03/26/2007

'Operation: Military Kids' Marks Second Anniversary

Writer:

Martha Filipic
filipic.3@cfaes.osu.edu
(614) 292-9833

Source:

Theresa Ferrari, Ohio 4-H Youth Development
ferrari.8@osu.edu
(614) 247-8164

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- As national leaders debate policy regarding the war in Iraq, family members on the homefront can be easily forgotten.

But Ohio State University Extension's "Operation: Military Kids" program is marking its second anniversary on April 6, and continues to expand its reach to support children of military families all over the state.

Operation: Military Kids, or OMK, is a national initiative involving 34 states with high levels of National Guard and Reserve deployment. The program's focus is on families affected by deployment, with an emphasis on "suddenly military" families whose military commitments normally take them from home only sporadically, such as one weekend a month or two weeks during the summer. When those units are deployed, the entire family endures the hardship.

"One thing we've learned over the years is that 'family' is a broad concept," said Theresa Ferrari, Ohio 4-H military liaison and an Ohio State University Extension specialist with 4-H Youth Development. "Initially, we tended to focus on spouses and children, but so many service members are young enough to have siblings still in elementary or high school. Brothers and sisters can feel the same sorts of stresses that children of military parents feel."

But children in families with a deployed parent often face significant hardships, including fear of the unknown and concern for the parent's safety. As one 13-year-old OMK participant put it, "We are usually the least informed during this time. And we don't know when the next time we see them will be."

Deployment also means a parent is absent for significant events, as well as everyday matters -- often resulting in stress, anger or depression, Ferrari said. These youths also often assume more household responsibilities and the family may experience a decrease in financial resources, she added. Such stresses can manifest themselves in school and all other areas of the child's life.

"They have to think about things no child should have to think about," Ferrari said.

Ohio's OMK program is primarily funded by a $50,000 grant from Army Child and Youth Services; Ferrari is currently applying for the third year of funding. Donations are also a significant help, she said. To reach as many military kids as possible, Ferrari works with the family support units of the National Guard, Army Reserve, Marine Corps, Air Force, and more recently, the Coast Guard and the Navy Reserve.

"I just got a call from a mother with three kids," Ferrari said. "Her husband is in the Navy Reserve, and the stresses are starting to show. She said, 'My kids just need a little encouragement.'" Ferrari is mailing three hand-written notes 4-H members wrote for children in this situation, and will encourage the family to get more involved in OMK, too.

Ohio's OMK program offers many types of support, including:

• Hero Packs. All over the state, 4-H members, church groups and other volunteers fill backpacks with items designed to comfort children in military families or help them stay connected with their deployed family member. Over 1,300 packs have been assembled so far. Many times, these groups raise money to purchase the items and the backpacks; Ferrari is expecting a shipment of 500 special "Hero" backpacks from the Army soon, which will be filled with items volunteers collect. Once the backpacks are assembled, OMK collects them and they are delivered to units during mobilization briefings to be distributed to children in families with a deployed military member. Currently, a 4-H club in Ross County is assembling some packs, Ferrari said, and a 4-H Ambassador in Clark County spearheaded a drive to collect $300 for the junior leaders to purchase backpacks and the items to put in them.
• OMK Camp, for youth ages 9-14. This year's camp will be held Aug. 14-18 at the Kelleys Island 4-H Camp. First priority is given to children of National Guard and Reserve who have been affected by deployment. The cost is only $35, thanks to a grant from the Ohio 4-H Foundation and other donors, including the AT&T Pioneers Life Member Council, though additional donors are still needed, Ferrari said. Registration is open at Ohio's OMK Web site at http://operationmilitarykids.ohio4h.org/programs/camps.html. As one camper from last year wrote, "I just wanted to thank you for making this week possible. You have helped me make many new friends, and gave me an experience I'll remember for life."

"Camp counselors go through some special training for this camp," Ferrari said. "It's usually in the cabins, at night when it's quiet, when the kids open up and talk about what's bothering them. Many feel guilty just because they're having fun. The best thing about the camp is that it lets them know they're not alone. They often keep in touch with other kids and counselors they've met through the OMK camp."

• "Speak Out for Military Kids" program. This public speaking program offers a way for military kids and their advocates to speak to community groups to raise awareness of the issues facing military families. One participant in the Speak Out program shared her own story in her presentation: "I think one of the hardest times is the first day they leave," she said of her father, an Army Reservist. "It is also hard to know they're out on a mission but you don't know when they're coming back. It is also hard having questions, and no answers." Ferrari said that youths involved in the Speak Out program learn valuable leadership capabilities as well as public speaking skills.

In addition, Ohio's OMK program, along with the Ohio National Guard and Ohio Department of Education, recently hosted a two-day workshop for school counselors to help them recognize signs of stress among students who have deployed family members.

"Most schools have no way of learning which students have a member in the military," Ferrari said. "Most of the counselors at the conference said they had previously been unaware that some of their students could be affected by deployment, and they planned to go back to find out who is affected in their schools. Many times, the signs students exhibit are not unusual -- it's just how they exhibit stress. But the source of the stress is different because they have absolutely no control over it, and neither do their parents."

For more information or to become involved in Ohio's Operation: Military Kids program, contact Ferrari at (614) 247-8164 or e-mail her at omk@cfaes.osu.edu.

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