Mid-Michigan Gets Long Awaited VFW Family Assistance Center

CHARLOTTE, Mich., Nov.8, 2007--Maple City Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 2406 in Charlotte celebrated its new Family Assistance Center during a Veterans Day ceremony.

The VFW Post 2406 Family Assistance Center is one of only three centers in Michigan. The facility for the military is open to the public and will serve the communities of Mid-Michigan. Currently, the nearest VFW Family Assistance Center is located in Grand Rapids – 63 miles from Charlotte and 68 miles from Lansing. Individualsdo not need to be VFW members to use the Family Assistance Centers.

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“We are very excited about opening our Family Assistance Center,” said Jessica Cage, VFW Ladies Auxiliary member and Michigan Army National Guard spouse, “and we hope to become an advocate to all veterans in the Mid-Michigan area. Since we are in a time of war,” she continued, “it is very important to us and our community that we help each other.”

With the closest military base two hours away in Detroit and the nearest Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center an hour away in Battle Creek, the Mid-Michigan region is home to National Guard and Reserve units only. Because of these distances, services offered by these official providers are often inaccessible.

“We are hoping to become the next best thing, and we want military personnel from the Mid-Michigan area to come to us when they need help,” said Cage.

Cage made it her crusade to bring a Family Assistance Center to the area when she discovered that there was really nothing like it available.

“It’s been a long time in coming for a center like this to open, and thanks to the help and support of the VFW Post 2406, many of its members, the Ladies Auxiliary, the Dad’s Post #286 and the Men’s Auxiliary, it is finally a reality,” said Cage.

The Family Assistance Center provides a communication center, a resource center and a children’s area.

# The communication center is equipped with three laptops and cameras, located in cubicles for privacy, and can be used for connecting with family and friends overseas, searching online employment opportunities and researching military benefits.

# The resource center supplies a stock of information booklets, CDs and DVDs about various aspects of military life. In particular, the resources include topics such as talking to children about deployment, dealing with stress, budgeting finances and managing money, helping families to understand post traumatic stress disorder and military service benefits.

# The children’s area keeps kids occupied with toys like dolls, racecars, board games, puzzles and coloring books, while parents take time to address their needs. Children can also watch movies on a TV with VCR and DVD player.

Source: VFW