Family Support

One key issue a lot of people forget about when a son, daughter, father, or mother join the military is the toll it takes on not only the enlistee but also his or her family. Being gone for months on end and missing out on holidays and memories with the family is really tough, and this stress is only increased when a soldier returns with injures or disabilities. Also for some families the soldier who was injured was the primary caregiver, so now there spouse will have to step into a role they are not familiar with as full time caregiver. Now you can see how all these problems can really strain a relationship or family, so Wounded Warrior Project started the program Family Support to help the families of returning wounded veterans cope with the adjustments. Family Support offers assistance and relief programs for family, spouses, and caregivers through weekend retreats and child care programs. Two of these programs are called Caregiver Retreat and My Care Crew

• Caregiver Retreat- gives the spouses, parents, and siblings a much needed break with weekend-long, all-expense-paid retreats hosted at several locations all over the country. The retreats provides families with an opportunity to get some much needed physical and mental rest while connecting with about 25 other groups going though similar situations. The participants are required to go though a ice breaker phase where they have group counseling sessions, with an option for one on one counseling later, also they must go through outdoor team building sessions hat help you get to know the rest of the participants. But after that you can spend you free time, depending on location and season, doing what you wish like swimming, golfing, shopping, hiking, spa services, and horseback riding. Also once the weekend is over WWP has everyone trade information if they want so they can stay connected and maybe create new friendships.
• My Care Crew- is as they say a community approach to care giving. My Care Crew helps makes it easier for friends, family, and the community to assist wounded warriors and their families as they transition home through an online website. Families in need of assistance simply list things that they need done on an online calender such as meal delivery, transportation, shopping, or household chores. And then an Approved volunteer can then sign up on the calender to that job for the family! I emphasized approved because i don't want you thinking any weirdo or thief can accept the job. So as you can see this really gets the community involved in helping out. Also here is a link if you want to also help out. http://mycarecrew.lotsahelpinghands.com/military/home/

Finally while doing some research on the Family Support program I came upon a a woman's blog. And in her blog she posted about how she took advantage of the retreat and how it really helped her relax and meet new friends. http://voltinfamily.blogspot.com/2008/08/wounded-warrior-project-caregiver.html