  USAID Foreign Assistance for Programs Overseas
Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement:No

Eligible Applicants

Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility"
 

Additional Information on Eligibility:


Agency Name

Kenya USAID-Nairobi

Description

The core objective of the program is to assist the Kenyan government and communities through cooperative agreements to a consortium, or consortiums of, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are not for profit and/or Public International Organizations (PIOs) to increase resilience to drought and flash floods while simultaneously increasing access to improved water supply and sanitation services, and improving hygiene behaviors, for poor and vulnerable populations in the arid counties of Turkana, Marsabit (including Moyale District), Garissa, Isiolo, and Wajir in Kenya. Through its investments, USAID proposes the following objectives: 1. Increase water storage capacity in arid lands, through improving natural and artificial storage. 2. Improve WASH conditions at health facilities and nutrition centers frequently utilized during emergency response. 3. Improve access to safe drinking water sources, improve access to and usage of point of use water treatment products, promote good hygiene behaviors and use of sanitation facilities as a means of reducing diarrheal disease in areas with recurrent emergency levels of malnutrition and around areas of improved water storage. 

Link to Additional Information

If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact:

Charity Igweta
Procurement Administrative Assistant
Phone +254208622408 Charity Igweta

Synopsis Modification History

There are currently no modifications for this opportunity.

Grant Opportunity: DOS. U.S. Mission to Tunisia


Department of State

DOS
Department of State
U.S. Mission to Tunisia
University Partnership
Modification 3

University Partnership



The synopsis for this grant opportunity is detailed below, following this paragraph. This synopsis contains all of the updates to this document that have been posted as of 08/15/2012 . If updates have been made to the opportunity synopsis, update information is provided below the synopsis. 
If you would like to receive notifications of changes to the grant opportunity click send me change notification emails . The only thing you need to provide for this service is your email address. No other information is requested.

Any inconsistency between the original printed document and the disk or electronic document shall be resolved by giving precedence to the printed document.
Description of Modification
the ceiling amount is $350,000 and not $350
Document Type:Modification to Previous  Grants Notice
Funding Opportunity Number:TPA20120815
Opportunity Category:Discretionary
Posted Date:Aug 15, 2012
Creation Date:Aug 17, 2012
Original Closing Date for Applications:Sep 17, 2012    Closing Date: Monday, September 17, 2012
Current Closing Date for Applications:Sep 17, 2012    Closing Date: Monday, September 17, 2012
Archive Date:Oct 17, 2012
Funding Instrument Type:Grant 
Category of Funding Activity:Other (see text field entitled "Explanation of Other Category of Funding Activity" for clarification) 
Category Explanation:Setting up a comprehensive approach to training Diplomacy and World Affairs for the Tunisian “Diplomatic Institute for Training and Studies-IDFE”
Expected Number of Awards:
Estimated Total Program Funding:
Award Ceiling:$350,000
Award Floor:$250,000
CFDA Number(s):19.040  --  Public Diplomacy Programs
Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement:Yes

Eligible Applicants

Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
 

Additional Information on Eligibility:

The United States Embassy/Tunis is planning to support the Tunisian Diplomatic Institute in the development of a special curriculum to support on-going reforms in matter of capacity building to the benefit of Tunisian diplomats, in light of new trends and practices in diplomacy and skills required by the diplomatic profession, in fields such as Public Diplomacy, PR & Media Relations, Economic Diplomacy, Analysis and Prospective of Current International Affairs, Crisis Management, and interpersonal development. This partnership would also include the setting up of a Studies & Research Unit to investigate topics such as international relations, international law, the global economy, international conflict, terrorism and post-conflict nation building. The Tunisian Diplomatic institute reports to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and offers two study tracks: The first is one-year long and designed for young university graduates. Student attend classes on basic diplomacy techniques, international law, international economy and relations, etc.. At completion of the first year of study, students follow internships in various departments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before their actual assignment. The second track is aimed for in-service and mid-career professionals and offers short term training programs on various diplomacy matters. For more information about the institute, please send email to idfe.takwin@gmail.com or call the Director for Training +216 71 784 510 

