thedrifter
12-23-07, 07:20 AM
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Few of Florida's military families using state aid program
Few returning Reservists use little-known aid program
By Mike Clary
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
December 23, 2007
When National Guard Specialist Gregg Boone returned in August from 15 months in Iraq to find his job gone and the pipes in his Miramar house leaking, he and his wife, Mayda, turned to a little-used state fund designed to help Florida military families.
The $2,100 grant the couple received in October "helped pull us through," said Mayda Boone.
Yet 2 ½ years after the legislature set aside $5 million to aid deployed military personnel and their families, only $600,000 has been paid out through the Family Readiness Program, and some eligible families may be unaware of fund's existence.
In West Palm Beach, for example, Sgt. Angelica Villarreal, a National Guard recruiter, recently held a bake sale when she noticed the low balance in the emergency fund maintained for years by the Reserve Center. She said she was unfamiliar with the Family Readiness Program money.
"I've known a lot of families in need, and I've never heard of it," said Villarreal, 26. "That's just weird."
Lt. Col. Ron Tittle, a spokesman for the Florida National Guard, admitted that the fund has not been sufficiently publicized. "We've got to get the word out, and we're working on a video public service announcement," he said. "Quite honestly, we could have done more."
Unveiled with ceremonial fanfare by former Gov. Jeb Bush in June 2005, the Florida Family Readiness Program Assistance Fund was designed to provide emergency financial help to dependents of troops on active duty with the Florida National Guard or with the Reserve forces of the Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps.
Bush predicted the program would "set the standard across America for state support of the military."
But just 160 families, including the Boones, have received financial help.
The fund's low profile may be just one reason why it isn't more used, Tittle said. The relatively few number of requests for aid may reflect the decline in the number of Florida-based troops sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, or it may suggest that few Guard and Reserve soldiers and Marines need help, he said.
Also, added Tittle, other resources, such as the West Palm Beach Reserve Center's emergency fund, are available.
The number of National Guard forces being activated is also dropping. When the fund was created, about 3,000 Florida National Guard troops were deployed. Today, just 480 Florida men and women from the National Guard, including 150 in Iraq and Afghanistan, are on active duty.
Still, the paucity of applications to the fund is surprising, especially because a legislative analysis that led to its creation found that the Guard averaged 250 requests a month for help with housing, living expenses and other expenses. Impressed with the need, lawmakers took the original budget request of $2.5 million and doubled it.
In Miami, Coast Guard Reserve assistance coordinator Bob Larson said, "I have not seen a single application since the program has been in place." But with very few Coast Guard troops deployed overseas, he said that was not surprising.
Debbie Looney, family programs coordinator for the Army Reserves, said she has used the program. "It's been all positive for us," she said from her office at the Regional Readiness Command in Birmingham, Ala. "A lot of times people are in dire straits."
Myriam Andrade, who retired from the National Guard and now serves as Family Readiness coordinator for 10 South Florida counties, including Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade, said she has received just 10 applications for aid since the fund was set up. Eight of those requests, including the one from the Boones, were approved.
"After my husband got back, it was Murphy's Law — one thing after another," said Boone. "His job site closed, I was not working, then the pipes burst. So we were really at a loss."
Boone, 41, said she heard about the Family Readiness Program through a military support group and called Andrade.
"Myriam said, 'Just relax,'" said Boone. "And they were incredible." There is no limit on the one-time payout, Tittle said. The biggest grant so far was almost $18,000 to repair a soldier's mobile home.
Often, smaller emergencies in military families are handled within the units. When she took it upon herself to replenish the West Palm Beach Reserve Center fund, Villarreal said she went to a discount supermarket and bought muffins, bagels, chips and soft drinks that she sold at a modest mark-up.
"Recently, we haven't had to deal with anything," said Villarreal, who served in Afghanistan in 2004-2005. "But what happens when somebody loses their job? If we could give them a week's paycheck ... "
Yet, for those who qualify for aid, Andrade said she stands ready. "I love to help people," she said. "If I get busier, the better."
Mike Clary can be reached at mwclary@sun-sentinel.com or at 305-810-5026.
