Rare Disease Caregivers Receive Mental Health Boost
BETHESDA, Md. – (March 29, 2022) – Give an Hour® will offer much-needed mental health and emotional well-being support to caregivers in the rare disease community through a one-year, Alexion Charitable Foundation Rare Belonging® grant.
“The mental health of rare disease caregivers is often overlooked,” said Dr. Trina Clayeux, CEO of Give an Hour. “Thanks to this grant from the Alexion Charitable Foundation, we are thrilled to be able to offer this community the necessary resources to help them achieve optimum mental health and emotional well-being.”
The Alexion Charitable Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing promise and a sense of belonging, particularly for people affected by rare disease.
This grant allows Give an Hour to understand and address the specific and nuanced needs of this caregiver community throughout their individual journeys. Give an Hour will recruit and train mental health providers who have a special interest in supporting rare disease caregivers. The grant also enables Give an Hour to provide specialized training in peer support. Leaders will be chosen from these cohorts who can then match peers for additional assistance.
Give an Hour also will produce educational resources for rare disease caregivers allowing them to feel empowered to prioritize self-care, including: Emotional Life Skills, an interactive, social-emotional learning tool; the Five Signs of Emotional Suffering, which affords caregivers the ability to recognize signs of suffering in themselves and others; and the Healthy Habits of Emotional Well-being that reinforces basic habits to keep them emotionally healthy.
“The Alexion Charitable Foundation is committed to making an impact in the lives of people affected by one of the more than 7,000 rare diseases,” said Tamar Thompson, chairperson of the Alexion Charitable Foundation. “We are pleased to support Give an Hour. With its specific focus on mental health and emotional well-being, Give an Hour is in a unique position to provide assistance to rare disease patients and caregivers.”
About Give an Hour
Give an Hour is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to create resilient communities across the U.S. by providing barrier-free access to mental health care through its network of more than 4,500 mental health providers. Since its inception in 2005, Give an Hour has delivered more than 369,000 hours of mental health services. The organization is also committed to giving help and hope to those in need by prioritizing mental health education through collaboration with thought leaders, community and volunteers.
