A new initiative designed to create supportive programming for the children of America’s 5.5 million military caregivers has been announced by the Elizabeth Dole Foundation.
The goal of Hidden Helpers is to directly serve caregiver children.
“Little is known about the long-term impacts of military and veteran caregiving on children and adolescents who are often serving as primary and secondary caregivers,” said Steve Schwab, CEO of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation.
EDF is teaming with Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) and the Biden Administration’s Joining Forces program to build the Hidden Helpers Coalition, which will call on partners to pledge to take action that fills the gaps in support and services for military caregiver kids and youth.
The Elizabeth Dole Foundation commissioned a research blueprint conducted by the RAND Corporation in 2017, which revealed that no published studies exist exploring the impact of caregiving on the children of caregivers. To date, EDF’s programming has largely helped kids by supporting their parents.
To ensure Hidden Helpers effectively responds to the most urgent needs of these children, EDF initiated a study with research firm Mathematica to better understand the impact of caregiving on children and the specific programmatic interventions that would be most effective. The study, funded by the Wounded Warrior Project, will be released in September.
EDF is also calling on organizations to step up and join the coalition, chaired by Schwab and Wounded Warrior Project CEO retired Army Lt. Gen. Mike Linnington. The coalition will focus on three pillars:
Invest in evidence-based, inclusive research to understand the effects of being a hidden helper on children and adolescent development.
Support enabling policy and legislation to recognize the unique needs of the diverse hidden helper population and fund programming.
Promote and invest in programmatic interventions reflective and inclusive of hidden helpers and grounded in best practice informed by research.
“This work is vital to building strong, resilient veteran families and communities,” said Linnington.
EDF and Wounded Warrior Project will host an event later this month with Joining Forces to organize the coalition around preliminary research findings and begin seeking organizational commitments of support.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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