NJ 2-1-1 Assists with Local Military Initiatives
NJ 2-1-1 has added a number of pages to its Web site that are specifically geared to assist military personnel and their families. We’ve worked closely with military representatives and service providers to ensure that the pages reflect a comprehensive review of the state and local resources available for New Jersey’s servicemen and servicewomen and the families that await their safe return.
These focused resource pages are representative of our larger effort to educate people about the resources available in our state and how different service systems work. Pages focusing on military assistance are the result of our involvement with several United Way chapters and many service providers throughout the state who came together to support our troops in meaningful and unique ways.
“When we realized that over 3,000 troops from the National Guard were being deployed in our state, we knew that meant 3,000 families would be feeling the strain in a very real way,” explained Valerie Hart, Military Outreach Program Coordinator of Family Service of Morris County, “and we just had to do something.” United Way of Morris County and a host of other health and human service partners throughout the county including NJ 2-1-1 were equally committed to the effort and Project Front Line Morris was born.
The program is designed to increase awareness of and improve access to community resources for military families while soldiers are on the front line and when they return home. As John Franklin, CEO at United Way of Morris County explains, “The challenges that military families face do not disappear when their soldiers return. It is critical that we support these families as they prepare for deployment, while their soldiers are deployed, and when their soldiers come home.”
Services provided are customized to respond to individual needs and make full use of existing community resources. The focus is on providing tangible support. For one military family it came during a bitter cold spell this winter in the form of a new hot water tank that could not otherwise be afforded. For another it started with assistance from the mayor and citizens of a small town who helped a young family during the holidays - an effort that blossomed into a bountiful outpouring of assistance with everything from school clothes to help with lunches and supplies.
United Way of Bergen County has an active program as well. The Fund for Military Families was an outgrowth of the chapter’s efforts to assist in supporting the Teaneck Armory’s food pantry, but quickly expanded by providing support for unexpected and less traditional emergency situations and now plays a role in the Family Assistance Center that was ultimately established at the Armory.
NJ 2-1-1 worked closely with both groups and was instrumental in disseminating information about new initiatives to call center staff and making sure new programs were added to the resource database. “This is a perfect example of the vital role that NJ 2-1-1 can play as new programs become available to people in need,” states Laura Marx, Executive Director of the organization.
NJ 2-1-1 is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The service is anonymous and free and call specialists are trained to know about the resources available throughout the state. If you are a military serviceman or servicewoman, a family member, or friend of a service person-in-need and you are looking for resources to the challenging situations you or they are facing, please dial 2-1-1. To learn more about military assistance available in New Jersey read our Military Resource pages.
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