Home » Archives » "No funding closes support program"

No funding closes support program

Aug-25-2005 » Filed Under: Homefront

There's information at the bottom of the article if you're interested in helping.

Link to Full Article
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune

A program that has helped hundreds of local women cope with the special stresses of life as a military spouse has ceased operations due to lack of money.

The program’s director said she’s optimistic it will resume. But she said she’s being turned away by many potential donors who say they’ve grown weary of supporting military-related causes.

“Donors are tired,” said Sherrill Hendrick, director of the Community Connection for Military Families in the South Puget Sound.

“They’re tired of the war and moving on to other things,” she said. “And there’s a feeling that the military should take care of its own.”

Each branch of the service has an array of social help programs for its members and their families. But Hendrick and others said Community Connection’s greatest strength was that it operated outside the military chain of command.

Participants were free to share feelings without worrying about trouble with their husbands’ commanders. And it provided a link to the wider world outside the gates of the installation.

Community Connection offered get-togethers, with free child care, six days a week for military families in Lakewood, Parkland, University Place, Lacey and Bremerton. [...]

“It’s an absolute necessity,” Col. Clarke McGriff said of Community Connection. He is the lead chaplain at Fort Lewis, and members of his ministerial team often refer women to Hendrick’s group.

“You don’t hear a lot about it,” he said, “but the soldiers, their families, their spouses are all being helped by a lot of the things that she’s doing.”

For information about Community Connection for Military Families in the South Puget Sound, visit the Web site at www.militaryfamilies.org. Or contact Sherrill Hendrick at 253-431-6687 or e-mail militaryfamilies@harbornet.com.


Advertisements