American Red Cross Rolls Out New Workshops for Children of Military Families

The American Red Cross has launched two new programs in the Reconnection Workshop series, focused on helping children of military families to better communicate and cope with the challenges associated with growing up in the military community. The innovative workshops, Roger That! Communication Counts and 10-4: Confident Coping, teach essential life skills for children to better manage stressful social situations.
 
“All kids face challenges,” said Diane Manwill, LPC, LMFT, LCPC, Senior Associate for Behavioral Health at the Red Cross. “They are growing up and learning to navigate social situations. However, challenges faced by military kids may be compounded because military families move more frequently and family members may be more absent due to military deployments.” 

Each of the workshops is composed of two modules with activities designed for children 8 to 12 and teens 12 to 18 years old. The Roger That! Communication Counts workshop focuses on the importance of developing quality interpersonal communication and listening skills. Operation 10-4: Confident Coping focuses on bolstering strengths present in older military children to help manage stressful situations.

“My children have participated in these workshops and they make a difference,” said Kelsey Liverpool, co-founder and president of Kids Rank. “It helps because it gives children of military families a place where they can talk, where they feel safe, be with other people who understand what they are going through and learn how they might better adapt to their situation.”

Workshops are facilitated by licensed behavioral health professionals who are specifically trained to work with children. All professionals have undergone extensive background checks as required by the Department of Defense for adults working with children. Additionally, a second adult is also available during these workshops for support and assistance to the groups.

"We were very proud to support the Red Cross in the development of this program over the past year along with many other subject matter experts in the field, said Dr. Mary Keller, President and CEO of Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC), "we know that community-based initiatives, like this, make a positive difference for our military kids.

To register for this free and confidential go to www.redcross.org/reconnectionworkshops.