Programs for families expanding

Meeting the needs of Army families is the main mission of Army Community Service.

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In recent months, new programs and initiatives have been set up to accomplish that mission. Headquartered at Darling Hall, Army Community Service has an array of programs, from new-parent classes to financial-management assistance.

Staff members Tracy Smith and LeTonya Hudson are part of one of the newest initiatives with the organization.

"This will increase ACS' ability to reach families," Vanessa Stanley, Army Community Service chief, said of the unit service coordinators.

Smith's office is in the Gordon Terrace housing area, and Hudson will be in the offices of the 15th Signal Brigade. By June, their offices should be in place to provide outreach to families.

"Families don't have to go to Darling Hall," said Stanley.

Smith's office will have information and referral services and a resource library. The women will also head a spousal-support group.

Another way the organization wanted to make its programs accessible to families was through a family leader development course, initiated on April 19.

Family readiness groups are support systems for families during deployments. Training leaders of those groups was simplified April 19 as Kathryn Palmer, Army Community Service's mobilization and deployment program manager, held the training at the Family Outreach Center.

Palmer said the course was the first of its kind at Fort Gordon, combining a series of needed classes into one daylong seminar.

"We're going to do this twice a year," she said.

Since other military services are represented at Fort Gordon, Army Community Services does its best to provide programs for all military on post, said Stanley.

A few months ago, the Navy's equivalent of Army Community Service, Fleet and Family Support, made its debut at Fort Gordon. Rebecca Moore, a clinical counselor with Navy Family Readiness, and Tracey Carter have offices in the ACS suite in Darling Hall.

Moore said she can relate to Navy spouses assigned to Army bases.

"I've been a military wife for 21 years," she said. "I've always been on Army bases."

For more information on any ACS programs, call (706) 791-3579.

Reach Charmain Brackett at czbrackett@hotmail.com.