Photo By Sgt. 1st Class David Bruce | Connie S. Douthat, Family Programs coordinator for the 122nd Fighter Wing, informs...... read more read more
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By Sgt. David G. Bruce
Indiana National Guard
There are many ways to support the military. Some choose to show their support by putting a magnet on the back of their car or flying a flag in the front yard. Others choose to support the Indiana National Guard through service support organizations.
Service support organizations offer programs to assist service members in a variety of ways. Some of these organizations are national in scope, while others are concentrated at the local level.
One such organization is family programs of Joint Forces Headquarters of the Indiana National Guard. There are three areas of family programs: the state youth program, family readiness and family assistance.
The state youth coordinator manages the various youth programs. One such program is the Kids Camp, said Belinda R. Ireland, Family Assistance coordinator.
"Kids Camp is an annual event where we take about 200 kids to Camp Atterbury for a week," said Ireland. "We also have a State Youth Council comprised of 20 children ages 14 to 17. They meet quarterly and do CPR training. They go around the state to different armories to do briefings and find out issues and things that our youth want to be involved in."
The state youth coordinator also has resources for counseling children with grief and separation anxiety, said Ireland.
Another area of family programs is the family assistance team with 15 locations in Indiana.
"We serve all branches but focus on the Guard," said Ireland. "We are what they call a one stop shop for guardmembers."
According to Ireland, the family assistance team can help with finances, legal issues, aid with Tricare, ID cards, benefits and entitlements.
Family readiness is the final area in family programs. Every unit in the Indiana National Guard has a Family Readiness Group, said Ireland.
"The Family Readiness Group is a morale group that supports the unit in their mission," said Ireland.
Support for service members can also be found at the unit level. Connie S. Douthat is the family programs coordinator at the 122nd Fighter Wing with the Indiana Air National Guard in Fort Wayne, Ind.
"I train our family readiness groups at the air wing," said Douthat. "Currently, I give all the pre-deployment briefings, meet with the families during the deployments as well as reunion and post deployment briefings with the service members."
She is also responsible for assistance programs and referrals for Airmen. These can consist of referrals for financial counseling as well as referrals for marriage and mental health counseling, said Douthat.
Through the efforts of these programs, Airmen and Soldiers of the Indiana National Guard can find help and support with the many challenges that can come from the call to serve.
| Date Taken: | 02.02.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 02.02.2009 03:05 |
| Story ID: | 29519 |
| Location: | CAMP ATTERBURY, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 343 |
| Downloads: | 319 |
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