Overview

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Welcome to the Family Program e-learning lesson on engaging community resources and building partnerships. While all families benefit from utilizing community supports, the needs of the families of the National Guard and Reserve are even greater through the deployment cycle. These families do not have the benefit of living on a base and they do not have easy access to resources. The National Guard Family Program is tasked with assisting family members to become more self-sufficient during deployment. At the end of this lesson, you will be able to recognize the impact community and social supports can have on families throughout the deployment cycle, identify the types of community supports needed by families, and specify effective ways to build partnerships with key community organizations to support families of the National Guard.

National Guard families require assistance in multiple domains.

Community and social supports are key factors in how well children, youth, and families weather the transitions of deployment, reintegration, and redeployment. There are multiple needs for families when a spouse is deployed. They include childcare, financial issues, work issues, school and behavioral challenges, and emotional problems, including anxiety and depression. This lesson identifies important community resources and the ways to engage the community to assist National Guard families in multiple domains. You will recognize the importance of community outreach and discover tools for effective engagement.

Develop strong relationships with community resources to meet families’ needs.

In order to be successful, it will be important to develop strong relationships with community resources including schools, recreational resources, mental health agencies, the faith-based community, and any other resources you can identify that can support the mission. No one entity can do the comprehensive work alone. It will take a group of caring providers to fill the gaps in needs that emerge for families throughout the deployment cycle.