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By Kristine Dwyer, Staff Writer
Community Support is Priceless:
Fostering community support for veterans and
military families is essential to their readjustment
and stability. If the community is committed to
helping and supporting them, the period of
readjustment will be more successful. This support
can take many forms, and state governments and
citizens across the nation are proposing new
initiatives and partnerships to help speed up and
expand services to veterans and their families.
The Minnesota National Guard, for example, has been
heralded for a program that hopes to change how
soldiers and airmen are reconnected to their
families and communities. “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon”
is named as a reminder that the support of soldiers
and their families must not end when they return
from their deployment and the yellow ribbons are
removed. The program offers a roadmap of important
steps to take care of the soldier’s physical and
emotional health, personal business/benefits,
health, education, legal issues, employment, and
family needs including marriage enrichment and
parenting.
Chaplain Major John Morris of the Minnesota “Beyond
the Yellow Ribbon” campaign made this analogy.
“Going into combat is a little like canoeing across
the lake of life. When you leave for war, it’s like
standing up in the canoe and upsetting the balance
of family life. While you’re gone, your family takes
over the paddling and tries to survive. When you
return, you climb back into the canoe, and flip it,
swamping it. Many families have been faced with
bailing out that canoe, and they suffer extreme
duress over something they thought would be joyful.
A lot of families can become exhausted from paddling
that canoe through life.”
Chaplain Morris encourages returning veterans to
seek whatever help they need to make a successful
adjustment back into their families, relationships
and community lives.
Another example is a program developed by Mary
Pawlenty, wife of former Governor Tim Pawlenty of
Minnesota, called the “Military Family
Care Initiative.” She has brought together service
groups, community organizations and faith-based
groups throughout the state, all of whom have
expressed a strong desire to provide a wide
selection of volunteer services to military
families. A simple task like mowing the grass,
assisting with chores or preparing a meal can go a
long way toward helping a family in their time of
need.
“Homes for our Troops” (part of the Defense
Department’s “America Supports You” program) is yet
another option available to wounded service members
and their families. The program builds or remodels
homes (at no cost) to accommodate the specific needs
of the severely wounded soldiers who are returning
from Afghanistan and Iraq. Their goal is to adapt,
build and remove obstacles in the homes to meet the
needs of a veteran who is in a wheelchair or who
faces injuries that hinder mobility. The
organization provides services specifically to
troops who are double amputees, paraplegic,
quadriplegic, have severe post-traumatic stress
disorder, or are severely burned. “Homes for Our
Troops” has successfully partnered with the
communities where veterans live to help fund the
projects by holding benefits/fundraisers, donating
materials and utilizing local professionals.
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