Agency Name

U.S. Mission to Tunisia

Description

This RFA is designed to support U.S. academic institutions that seek to engage with the Tunisian Diplomatic institute. (Eligible Applicants: All members of the American Council on Education (ACE), the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), the Association of American Universities (AAU), the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), and other regionally accredited, degree-granting, U.S. higher education institutions). Applicant institutions with previous project or exchange experience in Tunisia and/or in North Africa are preferred.Selected recipients will be responsible for ensuring achievement of program objectives that enhance mutual, fully collaborative relationships between Tunisian and U.S. education/diplomatic institutions and their public and private sector partners in both countries. It is USG policy not to award profit under assistance instruments. However, all reasonable, allocable, and allowable expenses, both direct and indirect, which are related to the program and are in accordance with applicable cost standards (22 CFR 226, OMB Circular A-21 for universities, and the Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 31 for for-profit organizations), may be paid under the award.Subject to the availability of funds, US Embassy Tunis plans to provide up to $350,000 in Economic Support Funds (ESF) for the partnership stated above not to exceed two years, but with the possibility of no-cost limited extensions. The US Embassy reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted. For the purposes of this program, this RFA is being issued and consists of this cover letter and the Full Application including following: 1. Section A - Application Format; 2. Section B - Selection Criteria; 3. Section C - Program Description; 4. Section D - Certifications, Assurances, and Other Statements of Applicant/Recipient 5. Section E - Attachments to Program Description (attachments 1, 2, and 3)To be eligible for an award, the applicant must provide all required information in its application, including the requirements found in any attachments. Applicants must submit the full application package in compliance with the method indicated in this cover letter and in Section A of this RFA.For the purposes of this RFA, the term "Grant" is synonymous with "Cooperative Agreement"; "Grantee" is synonymous with "Recipient"; and "Grant Officer" is synonymous with "Agreement Officer".Any questions concerning this RFA should be submitted in writing via email to Kaouthar Ben Mohamed benmohamedk@state.gov . Applications must be received by the closing date and time indicated at the top of this cover letter. Faxed proposals will not be accepted. Applicants should submit their applications by e-mail attachment formatted in Microsoft Word (up to 2MB limit per email. PDF files are acceptable). Applicants will be informed that their electronic submissions (via email) were successfully received by the required due date. Awards will be made to that responsible applicant(s) whose application(s) best meets the requirements of this RFA and the selection criteria contained herein.Issuance of this RFA does not constitute an award commitment on the part of US Embassy Tunis, nor does it commit the Embassy to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of an application. Further, US Embassy Tunis reserves the right to reject any or all applications received. In addition, final award of any resultant cooperative agreement(s) cannot be made until funds have been fully appropriated, allocated, and committed through internal procedures. While it is anticipated that these procedures will be successfully completed, potential applicants are hereby notified of these requirements and conditions for award. All preparation and submission costs are at the applicant's expense. Applicants should retain for their records one copy of all enclosures which accompany their application. 

Link to Additional Information

If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact:

Kaouthar Ben Mohamed
Grants Management Assistant
Phone 0021671107266 benmohamedk@state.gov

Synopsis Modification History

The following files represent the modifications to this synopsis with the changes noted within the documents. The list of files is arranged from newest to oldest with the newest file representing the current synopsis. Changed sections from the previous document are shown in a light grey background.
File NameDate
Modification #2Aug 17, 2012
Modification #1Aug 16, 2012
Original SynopsisAug 15, 2012
 


      =================================================================
US –Tunisian University collaboration in the field of Journalism

