Bill, Here are some examples of challenging circumstances faced by military families that were helped by the Armed Services YMCA.

Family #1

Reservist had one day notice and was called up for active duty. He will be gone 1 yr. Wife stressed because H's pay will be considerably less than his civilian job. There are four children in the family. One child is a special needs child and requires extra care. Wife afraid that she will not be able to pay all the bills and manage children.

ARMED SERVICES YMCA social worker provided referals to local agencies which provided temporary financial assistance and respite care for special needs child. ASYMCA paid for respite child care. ASYMCA social worker conducts weekly suport visits to family, conducts parenting skills training aand budget counseling.

Family #2

Neighbor called the "Y" expressing concern for her neighbor who was having significant problems with postpartum depression. H deployed for 6 months. There were 4 children all under the age of 10 (one of them being a newborn). Mother too depressed to care for the children.

ARMED SERVICES YMCA social was called in by neighbor. Worker took mother to Naval Medical Center emergency room and the ASYMCA funded childcare for children until father brought home on emergency leave. ASYMCA continued to provide support for family through weekly visits by social worker and transportation to Naval Medical Center for outpatient psychiatric care.

Family # 3

Mother is 26 yrs. old and is a new mother. H due to deploy in one week and will be gone for 6 months. Couple has few parenting skills and their child is only 2 months old. Couple presently resides in a local residential hotel and have not been able to afford the expenses of moving into their own apt. They are on a waiting list for military housing. Mother has history of child abuse and neglect and was raised in the foster system.

ARMED SERVICES YMCA social worker is conducting weekly visits and focusing on building parenting skills, increasing mother's social supports as well as providing assistance with budgeting and emotional issues surrounding the husband's upcoming deployment.

Family #4

Wife had major surgery with serious complications. Family had 2 toddlers at home. Father able to stay home for 3 weeks, but had to return to work before his wife could recover. Wife still unable to take care of children.

ARMED SERVICES YMCA social worker was able to use respite funds so that a neighbor would provide childcare and some light housekeeping for this family. ASYMCA social worker conducts twice weekly visits to assist in parenting and is implementing a plan to get someone from the family to provide more long term assistance.

Family #5

Spouse has a car that needs repairing. Transportation essential as she needs to get 2 children to school and she needs to get to her job. Repairs for car are more than she can handle financially. H is presently deployed. Relatives are supportive emotionally, but cannot help financially. If spouse cannot get her car fixed, she will be unable to drive and will lose her job.

ASYMCA contacted a local auto repair shop which offered to make repairs at cost then referred client to Navy/Marine Corps Relief Society which provided a grant for the cost of car repair.

Family #6

19 yr old new mother of deployed husband could not drive new baby home from the Naval Hospital without an infant car seat. Armed Services YMCA office at the Naval Medical Center was contacted and provided new infant car seat donated by GEICO Insurance Company.

Family #7

Navy parents of autistic child needed support in facing significant challanges of addressing special needs of their child. Naval Medical Center social worker referred parents to ARMED SERVICES YMCA UNDERSTANDING AUTISM TOGETHER support group where parents of autistic children are empowered through education and mutual support. Monthly meetings include child care, educational opportunities, access to special resources and advocacy.

Family# 8

Marine Corps family living in remote east county military housing area with very limited recreational resources. Family enrolls children in ASYMCA YOUTH ENRICHMENT PROGRAM. Program provids affordable, supervised, and fun enrichment activities including visits to museums, swimming, Padre games, local amusement venues, etc.

These are only a very small sampling of the thousands of problems and challenges faced by military families and addressed by the ARMED SERVICES YMCA.

If you need any more examples, let me know. Thanks for all you are doing, Bill.

Sincerely,

CAPT Mike Reber, USN(Ret.)
Executive Director
San Diego Armed Services YMCA