Additional services
Jul 11th, 2007 by Oscar
CrossFire’s primary areas of focus will be to assist veterans in the following areas:
- Refuge: Immediate shelter and emergency housing
- Recovery: Assistance with all forms of addiction
- Readjustment: Overcoming trauma and other issues of the past and moving towards complete community reintegration
- Re-entry: Vets coming our out of incarceration
- Re-employment: Job readiness, job search, and job retention
- Relationships: Rebuilding burned bridges and re-establishing broken relationships
However, our goal is to become a seamless provider of human services to our military men and women and their families. The following is a list of the services we intend to provide directly or facilitate through other agencies:
Adult Continuing Education
Many veterans lack only a few credits to complete their degrees. These needs will be assessed and resources will be researched and brought in to assist in completing educational requirements and certifications.
Anger Management & Domestic Violence Prevention
Many veterans have difficulty with anger management, which leads to domestic violence, crime and other problems. We believe that we can offer unique faith-based perspectives in learning to deal with these issues.
Assistance for the Disadvantaged
Food, clothing, shelter, toiletries, transportation and referral services will be available for veterans and even families of active-duty personnel who need this assistance.
Community Conferences and Seminars
Many of the in-house, non-confidential training programs, lectures, and seminars that prior military clients will be participating in will be open to active duty personnel, their families and the community in general.
Computer Literacy Training
As part of our Job Readiness and Soft Skills Training program, our computer labs will be equipped with the most modern computer hardware and software to make our veterans computer-literate in order to be able to complete in today’s job market. These training sessions will also be open to active duty personnel within 90 days of their anticipated discharge date.
Credit Repair, Debt Elimination, and Financial Planning
It is difficult for clients to focus on recovery, job placement, job retention and relational reconstruction when they are distracted by financial pressures. Economically disadvantaged veterans need assistance to relieve the financial pressures so they can focus on getting their lives back together again.
Death Benefits, Funeral and Burial Services
It is an unfortunate reality that veterans die without making final arrangements. Indigent and homeless veterans may be eligible to receive services and benefits fitting for one who has served his/her country in the military. Though not guaranteed, there are some individuals and organizations who are willing to help.
Employment Assistance
Some veterans have difficulty finding civilian equivalents to military specialty training. Veterans will be trained on effective job searches, resume writing, and interviewing skills. Many of these training sessions and seminars will be open to active-duty personnel who are anticipating discharge from active duty within 90 days. The U.S. Department of Labor is investing almost $4 million to place more than 16,000 veterans in jobs under the Workforce Investment Act and the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act. There are also resources at veteranemployment.com. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also has lots of information concerning veteran employment.
Family Services and Marriage Counseling
Restoration of the family unit is a primary goal and a highly desired outcome of the program. Marriage and family therapists and counselors will be trained in the unique pressures and demands that service in the military places on all members of the family including children and youth. For example, few people realize that PTSD can become a generational issue. Pointman International Ministries strongly supports the families of our men and women in uniform. We also strongly support the Family Life Conferences on Marriage.
Health Care Training
Being homeless, indigent, or out on the streets for a long time can lead to a deterioration of personal hygiene. Basic health care will give veterans haircuts, shaves, clean clothes, and bedding to reaffirm their self-worth and value as a human being. It will also show that there are those who care about them.
Health Enhancement
Efforts will be made to assist our vets with basic health enhancement needs such as eyeglasses, hearing aids, etc. through veterans’ organizations and other community resources.
Integrity Recovery
Few people ever make the connection that when there are failures in a person’s life, there are also rips and tears that strongly affect a person’s concept of wholeness. The virtue of integrity or wholeness derives from a persons inner sense of honesty and consistent uprightness of character. If efforts are not made to assist individuals in regaining their perception of their own integrity, then few remedial actions will last very long. CrossFire will address this issue in the same faith-based manner as it addresses other crucial issues.