April 24, 2012
Issuance Date:  Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Closing Date:  Friday May 25, 2012 
Closing Time:  16:00 local Tunis time (11 AM EST)
The United States Embassy/Tunis is planning to support the implementation of a one-year long master’s degree program on Investigative Journalism at the Tunis Journalism and Press Sciences Institute (IPSI).  This program will focus on teaching the basic skills of investigative journalism to both entry-level journalists and mid-career professionals, with an emphasis on information sourcing, investigative techniques, and law.  The program must include designing a curriculum, developing materials, virtual exchanges, faculty training and mentoring.  The program should lead to the creation of a Center for Investigative Reporting in Tunisia Subject to the availability of funds, US Embassy Tunis plans to provide up to $250,000 in Economic Support Funds (ESF) for this partnership not to exceed two years, but with the possibility of no-cost limited extensions. The US Embassy reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted. 
A higher education partnership would include but is not limited to:
  • Exchanges of faculty and experts
  • Creation of knowledge centers
  • Building a library of relevant materials
  • Joint market research by collaborating faculty
  • Support for student innovation projects
Eligible Applicants:
This RFA is designed to support U.S. academic institutions that seek to engage with higher education institutions in Tunisia. (Eligible Applicants: All members of the American Council on Education (ACE), the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), the Association of American Universities (AAU), the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), and other regionally accredited, degree-granting, U.S. higher education institutions).  Applicant institutions with previous project or exchange experience in Tunisia and/or in North Africa are preferred.
Selected recipients will be responsible for ensuring achievement of program objectives that enhance mutual, fully collaborative relationships between Tunisian and U.S. higher education institutions and their public and private sector partners in both countries. 
It is USG policy not to award profit under assistance instruments.  However, all reasonable, allocable, and allowable expenses, both direct and indirect, which are related to the program and are in accordance with applicable cost standards (22 CFR 226, OMB Circular A-21 for universities, and the Federal Acquisition Regulation  Part 31 for for-profit organizations), may be paid under the award.
Subject to the availability of funds, US Embassy Tunis plans to provide up to $250,000 in Economic Support Funds (ESF) for each partnership stated above not to exceed two years, but with the possibility of no-cost limited extensions. The US Embassy reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted. 
For the purposes of this program, this RFA is being issued and consists of this cover letter and the Full Application (PDF 322KB) including following:
     1.  Section A - Application Format;
     2.  Section B - Selection Criteria;
     3.  Section C - Program Description;
     4.  Section D - Certifications, Assurances, and Other Statements of Applicant/Recipient
     5.  Section E - Attachments to Program Description (attachments 1, 2, and 3)
To be eligible for an award, the applicant must provide all required information in its application, including the requirements found in any attachments.  Applicants must submit the full application package in compliance with the method indicated in this cover letter and in Section A of this RFA.
For the purposes of this RFA, the term "Grant" is synonymous with "Cooperative Agreement"; "Grantee" is synonymous with "Recipient"; and "Grant Officer" is synonymous with "Agreement Officer".
Any questions concerning this RFA should be submitted in writing to John Berry, via email to berryJF@state.gov ccing Jason KhilekhileJB@state.gov  Faouzi Chaouch chaouchf@state.gov .  Applications must be received by the closing date and time indicated at the top of this cover letter. 
Faxed proposals will not be accepted.  Applicants should submit their applications by e-mail attachment formatted in Microsoft Word (up to 2MB limit per email.  PDF files are acceptable). 
Applicants will be informed that their electronic submissions (via email) were successfully received by the required due date. 
Awards will be made to that responsible applicant(s) whose application(s) best meets the requirements of this RFA and the selection criteria contained herein.
Issuance of this RFA does not constitute an award commitment on the part of US Embassy Tunis, nor does it commit the Embassy to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of an application.  Further, US Embassy Tunis reserves the right to reject any or all applications received.  In addition, final award of any resultant cooperative agreement(s) cannot be made until funds have been fully appropriated, allocated, and committed through internal procedures.  While it is anticipated that these procedures will be successfully completed, potential applicants are hereby notified of these requirements and conditions for award. All preparation and submission costs are at the applicant's expense. Applicants should retain for their records one copy of all enclosures which accompany their application.

