In collaboration with Monroe-Owen Military Support Network, the Monroe County Chapter of the American Red Cross created a military resource directory in June, 2010, for Monroe & Owen Counties, listing military support agency names and services, including contact information and a brief description of the organization’s basic programs and services.

 

The resource guide, 24 pages in length, assists active military, veterans and their families, as well as staff or volunteers from other helping agencies, find out what military resources are available locally. “Military families have many challenges pre-and post-deployment, and often find it confusing to navigate the complicated resources available to them from government and public sector,” said Sue Gulley, Executive Director at the Red Cross. “We were overwhelmed with requests for the resource guide, and knew right away that we'd have to reprint it sooner than we originally thought." So the chapter applied for a Community Mobilization Grant through the Military Family Research Institute based at Purdue University. The proposal was recently approved, so approximately 1,400 resource guides will be reprinted for distribution in Monroe and Owen Counties. 

 

The resource guide is free of charge and available to anyone in the community. You can pick one up at the following locations: Red Cross chapter, 411 E. 7^th Street, the American Legion on W. Third Street, the VFW on Airport Road, Monroe County public library locations, Herman B.Wells Library on IU campus, VA outpatient clinic on Landmark Ave., Area 10 Agency on Aging, and the United Way office.

 

The next Monroe-Owen Military Support Network meeting will take place on Thursday, August 26th at Noon at the American Legion, W. Third St. in Bloomington. For more information about Red Cross Services to Armed Forces, or the Monroe-Owen Military Support Network, call the Red Cross at (812) 332-7292, or in Owen Co., call (812) 829-9233, or email suegulley@monroe-redcross.org.