Jewish/Christian Mutual Appreciation & Relationship Enhancement
As part of our cultural training and appreciation for Judeo-Christian principles and ethics, leaders from local temples, synagogues, churches and other religious organizations will be invited in to explain their religious heritage and to answer questions, and diffuse fears and suspicions, and foster goodwill and mutual respect.
Job Readiness and Soft Skills Training
Veterans who are just coming out of the military after one or several enlistments may have been away from the civilian job market for several years. Job readiness training will help to equip veterans with the skills they will need to be on a equal footing in a highly competitive job market.
Job Retention Training
After veterans are placed in meaningful employment, the keys of retaining that job will be explained to ensure job stability.
Leadership Development
Although many veterans have been trained in military leadership, few may have had moral, family and civilian employment leadership skills training that will help them become successful in civilian life.
Legal Assistance
Every attempt at resolution of outstanding legal issues will be made for veterans that may have outstanding traffic tickets, parole issues, child support problems, income tax evasion or involvement in other legal problems.
Mental Health Crisis Services
Counselors will be trained in veterans’ issues and will be able to handle most mental health crisis that may occur. If needed, free transportation to the VA Medical Centers will be available.
Mental Health Research
Few people realize that there is no central clearinghouse for Veterans Affairs post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) protocols being used at the VA medical centers around the country and around the world. Apparently, each VA medical center is left to explore and discover whatever seems to work for them. CrossFire plans to access all significant approaches being used and use the most effective methods and treatments for PTSD.
Mobilization & Deployment Assistance
Since we plan to locate our initial and all future sites close to military instillations, we will work closely with the Family Readiness Groups (FRGs) within the military facilities. Our extensive faith-based and community contacts and support agencies will be available to any active-duty personnel and their families requesting faith-based assistance.
Nutrition Education
Poor nutrition can lead to poor concentration, poor job performance, physical health problems and wasted money. Veterans will be taught nutritional education and efficient food shopping and preparation.
Parenting Skills
Being away on an isolated assignments, remote tours of duty, or on a ship can create problems within a family. Additionally, many military career fields are not conducive to nurturing roles within the home. We believe that our effective parenting training will help to increase veterans’ aware of these issues and help restore positive relationships with their children, thereby strengthening the family. We believe that the National Fathering Initiative and organizations such as Positive Parenting, Fathers Resource and Networking Center, Fathering Indicators Framework, Positive Step-Fathering and Fatherhood Reclaimed can all help to teach men how to make the transition from professional soldier to positive father. It is not unusual for children to begin to display some of the same symptoms of PTSD as an affected parent may display.
Prescription Assistance
All veterans are entitled to obtain prescription medication for service-connected medical issues. Not all vets have the means to access this service remotely. CrossFire plans to help veterans access MyHealtheVet in order to get help online.
Religious Education and Moral Training
Recovery programs that have a spiritual component have historically and statistically been proven to be more effective than programs that lack a spiritual component. As a faith-based service provider, veterans who voluntarily enroll in the CrossFire veterans program are aware of the program requirements before they volunteer for the program. If they do not want a faith-based program, the VA has many assistance programs that can meet their needs. All program volunteers will agree to attend and participate in all aspects of the faith-based program they have selected.
Scholarship Facilitation for Veterans and their Children
Most veterans are entitled to educational benefits under the GI Bill, but many veterans are not aware that there are organizations and charitable foundations willing to assist with scholarship funds for veterans and their children. The State of
Transportation to VA Facilities
Shuttle bus services will take veterans to the closest major VA medical facility for all their major medical and pharmaceutical needs. Two round trips daily will help alleviate the traffic congestion and parking problems at the VA hospitals while ensuring that veterans have access to all other VA services.
Vocational Education
Many military career fields have no civilian equivalent. Vocational aptitude testing and training will help veterans make the transition from a military job to a civilian career.
Volunteerism Promotion & Community Involvement
As part of the training program, clients will be taught to assist others who need help with other CrossFire services such as community food banks, Meals On Wheels, and similar programs. Giving back to the community helps combat attitudes of “entitlement” which are common among social welfare participants.
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