Building Capacity for Military Families: What Can Faith Communities Do? The California Faith Collaborative and Los Angeles Veterans Collaborative, in partnership with USC CIR, proudly present a webinar on how to reach out and support Service members and Veterans in your community. January 9, 2014
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Transcript
Building Capacity for Military Families: What Can Faith
Communities Do?
The California Faith Collaborative and Los Angeles Veterans Collaborative, in partnership with USC CIR, proudly present a webinar on how to reach out and support Service members and Veterans in your
community.
January 9, 2014
How Faith Based Organizations can Support their Military Family
Members
By Debbie Nichols
Military Childrens Collaborative Group
Our Military Families
• 70 % of our military families do not live on a military base
•Extended families are impacted by their loved ones military career- trainings, deployments and reintegration
• 2 million children have experienced their parent/guardian deployment(s)
When a Family is called to duty
•Different stages of separation impact the family
• Predeployment
•Deployment
•Reintegration
• Transitioning to civilian life
What I experienced in 2008
•Husband and I become the guardians to our two school age granddaughters
•We were working empty nesters
•We did not live in near a military base
•We had no experience of military life
•Our community offered no support at that time
We had no support• Friends and family were uneducated on how to support our family
• People did not know what to say to us
•We were not attending a church at that time
•We had no one to talk to
•We felt a loss
•We did not want to complain about our situation to anyone
How we gained Hope•Our family did believe God would get us through this
•We talked about how we felt to one another
•We were supportive to one another
•We had verses we would say, This to will pass..
•We listed all the things were thankful for
•We would talk about when our daughter would return
Reintegration
• Families experience a lot of anxiety
•Each family member has to change their roles, again
•Children have to begin to gain trust and get use to their parent
• It takes a long time to readjust to one another
How you can support
•Ask your members what branch of service, and what status they are presently. Active, non Active(Reserve), Guard, Veteran or transitioning to civilian life
•Create faith groups- for Veterans, family members and their children
•Know what to provide to each group
Know what to offer
•Deployment support - Family support, babysitters, household repairs, car repair, support for holidays or special events, help with the children’s after school activities, carpooling, etc.
•Reintegration support- Veteran, spouse and children support groups, out reach offering support and recognizing the children, for they have been silently serving our Country.