This week Infinite Hero and the Armed Forces Foundation proved that one person can make a difference in the lives of many – Monica Crossley joined the staff at Ft. Belvoir Elementary School in Virginia, made possible by funding from Infinite Hero. She will serve as a guidance counselor to a student population that contains 97% military dependents.
These students face challenges due to their parent’s service that most American’s never experience. Frequent moves, long deployments, financial hardships and the often volatile home environments can lead to problems such as school absenteeism or failure and social isolation. This creates a demand for school counseling that exceeds the capacity and expertise of most school counselors.1
The Armed Forces Foundation (AFF) addresses the needs of military families, and their latest initiative is the development of a comprehensive school-counseling program, launching at Ft. Belvoir.
Monica Crossley is the program’s first school guidance counselor with specialized training in military mental health issues, and after an extensive search, the AFF and Fairfax County Public Schools selected Crossley to join the counseling staff at Ft. Belvoir. Her strong background in school counseling, teaching, and innovative therapies proved to impeccably suit this important role.
“I am excited about the opportunity to engage students in an area of need that is overlooked far too often. I look forward to supporting the needs of our military families and helping them find empowerment through the life-altering challenges they face,” said Crossley. “Of course, we could not address these fundamental changes without the incredible support and leadership of the Armed Forces Foundation and Infinite Hero Foundation.”
Her first days at the school come on the heels of a week-long orientation with the AFF; including meetings with the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) specialists at Johns Hopkins and visits to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. She will attend ongoing trainings across the country, which will further equip her with the tools necessary to be successful in this constantly developing area of psychology.
In addition to providing specialized counseling to students, Crossley will be working with their parents, offering a rare glimpse into the home life of a PTSD/TBI impacted family. Through the duration of her time at Ft. Belvoir, she will also be tasked with analyzing the differences between children whose parents have PTSD/TBI and those that do not.
The intent of this pioneering school counseling program is to demonstrate the need for specialized counseling services for military dependents throughout our nation, especially in schools that are substantially militarily impacted. Because the state of Virginia has the second largest population of active duty service members in the country, it is the ultimate place to provide this major development in the treatment of PTSD/TBI for the entire family.
1 American Academy of Pediatrics
