Survey of members finds interest in providing services within this niche
Among a long list of exceptional moments at the Alliance for Children and Families National Conference
Oct. 20-22 was the heartfelt and gripping remarks from Laura Dempsey, co-founder and vice chair of Blue Star Families, a membership network of military family members dedicated to serving and supporting active servicemen and servicewomen, veterans, and one another.
During the workshop, “Serving Military Families: Opportunities, Strategies, and Approaches,” Dempsey, a military spouse, conveyed the fact that individuals don’t go to war; rather, families go to war. She also described the trauma wartime deployment has on children, spouses, and extended family members and shared her belief that each family member also spends every day in military service.
This workshop accurately captured the growing need for social services specifically geared toward military personnel and their families, as well as the opportunities this need creates for Alliance members. Even now, Alliance member agencies are being called upon to provide services, programs, and aid to current military personnel, their families, and veterans who either are returning from active duty, stationed overseas, or stationed throughout the United States.
At the workshop, Dempsey was joined by representatives of Leadership 18; Alliance member Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services, New York; the Office of the Secretary of Defense; and the National Military Family Association.
The workshop was a fitting complement to an effort that began earlier in the year when, as part of Leadership 18, I attended a meeting at the White House with first lady Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, representatives from the U.S. Department of Defense, and National Security staff.
Leadership 18, of which I am the convening chair, is a group of CEOs of some of the largest human development nonprofit organizations that support the work and accomplishments of local affiliates, members, and chapters.
Mrs. Obama called upon Leadership 18 to work with the U.S. Department of Defense to develop systems and strategies to address the challenges faced by military personnel and their families, utilizing the collective capacities of Leadership 18 member organizations. This call to action lays the groundwork for more proactive engagement of the nonprofit social services community to assist military personnel and their families as they deal with the stress of active duty, deployment, and related issues.
For the Alliance, we needed to have a better baseline understanding of member activities that currently are extended to military personnel and their families. So, this past summer, we conducted a survey of our members to codify the services they provide, their experiences, the barriers they face, and the opportunities that may exist.
Interest in providing services within this niche is significant, as evidenced by the high participation in the Alliance survey. Specifically, interest is highest for serving children of parents on active duty and children of veterans. It also is clear from the survey that Alliance member agencies recognize their potential to ease transition of military personnel returning from deployment.
Currently, the most common types of services members provide to military families and veterans are behavioral health and counseling services, parenting education, advocacy and referral, and case management of community-based services. However, because most members do not specifically ask about clients’ military affiliations—perhaps because most never thought to do so before or because they were not sure what anyone would do with this data—we really do not know how many family members of military personnel are served and what those services entail.
As we commemorate National Military Families Month and Veterans Day in November, please know that Alliance member interest and expertise, combined with the unmet needs of military families and veterans, are of great importance for the Alliance.
Charged by Mrs. Obama’s timely call to action, we look forward to helping Alliance member agencies work more strategically and responsively with our nation’s military leaders to provide greater access to the programs and services they continually provide exceptionally well.
Peter Goldberg is president and CEO of the Alliance and its parent holding company, Families International. In his capacity as president and CEO of Families International, he oversees a thriving group of affiliated organizations, including the Alliance, United Neighborhood Centers of America, FEI Behavioral Health, and Ways to Work. He has been selected by The NonProfit Times as one of the 50 most influential people in the nonprofit sector seven times since 1998. |  |
View the archive of Perspectives columns or the archive for all columnists.
Printer-friendly version