From: bergman@AFPAN.PA.AF.MIL (CMSgt Mike Bergman)
Newsgroups: soc.veterans
Subject: Guard, Reserve DS Vets To Get Red Cross Help - AFIS
Date: 27 Jul 92 15:33:51 GMT
Organization: Hq Air Force News Agency/SCC

Guard, Reserve Get Assistance From Red Cross

By Rudi Williams
American Forces Information Service

     The American Red Cross recently kicked off a project to help
National Guard and Reserve Desert Shield/Storm veterans hone their
job skills. 
     The Red Cross is helping to defray the cost of job-preparation
courses and vocational training.   
     The venture, called the Employment Skills Assistance Project,
or Phase 2 of the Red Cross Persian Gulf Family Support Project,
started in September 1991, said communications coordinator Lucretia
DiSanto.  Under Phase 1, the Red Cross was authorized by the Army
to provide reserve component families with child care assistance
and a variety of counseling services.  The Army is DoD's executive
agent for all branches of the services for the project. 
     DoD funded the program with a $13.5 million grant.  Congress
appropriated the money in the Persian Gulf Conflict Supplemental
Authorization and Personnel Benefits Act of 1991. 
     Qualified National Guard and Reserve veterans can receive up
to $175 to pay for current or future employment skills assistance. 
If the service or course is less than $175, the client will be
reimbursed for the lesser amount, according to DiSanto.  Clients
may also be reimbursed for past employment skills training expenses
by submitting claims to their local Red Cross chapters.
     Red Cross chapters nationwide will either write a check to the
client or to the organization providing the training.
     Some 1,715 clients have received more than $470,000 in grants. 
"We expect to spend more than $1.1 million for the employment
skills assistance program by next fall," DiSanto said.  "Any money
left over after the project ends will be returned to the
government."  
     But, she emphasized, service members must show a need for
financial assistance.
     Those eligible can apply for assistance at their local Red
Cross chapter.  Applying for assistance is as simple as showing
local Red Cross workers a copy of activation and discharge orders
for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.  Case workers will
also tell clients how much money they are eligible to receive,
DiSanto said.  
     Those who supported the war stateside may also be eligible for
skill assistance money, she added.  "If they received
reimbursements for child care or counseling during Phase 1, they
may still be eligible for the second phase," said DiSanto.  
     "One of the requirements for eligibility is to be unemployed
or underemployed as a result of being called to active duty during
Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm," she said. 
Underemployed, DiSanto said, means returning from the Persian Gulf
to find your job job gone for whatever reason.  The person was
forced to accept a job in a different field that pays less than the
previous job.
     "This is a one-time only grant per household," DiSanto
emphasized.  "Either the service member or spouse may apply.  In
the case of a dual-service-member-family, where both were
activated, both may apply."  But, DiSanto said, full-time National
Guardsmen, reservists and recruiters are not eligible for Phase 2. 
     "We'll cut a check to the service person if they can prove --
through receipts, invoices etc. -- they've already paid the bill
for employment skills assistance training," said DiSanto.  "Or
we'll cut the check to the institution where they are enrolled."
     DiSanto said grant recipients can use the money for such
job-preparation courses as resume writing, interviewing,
communication skills, and job hunting workshops.  They can also use
it for vocational, technical and skill-building courses, such as
automotive repair, computer operator, carpentry, first aid, dental
technician, drafting, plumbers helpers and medical records
assistant.
     DiSanto noted that Red Cross chapters can also help with
family counseling, crisis intervention and budget counseling to
help solve financial emergencies arising from the Persian Gulf war. 
Child care subsidies are provided for participation in reunion
programs and command-sponsored functions, she added.  Financial
assistance is also available to obtain temporary or extended child
care.   
     "But," she emphasized, "the bills must have been incurred
while the service member was on active duty.  For example, in a
couple with two children, the husband was activated.  The wife
needed to attend a gathering where her benefits would be explained
to her.  We can reimburse for the child care during that time.
     "We will also reimburse them for bills they paid for licensed
social workers, psychologists, family therapists and budget
counselors in their areas," she said.
     Noting that $175 is not a lot of money,  "This isn't a
hand-out program; it's a hands-up program that helps the community
address emergency needs of their veterans," said Michael Guerriere,
DiSanto's boss.  "It's not a lot of money, but every little bit
helps."