Health and Safety/Aquatics Schedule of Classes
Armed Forces Services
Armed Forces Services
The Kosciusko County American Red Cross offers numerous services important to members of the armed services and their families, including:
American Red Cross communication services keep military personnel in touch with their families following the death or serious illness of a family member, the birth of a child or in other family emergencies. The Red Cross sends messages quickly, anywhere in the world, including ships at sea, embassies and isolated military units.
The American Red Cross also provides 24-hour emergency communication services to military personnel overseas. Overseas personnel stationed at military installations can access Red Cross services by calling base/installation operators or on-base Red Cross stations. Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services workers are also sent to areas of conflict when military personnel are deployed.When calling the Red Cross to send an emergency message to a family member, please have the following information ready:
Emergency
Financial Assistance
The Red Cross may provide access to financial assistance, either as an interest-free loan or as a grant, for travel expenses when a personal or family crisis arises which requires the presence of the service member or his or her family. Access to financial assistance may also be provided when there is a demonstrated need for funds for emergency travel, burial assistance or urgent health and welfare needs such as food and shelter.
For emergency financial assistance, active duty military and their family members in the United States can call the Armed Forces Emergency Service Center seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The center's toll-free telephone number is available to service members and their families through base/installation operators and from local on-base Red Cross stations. Members of the National Guard and Reserves and retirees can get help through the Kosciusko County American Red Cross at 574-267-5244.
In overseas deployment areas, American Red Cross mobile staff working directly with America's military provide access to emergency financial assistance services. On overseas military installations, military personnel can get help through on-base Red Cross stations.
The American Red Cross offers confidential services to active duty, National Guard and Reserve personnel, and to members of their families. Counseling, guidance, information, referrals and other social services are available through our worldwide network of offices, located on military installations and in civilian communities. Contact us at 574-267-5244.
Counseling is becoming increasingly important as the number of members of the National Guard and Reserve swells. Because members of the National Guard and Reserve typically live in civilian neighborhoods, they and their families frequently have difficulty accessing much-needed military-related social services. American Red Cross counseling services are available to all military personnel.
If a hardship exists within a service member's immediate family that cannot be resolved by emergency leave, the Red Cross can counsel the family or service member about requesting a humanitarian reassignment (closer to home) or a hardship discharge. The Red Cross helps the service member understand the procedures and documentation needed. Final decisions on these applications are made by military authorities.
The American Red Cross provides assistance and information to veterans about the Department of Veterans Affairs. Red Cross workers assist veterans in the preparation, development and effort to obtain evidence to support a claim for financial benefits through the Board of Veterans Appeals.
Also, through the Veterans Administration Volunteer Services, Red Cross volunteers ranging in age from teenagers to retirees, provide a number of support services to patients in VA medical centers. Services provided by Red Cross volunteers may include physical rehabilitation, social work, general ward help and information, library work, nursing and administration.
Reserve,
National Guard and Other Community-Based Military Personnel
Members of the U. S. Armed Forces don't have to be actively deployed to benefit from American Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services. American Red Cross services are also available to members of the Reserve Officers Training Corps, Recruiters, U.S. Coast Guard, Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, retirees and to their families.
The American Red Cross wants members of the National Guard, Reserves and other community-based military personnel to Get to Know Us Before You Need Us. All too often, members of the Reserves and National Guard don't know about available Red Cross services until they are mobilized. Knowing in advance that communication links, access to financial assistance and counseling will be available in an emergency brings peace of mind to the military and to the families from which they are separated. Similarly, knowing that Red Cross services are available to inactive service members and their family members provides a safety net in times of need. The Get to Know Us Before You Need Us: Serving the Community-Based Military and Their Families pamphlet (ARC 1129) can be obtained from the Kosciusko County American Red Cross. Call us at 574-267-5244.
Red Cross services for inactive and active members of the Reserves and National Guard include:
- Emergency communication
- Access to emergency financial assistance
- Counseling
- Veterans services
- Information and referral provided by Armed Forces Emergency Services.
For help during inactive duty, members of the National Guard and Reserves and their families should contact the Kosciusko County American Red Cross at 574-267-5244.
When on active duty, members of the Reserves and National Guard can get Red Cross help by contacting base/installation operators, local on-base Red Cross stations and Red Cross workers deployed with America's military in the field.