The Rationale and Direction for AACC's 'Dare to Care' Project

We now know that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were the largest natural disasters in American history. And we know that with 24 named storms and hurricanes reaching into the Greek alphabet this year, we have beaten the record for the most tropical storms in a season set way back in the 1930s.  But with the storms gone into the record books, the misery they have left behind is just beginning. And the needs are, quite frankly, overwhelming, as well as the hard work needed to overcome that misery. Yet that is why we believe God has uniquely positioned AACC and our members nationwide for such a time as this—a time for encouragement, education, and edification. God, I am convinced, is determined to overcome the adverse affects of the wind and flood by opening his floodgates of blessing upon needy people throughout the affected regions.

To partner effectively with our membership, we have launched the nationwide ‘Dare to CARE’ Project—the Counsel America Recovery Effort—through the AACC Foundation to provide crisis recovery and trauma counseling services to the victims. Our powerful team of caregiving experts, which comprise the leading cadre of pastors and therapists in the Christian counseling world, is linking arms with World Vision and servant churches throughout Texas, The Rationale and Direction for AACC’s ‘Dare to CARE’ Project Florida, and the Gulf Coast to accomplish a three-fold mission:     TO ENCOURAGE those in need with praise and celebration of God’s neverending love and care,     TO TRAIN counselors, pastors and helpers in crisis-care, trauma debriefing and intervention, and    TO LINK our best helpers in the AACC with churches and agencies in those localities and throughout the 90,000 square mile disaster zone, serving as a national clearinghouse and resource for those helping victims of the hurricanes.

We in the AACC may know better than most that it is not merely the physical toll of this disaster that will be felt, although that is proving to be monumental. But the psychosocial, emotional and spiritual toll—the trauma and post-traumatic stress that will last a lifetime for many of these victims—is what will be most burdensome. Our expertise is in the realm of long-term emotional recovery and spiritual renewal, and we all know that the travail and suffering here is, and will continue to be, enormous.  So beyond the immediate demands of physical relief—food, shelter, and medical care—right now, addressing the trauma, grief, and emotional recovery of victims will take years of sustained effort. That is what ‘Dare to CARE’ is about and that is the two-year dedication of the CARE Project throughout the United States in service to affected individuals, families, churches, and communities.

We are planning to be in a new city in the impact zone frequently over the next two years, establishing and working with anchor churches throughout the Gulf States Region that are working with, and housing, evacuees. We will also go to other cities in Texas, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in the months to come. Any city with multiple churches serving many evacuees and victims is a potential landing site for the CARE project. And we anticipate that CARE will be a quasi-permanent ministry of the AACC, reorganizing and moving out in response to any natural disaster that visits America and planet Earth in this young century.  Our two-day events in each city will be a time of celebration, education, and edification for all who attend. We will link AACC professional therapists with needy churches and ministries needing counseling help, and will encourage all believers and attendees about the hope of renewed living and rebuilt lives.

We will also concentrate on training lay helpers and church leaders in crisis response and trauma management— bringing the love and comfort of Christ to needy individuals and children. We are praying that, for each CARE event, the Holy Spirit will come down and pour out His special blessing and power on all who come. All of you who are part of the AACC are being called upon to pray daily for the victims, and to seek which way God is calling you to help.  We are seeking funds from many sources to pay for this two-year effort— we estimate a total cost in the millions. And we are asking all of you to donate to this effort—$5,000, $1,000, $500, $100, $50, $25, whatever—to help us organize this major national relief task, send AACC teams to train and assist Christian workers, provide print and video old_resources, serve in various relief efforts, and follow through with psychosocial and spiritual care. Web counselor plays a vital role for the welfare of society.

CARE is being organized through the 501(c)(3), non-profit AACC Foundation, so that all donations are trustworthy and tax-deductible. _Tim Clinton, Ed.D., LPC, LMFT, is President of AACC, Executive Director of the Center for Counseling and Family Studies/ Professor of Counseling and Pastoral Care at Liberty University, and co-founder of Light Counseling, Inc., a clinical practice serving children, adolescents, and adults. Dr. Clinton is author and co-author of Before a Bad Good-bye, Attachments: Why You Love, Feel and Act the Way You Do and Competent Christian Counseling. He is executive editor of The Soul Care Bible._