Pest Control: HantaVirus Exposure


Two may have contracted hantavirus while visiting Yosemite

By Phil Gast, CNN
updated 7:25 PM EDT, Fri August 17, 2012

Rare virus kills Yosemite camper


STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Park said it disinfected 400 cabins
  • Man, woman in June visited camping area in Yosemite National Park
  • They may have been exposed to deadly hantavirus
  • Deer mice might be to blame
(CNN) -- Two Californians, one of whom died, may have been exposed to mice droppings or urine that contained hantavirus while vacationing at Yosemite National Park, health officials said Thursday.
The visitors contracted hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome, a rare but often fatal lung disease.
The two had stayed at the popular Curry Village in mid-June, according to the California Department of Public Health.

An unidentified 37-year-old man from the San Francisco Bay area died in late July, said Dr. Vicki Kramer, chief of the department's vector-borne disease section.

A Southern California woman in her 40s survived and is recovering, Kramer told CNN.
The two stayed in separate locations at the village, which contains about 400 canvas tent and wooden cabins.

"They are very sparse but comfortable," Yosemite ranger and spokesman Scott Gediman said of the tent cabins where the man and woman stayed.

Officials have focused on deer mice, common in the high-elevation eastern Sierra Nevada region. The mice are gray or brown on top, with white bellies. Their ears have no fur.

"Rodents can infest a whole range of these structures," Kramer said. "Deer mice can get in a hole one-quarter inch in diameter."

In the United States, the carriers of hantavirus are deer mice, cotton rats, rice rats and white-footed mice, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus can be present in the rodents' urine, droppings and saliva, and is spread to people when they breathe in air contaminated with the virus, the CDC says.

The virus is not communicable from person to person.


Rodent control is the primary strategy for preventing the hantavirus syndrome, according to the CDC.
California's health department has worked with Yosemite National Park for years to reduce the risks to visitors, Kramer said. The agency and park public health officers routinely conduct rodent surveillance, and the park inspects buildings and facilities, it said.

The battle begins with workers routinely disinfecting floors and removing mouse droppings.
Once park officials learned of the two cases, all 400 camp structures were thoroughly cleaned, Gediman said Thursday.

Yosemite National Park has increased routine measures to reduce the hantavirus risk, according to officials.
"You cannot eliminate all the mice," Kramer said. "There are a lot of people and snacks that people bring into their tents or cabins."

Gediman said officials consider Curry Village safe and guests have not canceled lodging reservations in the busiest month of the year at Yosemite.

Officials urge people to clean areas of rodent infestation with caution.

It's best not to vacuum or sweep, because that can push hantavirus particles into the air, where they can enter the lungs.

Rather, people should wear gloves and use bleach where they see mouse droppings. They should let the bleach sit for 15 minutes before using a mop or sponge to clean up.

Opening shuttered areas to air and sunlight also is suggested.

The two recent hantavirus cases bring the 2012 total in California to four. About one-third of the 60 cases reported in the state since 1993 have been fatal, the department said. Yosemite National Park saw one hantavirus case each in 2000 and 2010.

There is no specific treatment for hantavirus infection, according to the CDC, but the earlier the patient is brought to intensive care, the better.

Diagnosis is difficult, because early symptoms of fever, muscle aches and fatigue often are confused with the flu.

"However, if the individual is experiencing fever and fatigue, and has a history of potential rural rodent exposure, together with shortness of breath, (that) would be strongly suggestive of HPS," the CDC says.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Veterans in Mental Health Jobs


http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/08/health/military-veterans-psychology/?iref=obnetwork

Military bonds draw veterans to mental health jobs

By Maria LaMagna, Special to CNN
updated 9:18 AM EDT, Thu August 9, 2012
Robert Kyle has tattoos of friends' initials who were killed while deployed. He now works as a peer coach at Vets Prevail.
Robert Kyle has tattoos of friends' initials who were killed while deployed. He now works as a peer coach at Vets Prevail.

    (CNN) -- Things probably should have turned out differently for Samantha Schilling.
    The stories she tells have dark beginnings and could have had, under different circumstances, dark endings -- as so many stories for those in the military do.

    Schilling, now 31, served in the U.S. Navy from 1999 to 2003. She was never deployed but worked as an information systems technician at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia.

