Hidden Helper Coalition Members and Commitments to date:

• The Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Veterans Affairs together will establish an interagency work group focused on transition efforts helping identify ways the Departments can work together to better support the needs of military and veteran families and their children during transitions.
• The Department of Defense will work with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation to provide training for all DOD health care providers on the needs of hidden helpers and military caregiver families.
• DoD’s Office of Military Community and Family Policy has committed to working with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) on a new research effort in 2022 to better understand where and how military children are accessing mental health care..
• The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has committed to launching a new Family Coordinator Program, with social workers linking veterans to support for their spouses and/or children. The Family Coordinator will be knowledgeable about resources in the local community as well as federal government resources to support veterans and their families.
• The National Endowment for the Arts has committed to the creation of the Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant Program, that will distribute grants from $10,000 – $50,000 for arts-based community engagement projects for targeted military-connected communities, to include military kids, youth, and hidden helpers.

Financial Support

• Wounded Warrior Project has pledged the largest investment in creating Hidden Helpers programming, with the commitment of $1.5 million, that will directly align with the research findings and sustain a new culture of support for military children and youth nationwide.
• The USAA Foundation, Inc., will commit more than $1.4 million in 2022 to support military caregivers and military children through alliances with key nonprofit partners;
• Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation will commit $500,000 to the Elizabeth Dole Foundation’s caregiver emergency financial relief fund to support military and veteran families and hidden helpers in 2022.
• The Bob Woodruff Foundation will commit to new funding opportunities in 2022 and work with the Coalition to improve impact evaluation efforts.
• Cerner will dedicate funding to making health care environments more knowledgeable and responsive to the experiences of Hidden Helpers.

Education and Training Materials

• Sesame Workshop will work with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation on new messages around military caregiving to share through its featured characters. Additionally, they will provide new online workshops about military caregiver kids for educators, health care professionals, and other relevant practitioners. Sesame Workshop joins other Coalition members in creating educational materials and experiences for and about Hidden Helpers.
• Military Child Education Coalition will lead an effort with educators nationwide by developing and curating evidence-informed content for military students in a caregiver role. MCEC® will also develop a new student-to-student track focused on Hidden Helpers, and a new focused track on the needs of caregiving children, at their MCEC Global Summit in July 2022.
• PsychArmor will work with the Coalition to support educational development and training opportunities for educators and health care professionals on how to best care for Hidden Helpers.

Health Care Commitments

• The Elizabeth Dole Foundation will build on its existing Campaign for Inclusive Care to launch a new clinical transformation effort aimed at making health care environments more responsive to the needs of caregiving families, including children and youth. With the leadership of one of the nation’s largest pediatric health systems, Nemours Children’s Health, and the generous financial contribution of TriWest Healthcare Alliance, the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, together with Humana Military, Magellan Federal, and Cohen Veterans Network, will engage our nation’s health care providers to create a new national model of support for Hidden Helpers within medical institutions. Together these commitments will ensure that the physicians, nurses, and mental health and allied health professionals better understand and address the unique challenges military children face at every stage of their development.
• CareLinx, a Sharecare company, commits to extending their contribution and support to the Elizabeth Dole Foundation and VA’s Respite Relief Program in 2022. The program has already supported more than 1,600 families since its launch in 2020 and allowed for military and veteran caregivers to care for their children and better manage their households.

New Programming

Many coalition members have also committed to an unprecedented number of new programs that will be launched to support Hidden Helpers with peer-support opportunities, mental health resources, and financial support over the next year:

• The American Red Cross will launch a new resiliency workshop for Hidden Helpers led by licensed mental health professionals. This workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to discuss challenges and concerns, and to develop and learn the tools to build upon their natural resilience.
• The American Association for Caregiving Youth will work with Coalition members to ensure that programs for Hidden Helpers are also shared with non-military youth caregiving leaders.
• The Armed Services YMCA commits to expanding support for Hidden Helpers across its programming and specifically through its Children’s Waiting Room childcare service program at military treatment facilities.
• Blue Star Families commits to increased programs for Hidden Helpers and collaborating with other Coalition members on their military family resilience metric.
• Camp Corral commits to launching a new video resource in December 2021 that will educate parents on how to help their Hidden Helper at home. They also commit to supporting 1,100 Hidden Helpers through their summer camp programs in 2022, and to finding new opportunities of support for enrichment workshops and peer support workgroups.
• Caregivers on the Homefront commits to launching a new peer mentorship program in 2022 that will pair older teen Hidden Helpers with younger Hidden Helpers for a six-week virtual program to facilitate support for younger children in caregiving homes.
• Combined Arms commits to launching a Caregivers Community Group to provide peer support to caregivers and Hidden Helpers in Texas.
• Kids Rank commits to expanding their art therapy programs to support more military-connected children as they explore their social and emotional health.
• Military Family Advisory Network commits to supporting the Coalition by developing a standardized approach to measuring impact, to ensure that all existing and new programs are adhering to rigorous program evaluation metrics.
• National Military Family Association commits to serving Hidden Helpers of all ages across their Operation Purple Programs, including virtual at-home programs, retreats, and camps.
• Our Military Kids commits to expanding their work with new grant opportunities to support more than 100 Hidden Helpers in 2022.
• Philips commits to working with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation to create a new mental health journey map that will outline the behavioral needs and challenges that caregiving families encounter.
• Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers commits to supporting Hidden Helpers through a mobile app to facilitate immediate access to resources needed during moments of mental health crisis.
• Sugar Bear Foundation commits to offering support for veteran children who have lost a service member or veteran parent.
• Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors commits to providing appropriate bereavement expertise and services for all those grieving the loss of their veteran and to offering Hidden Helpers safe spaces to experience their grief and embrace healing.
• United Through Reading commits to providing 200 Hidden Helpers with free reading kits and resources to support education at home.
• YMCA of the USA commits to expanding efforts to engage youth from veteran and military families in camp programs, particularly those that are part of the YMCA-National Park Service Youth Outdoors Summer Camp program.