Family Center provides support to military families

By COURTNEY LAMDIN | Staff Writer
mireporter@mac.com

Brenda Tourangeau knows first-hand what military families are going through with the latest deployments: her son, Jason, is one of 49Milton residents going to Afghanistan this month.

She also knows that these families, including her own, need support on the home
front while loved ones are on the front lines.

That’s why Tourangeau organized a monthly series of support group meetings with her employer, the Milton Family Community Center, starting Tuesday, March 9.

The first meeting, to be held at the New Life Christian Fellowship Church at 6:30 p.m. will be to generate ideas for future meetings and discuss what families’ needs are,
she said.

Some ideas include picnics and potlucks, movie nights, ribbon tying and presentations. One idea is to have the post office explain the dos and don’ts of sending care packages. Another is to host fun activities for children.

“It might be nice for them to connect with other children who are going through the same thing,” Tourangeau said.

Working with the Vermont National Guard, Tourangeau sent out 107 information letters to parents and spouses of the nearly 90 deployed soldiers from Milton, Fairfax, Georgia, Westford and Grand Isle.

The center’s executive director, Brett Chornyak, said these meetings are important because there is no other organized support group in the area.

“We try to find the needs in the community,” he said, “and this was definitely a need we saw.”

Chornyak hopes a lot of people will attend and said the families will benefit because they can direct the group’s focus based on their own needs. Childcare will also be provided, and the Center asks people to call ahead for this service, he said.

Tourangeau wants these affected families to make connections and be there for one another, while supporting their loved ones overseas, she said.

Organizing this group has helped direct Tourangeau’s energy from missing and worrying about her son to helping people in her same boat, she said.

“It’s really helped me. I really want to be involved and know what’s going on,” she said, adding that she hopes those families who have dealt with deployments before might have some coping strategies to share.

She also knows that military connections are good ones to have: When thinking up ideas, Tourangeau immediately thought of her daughter-in-law who has great support and understanding from her military circle.

“I’m hoping for the same thing as a parent,” Tourangeau said, “and finding some parents that I can really relate to with this.”

If you or a family member have been affected by a deployment, call either Brett or Brenda at the Milton Family Community Center at 893-1457.