    Several of her colleagues were killed during the 2000 al Qaeda bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, which left 17 dead and at least 37 injured. Some of the injured were transferred to her base in Norfolk.
    Many of the survivors suffered from mental trauma after the bombing. One of them, a man who had been aboard the ship, attacked Schilling and attempted to rape her.

    That assault drove home the impact that active duty had on her colleagues' mental state.
    "I experienced military sexual trauma, and that just inspired me," she said. "Coming back into civilian life, you're not the same person you were in the military. ... You carry with you all these burdens, all these stressors."

    Schilling was released from service with an honorable medical discharge in 2003. Since that time, she has taken on a personal mission to help others who need counseling after military service. She's nearly completed a masters in a joint military psychology and neuropsychology program at the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Chicago and plans to finish her doctorate degree in 2015.

    Samantha Schilling, with her father, lost several colleagues in the USS Cole bombing.
    Samantha Schilling, with her father, lost several colleagues in the USS Cole bombing.

    "I'm determined to be able to be helpful to others," she said. "Helping others helps me. ... I think therapy can help people adapt to civilian life again instead of maladapt. People who have PTSD and other (issues) can maladapt and cause trouble in the civilian world."

    It's no secret the U.S. military has struggled to adequately support its troops after they leave active duty.
    A large number of service members suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). An estimated 11% to 20% of veterans returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars suffer from the condition, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

    That's between 220,000 and 400,000 of the 2 million troops deployed since the September 11 terrorist attacks.

    A new study (PDF) shows that only about half of U.S. service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan diagnosed with PTSD received any treatment for it.

    And statistics from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs show that about 18 veterans commit suicide every day.

    But some former active-duty service members aren't waiting for help to arrive.The VA has stepped up efforts to expand care and recently announced plans to hire 1,600 more mental health professionals and 300 support staff members to help meet the increasing demand for services.

    Veterans have turned to psychology to become mental health professionals, and they're filling in gaps in veteran care that government and civilian efforts have left open. And while they are still rare, programs to train them are slowly emerging at universities and nonprofit organizations around the United States.

    "It's just going to increase and increase"

    Born a year ago with funding from the Department of Veteran Services in Massachusetts, a program through the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology called Train Vets to Treat Vets has recently picked up steam. It has several goals: mentoring new veterans, providing services to at-risk and homeless veterans, and educating the public about ways they can help.

    "As the stigma (of seeking professional mental health treatment) breaks down more and more, and more veterans are willing to come into treatment, (the need) is just going to increase and increase," said Robert Chester, 25, who served in the National Guard for six years and became a student at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology.

    "That's why we want to get more veterans into mental health, both to break down the stigma and get more clinicians out there."

    Chester is now an admissions assistant at Train Vets to Treat Vets.

    Starting the program was a joint effort between the Massachusetts Department of Veterans' Services and veterans (Chester and colleagues Greg Matos and Norman Tippens) who are also students at at the school.
    "We, as the veteran students, wanted to see that we could create more of a military cohort at our school," Chester said. "We really wanted to put something together where we can help our fellow veterans by providing mental health services in that specific way."

    Since the program's start, Chester has fielded e-mails every day from veterans who want to get involved. Six will enroll in the school's fall class.

    Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology President Nick Covino says the idea for the program came from a Latino mental health program the school began about eight years ago.

    "It was clear that folks who wanted to talk about emotional issues ... want to talk about emotional issues with somebody that understands their culture and probably want to do it with somebody that's from their culture," Covino said. "It was a natural extension to think about returning veterans."

    Having student veterans in the program has been beneficial not only to the veterans it has helped but to non-veteran graduate students who want to specialize in veteran care.

    From casual conversations to exchanging papers and working on doctoral projects together, a collaboration between veteran and non-veteran students is "radically changing the academic culture of our learning community," Covino said.

    Laptop battlefield

    Leaning over an occasionally beeping laptop in a downtown Chicago office building, Robert Kyle rolls up the sleeves of a blue button-down shirt to reveal heavily tattooed forearms.

    On one, a drawing that looks like the Grim Reaper. On the other, columns of initials. There are so many, his arm is more ink than skin.

