March 20, 2009
Coming Home: Military Families Cope With Change tells the story of service members who return home with injuries, visible and invisible, and explores the heroic struggles their families face in discovering ways of finding a “new normal.” It salutes the extraordinary courage and strength of these military families and offers the general public a powerful glimpse into the lives of these amazing families. The special will air nationwide on PBS on April 1, 2009 at 8 p.m. (including on local station KLRN-TV).
“Children need to know that, no matter how things change, the important things about their family – the love they have for one another – will never change” says Dr. Dan Ratliff, director of the Military Family Service Center of St. Mary’;s University. The Military Family Service Center, a cosponsor of this showing, provides family play therapy, marriage counseling, and individual counseling for service members who have served in OEF/OIF and their families.
The Military Family Service Center is also working with the Family Life Chaplain’s Office at Ft. Sam Houston to hold a special screening on post as well. That screening will be held Sunday, March 29 at 3 p.m. at Dodd Field Chapel, building 1721.
St. Mary’s University’s Military Family Service Center is supported by a Texas Resources for Iraq-Afghanistan Deployment Fund (TRIAD) grant through the San Antonio Area Foundation. Through the grant, St. Mary’s Department of Counseling and Human Services provides counseling services for military members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families. Families in need of assistance can call 210-438-6410.
For more information about Sesame Workshop’s military support initiative, such as Coming Home: Military Families Cope With Change, please visit Sesame Workshop’s initiatives website.