Ellie
Few of Florida's military families using state aid program
Few returning Reservists use little-known aid program
By Mike Clary
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
December 23, 2007
When National Guard Specialist Gregg Boone returned in August from 15 months in Iraq to find his job gone and the pipes in his Miramar house leaking, he and his wife, Mayda, turned to a little-used state fund designed to help Florida military families.
The $2,100 grant the couple received in October "helped pull us through," said Mayda Boone.
Yet 2 ½ years after the legislature set aside $5 million to aid deployed military personnel and their families, only $600,000 has been paid out through the Family Readiness Program, and some eligible families may be unaware of fund's existence.
In West Palm Beach, for example, Sgt. Angelica Villarreal, a National Guard recruiter, recently held a bake sale when she noticed the low balance in the emergency fund maintained for years by the Reserve Center. She said she was unfamiliar with the Family Readiness Program money.
"I've known a lot of families in need, and I've never heard of it," said Villarreal, 26. "That's just weird."
Lt. Col. Ron Tittle, a spokesman for the Florida National Guard, admitted that the fund has not been sufficiently publicized. "We've got to get the word out, and we're working on a video public service announcement," he said. "Quite honestly, we could have done more."
Unveiled with ceremonial fanfare by former Gov. Jeb Bush in June 2005, the Florida Family Readiness Program Assistance Fund was designed to provide emergency financial help to dependents of troops on active duty with the Florida National Guard or with the Reserve forces of the Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps.
Bush predicted the program would "set the standard across America for state support of the military."
But just 160 families, including the Boones, have received financial help.
The fund's low profile may be just one reason why it isn't more used, Tittle said. The relatively few number of requests for aid may reflect the decline in the number of Florida-based troops sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, or it may suggest that few Guard and Reserve soldiers and Marines need help, he said.
Also, added Tittle, other resources, such as the West Palm Beach Reserve Center's emergency fund, are available.
The number of National Guard forces being activated is also dropping. When the fund was created, about 3,000 Florida National Guard troops were deployed. Today, just 480 Florida men and women from the National Guard, including 150 in Iraq and Afghanistan, are on active duty.
Still, the paucity of applications to the fund is surprising, especially because a legislative analysis that led to its creation found that the Guard averaged 250 requests a month for help with housing, living expenses and other expenses. Impressed with the need, lawmakers took the original budget request of $2.5 million and doubled it.
In Miami, Coast Guard Reserve assistance coordinator Bob Larson said, "I have not seen a single application since the program has been in place." But with very few Coast Guard troops deployed overseas, he said that was not surprising.
Debbie Looney, family programs coordinator for the Army Reserves, said she has used the program. "It's been all positive for us," she said from her office at the Regional Readiness Command in Birmingham, Ala. "A lot of times people are in dire straits."
Myriam Andrade, who retired from the National Guard and now serves as Family Readiness coordinator for 10 South Florida counties, including Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade, said she has received just 10 applications for aid since the fund was set up. Eight of those requests, including the one from the Boones, were approved.
"After my husband got back, it was Murphy's Law — one thing after another," said Boone. "His job site closed, I was not working, then the pipes burst. So we were really at a loss."
Boone, 41, said she heard about the Family Readiness Program through a military support group and called Andrade.
"Myriam said, 'Just relax,'" said Boone. "And they were incredible." There is no limit on the one-time payout, Tittle said. The biggest grant so far was almost $18,000 to repair a soldier's mobile home.
Often, smaller emergencies in military families are handled within the units. When she took it upon herself to replenish the West Palm Beach Reserve Center fund, Villarreal said she went to a discount supermarket and bought muffins, bagels, chips and soft drinks that she sold at a modest mark-up.
"Recently, we haven't had to deal with anything," said Villarreal, who served in Afghanistan in 2004-2005. "But what happens when somebody loses their job? If we could give them a week's paycheck ... "
Yet, for those who qualify for aid, Andrade said she stands ready. "I love to help people," she said. "If I get busier, the better."
Mike Clary can be reached at mwclary@sun-sentinel.com or at 305-810-5026.
Ellie