    He explains that they're the initials of friends who died alongside him while deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. There are 53, he says. But there are more to add he hasn't gotten around to yet.

    Kyle, who goes by his first and middle name online for security reasons, has his own set of challenges. At 26, he has survived three deployments and sustained a traumatic brain injury. He enlisted in the Army when he was 17 and served from 2003 to 2009.

    Although he still carries burdens from his deployment, since his return, he hasn't forgotten about his military family. Some, he knows personally; others, he's only met through that beeping laptop. He has dedicated his life to helping veterans connect to one another and improve their mental health.

    Kyle works as a peer coach at Vets Prevail, a free online forum and multistep mental health program. It was founded in 2009 by a small group of professionals, almost all of them veterans.

    While working as a peer coach, Kyle is pursuing a graduate degree in psychology from DePaul University.
    Six salaried professionals work at Vets Prevail, as well as three peer coaches who directly interact with veterans online. Although the peer coaches are not doctors, they complete a training process, and most important, Kyle says, they have all served on active duty.

    "When they hear that you have done what they've done, (veterans) tend to open up more than someone that has never been in a combat zone. That opens a little more trust," Kyle says. "Veterans are doing this for veterans."

    Kyle retired from service in 2009 after his injury and went back to school, earning a degree in psychology from Lees-McRae College in North Carolina.

    Since that time, he has worked to develop Vets Prevail. Now, more than 8,000 veterans from about 5,000 ZIP codes turn to the site to chat and learn coping mechanisms, and membership is rapidly increasing.
    Justin Savage, a 32-year-old Army veteran who works as the head of program development for Vets Prevail, says a large part of that success is the users' assurance that the experts on the other side of the computer screen are speaking their language.

    "We live and breathe accountability," said Savage, who returned from Iraq in 2005. "Having vets do it really brings a new level."

    "A really good fit"

    It makes sense that veterans would want to become mental health professionals, psychologist Joe Troiani says. In a military culture built on camaraderie, the desire to help a fellow veteran is natural and powerful.
    Troiani, an associate professor at the Adler School of Professional Psychology, where Schilling is a student, is also a retired Navy commander and is determined to ensure that veterans get the help they need.

    "If I was in trouble, I could pick up the phone and call some of my veteran friends," Troiani said. "You and I could have served together, and I have your back, you have my back. If something happens to you, I'm going to make sure that your family is taken care of."

    The Adler School offers training for a new post-doctorate specialty called "military clinical psychology" and since the program's start two years ago has trained about 20 students per class. The need is greater, but 20 is the cutoff to ensure the best training, Troiani says.

    Entering the mental health field can be "a really good fit personality-wise" for veterans, says Bret Moore, a former active-duty Army psychologist who completed two tours in Iraq.

    "(Service members) want to protect and help people get through difficult times," Moore said. "That's really what a psychologist does: helps people who are more vulnerable, or not as strong in a certain sense, get through difficult times."

    Taking responsibility for another human life is a familiar duty for veterans, Covino says.

    "To have been in situations where they've needed to rely on judgment and develop a capacity for reflection, an ability to act autonomously and courageously. ... Those are qualities of character you can't teach," Covino said.

    "They haven't experienced it"

    Jon Neely, a 45-year-old living in Springfield, Illinois, has been using Vets Prevail for several months and says he logs on for about an hour every week, though when he first began using it, he logged on every day. Neely served in Kosovo from 1999 to 2000 and retired from the military in 2005.

    "All too often, you go seek help from somebody that is book-learned, but they don't understand," he said. "They don't know. To me, getting help or seeking help from a non-veteran is like going to a marriage counselor that has never been married. They know all the book knowledge, but they haven't experienced it."

    Sarah Bonner, 31, an Air Force veteran who was medically discharged from Ramstein Air Base in Germany in 2006, is an active user of Vets Prevail. She says that talking to a "like-minded" person is what has kept her coming back to the site.

    She has bonded with the peer coaches, to whom she refers by their first names like friends, in a way she did not expect.

