Help for military families on the go
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EmailBeing a military family can be overwhelming at times, especially during the holidays. Here are some resource that can help make things a little easier.
Being a military family is rewarding but it does come with challenges, especially during times of deployment, homecoming or relocation. It can be hard to navigate all the resources that are available to military families to help make things a little easier and help out along the way. Here are a few of the resources for military families to check out:
- Michigan National Guard Child and Youth Programs: serves all branches of the military and provides resources and referrals, education outreach, child care assistance, youth council, summer camps, educational events and much more.
- Michigan National Guard Family Assistance Centers: located around the state of Michigan and provides information, referrals, outreach and support services to all military families regardless of branch.
- Military OneSource: a free resource to all military families to connect with support and materials on a variety of topics including deployment, homecoming, relocation, parenting, finances, relationships and much more. This resource also offers 24-7 support and counseling.
- Sesame Street for Military Families: designed for preschool children, school-age children and families to keep in touch with their service member by using popular Sesame Street characters.
- Military Kids Connect: a way for children ages 6-17 to connect with other military youth their age through message boards, interactive games and learning about deployment.
- Our Military Kids: provides support for extracurricular activities for military children and youth during deployment.
- Operation: Homefront: helps military families in need with specific requests.
- Tutor.com: online tutoring and homework help for all K-12 students in U.S. Army, Navy, AirForce, Marines, National Guard, Reserves, Wounded Warrior and deployed DoD civilian families. Also helps with college and career transition assistance for adult service members, spouses and college-age dependents.
- Zero to Three Military Families Project: resources for both providers and parents around topics such as deployment, relocation and helping families reconnect after deployment.
These are just a few of the many resources that are available to military families. If you are interested in activities that can help your family prepare for an upcoming deployment or homecoming, visit the Michigan State University Extension website and take a look at the 4-H Military Family Booksheets. These are helpful activities based around children’s books that can help families during all stages of deployment.
If you are looking for more articles about deployment support, check out “Finding support for children and youth with deployed family members” for a helpful checklist on who might support your child or youth during your service member’s deployment and the “Emotional cycle of deployment” that explains each stage of the deployment cycle and gives helpful activities you can do to keep your family connected.
For more ideas about activities and articles on child development, academic success, parenting and life skill development, please visit the MSU Extension website.
To learn about the positive impact children and families are experience due to MSU Extension programs, read our 2016 Impact Report. Additional impact reports, highlighting even more ways Michigan 4-H and MSU Extension positively impacted individuals and communities in 2016, can be downloaded from the Michigan 4-H website.