    "There were a couple times recently, I was at a really low point," she said. "I was angry, and I wasn't holding back with what I said. They don't care. If I want to cuss out and threaten to punch something, they might say, 'Let's think of softer things than the wall to punch.' ... They let you talk about the stuff that's ugly."

    "Why did all of us serve?"

    Training veterans to treat other veterans does involve some risk, Chester says. If veterans are not stable themselves, they should not treat others as mental health professionals. For that reason, it can be a good idea for them to work with a psychologist even while they administer care to others.

    There is so much training and hands-on experience involved in a post-doctorate program that it is highly unlikely a veteran who is still feeling unstable would make it all the way through, Troiani says. Rarely, but occasionally, a veteran will say, "This program is not a good fit for me," he says.

    But if it is a good fit, the results can be rewarding.

    "Why did all of us serve if not for each other?" Kyle asked. "Just because we're not in the military any more, it doesn't mean we are no longer brother and sister. It's a bond we'll have for the rest of our lives."

    Army sees highest suicide rate in July


    http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/16/army-sees-highest-suicide-rate-in-july/?hpt=hp_bn13

    CNN
    Post by:
    Filed under: Army
    By Jamie Crawford

    Soldiers killed themselves at a higher monthly rate in July than any other since detailed statistics have been kept on the issue, the U.S. Army said Thursday.

    A total of 38 confirmed or suspected suicides were counted by the Army last month in a tally that took into account both active and non-active duty soldiers who serve in the Army National Guard or Reserve. Three of those active duty soldiers were deployed at the time of their death.

    Prior to the announcement, the highest monthly level suicide rate for soldiers was 33 in the months of June 2010 and July 2011 according to statistics released by the Army.

    "Suicide is the toughest enemy I have faced in my 37 years in the Army. And it's an enemy that's killing not just Soldiers, but tens of thousands of Americans every year," Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army said in a written statement. "That said, I do believe suicide is preventable. To combat it effectively will require sophisticated solutions aimed at helping individuals to build resiliency and strengthen their life coping skills."

    To date, the Army has confirmed 120 suicides for both active and non-active duty soldiers in 2012 with 67 other deaths suspected as suicides, but still under investigation. Twenty-five of those were attributed to soldiers who did not have any previous deployments. The Army reported 242 suicides in 2009, 305 in 2010 and 283 in 2011.

    Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta told a Congressional committee last month that the U.S. military was facing an "epidemic" of suicides, and was in need of improvements in mental health services for active duty and returning troops.

    In his statement, Austin noted that with Suicide Prevention Month in September, the Army must also continue to address the stigma associated with mental health issues in the service. "Ultimately, we want the mindset across our Force and society at large to be that behavioral health is a routine part of what we do and who we are as we strive to maintain our own physical and mental wellness," he said.

    The White House lifted a ban last year on the sending of condolence letters from the president to the families of service members who commit suicide. It reversed a policy in place by previous administrations that had come under intense criticism as the country entered into its 10th year of war.

    "This issue is emotional, painful, and complicated," President Barack Obama said last July when the policy was changed. "But these Americans served our nation bravely. ... We need to do everything in our power to honor their service, and to help them stay strong for themselves, for their families and for our nation."

    Families of ‘Little Boy’ and ‘Fat Man’ Victims Still Struggling


    INTER PRESS SERVICE

    TOKYO, Aug 11 2012 (IPS) - Sachiko Masumura (79) was standing just two kilometres away from the hypocentre of Little Boy, the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan over six and a half decades ago.
    She lost her mother and two siblings to the horrific heat, flames and radiation that engulfed the prefecture on Aug. 6, 1945, instantly wiping out 120,000 people.
    Three days later the United States dropped a second plutonium bomb, ‘Fat Man’, on Nagasaki, killing 74,000 people according to government records.
    Thousands of others, like Masumura’s father, who died last year from leukaemia, suffered the after-effects of radiation for years.
    Masumura’s son is disabled from a brain disorder, a disease she links to the long-term impact of radiation. Though it is certainly horrifying, her family’s story is not one of a kind.
    The 67th anniversary of the 1945 U.S. bombing, the world’s only nuclear attacks on a country, is felt most sharply by thousands of second generation bomb survivors, whom the Japanese government refuses to recognise as ‘official’ victims of the tragedy.
    Kasuki Aoki, a second generation ‘hibakusha’, the Japanese term for atomic bomb survivor, told IPS that children of Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims face a double struggle: first, to gain recognition and insurance from the state as legitimate victims suffering from genetic side-effects of radiation; and secondly as bearers of their parents wishes for a nuclear-free world.
    “My parents, whose lives were torn apart when the bomb was dropped, wanted (nothing more) than to see a world rid of nuclear weapons and radiation. This is a fight we children have to follow through by speaking up on their behalf,” Aoki, who now works in the Hiroshima Kyoritsu hospital, told IPS.
    He also pointed out that the responsibility of carrying the torch for family members that suffered enourmous physical and mental damage from the bomb is daunting for the second generation, now in their fifties and sixties, who are themselves struggling to secure welfare protections from the state, such as free medical support.
    The government justifies its position by stating that there is a lack of concrete evidence of health risks among the offspring of survivors of the explosion.
    But those born after 1945 point to countless studies and reports by Japanese and U.S. research organisations that prove a much higher genetic risk of cancer for children of bomb survivors.
    Further, scientific research conducted by numerous organisations including the Hiroshima Red Cross and Atomic-bomb Survivors hospital has proved time and again that those who were directly affected suffer higher rates of cancer, especially leukaemia, from exposure to high doses of radiation.
    Hiroko Sakaguchi, who makes annual trips to the U.S. to speak out against nuclear weapons, states she has cousins who have died of cancer. Her own mother was affected by the bombing in Nagasaki that left her weakened and infirm for the rest of her life.
    Shinichi Oonaka (64) is a second-generation hibakusha in Hiroshima and spokesperson for a recently formed group under the umbrella Japan Atomic Bomb Sufferers Organisation, one of the largest in Japan, with more than 200,000 members.
    He told IPS that members of his group have begun to retire from their jobs and now find themselves facing a vulnerable future.
    “While we had jobs we were entitled to regular medical check-ups, but that will no longer be the case,” he pointed out.
    Oonaka plans to form a lobby to pressure the government to permit free and regular cancer check-ups by extending official hibakusha recognition to second-generation survivors.
    But there are many obstacles to this process. Oonaka told IPS that second generation victims remain scattered and reluctant to speak up for better treatment, fearing the same social discrimination that plagued their parents for decades.
    “Physical scarring and particularly the risk of cancer made marriage and jobs almost impossible for hibakusha,” said Oonaka, whose father, a former Japanese soldier stationed in Hiroshima city when the bomb was dropped, subsequently married a hibakusha, a common practice among first generation survivors.
    In response to the government’s indifference, Masumura launched the Kogane Friendship Organisation for people with brain disorders in July. “ We cannot wait for the government to help us anymore,” she said.
    “My death wish is to see my son, who represents the second generation of hibakusha, live independently,” she told IPS.
    High-profile international personalities, including the eldest grandson of former U.S. President Harry Truman, who ordered the bombings, attended the memorials this week in the two cities.
    Clifton Truman, attending the functions out of respect for the dead, listened to the stories of the survivors and said, “ It is now my responsibility to do all I can to make sure we do not use nuclear weapons again.”
    Oonaka says he is content to hear such comments from the former enemy, which he views as a step towards hibakusha’s dream of ensuring such suffering is never repeated.
    (END)

    Thursday, August 16, 2012

    CDC Expanded Hepatitis C Testing Recommendations

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    CDC now recommends that all U.S. baby boomers get a one-time test for the hepatitis C virus. Data show that 1 in 30 baby boomers has been infected with hepatitis C and this population is five times more likely than other adult Americans to be infected with the virus. In addition, more than 15,000 Americans, most of them baby boomers, die of hepatitis C-related illness each year. CDC has put together a digital press kit full of helpful resources for your readers, viewers, and listeners. 

    This kit includes key messages, charts, related links, and quotes from CDC hepatitis C experts. >Learn more

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