Armed Forces Emergency Services |
*Need help saying Happy Holidays to a loved one who won't be home? The Sotheastern Pennsylvania can help. Red Cross Emergency Services are available to all members of the armed services, and to their families. Both active duty and community-based military can count on the our chapter to provide emergency communications, emergency financial assistance, counseling, veterans assistance, and aid in the field where Red Cross workers are deployed to serve with America's military. Armed Forces Emergency Services are provided in the following areas:
Active duty military and their family members in the United States can contact the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter for help seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at phi@redcross-philly.org, or (215) 299-4000. The chapter’s telephone number is available to service members and their families through base/installation operators and from local on-base Red Cross stations. For more information on our services to military families, download the brochure, Get to Know Us Before You Need Us. Red Cross communication services keep military personnel in touch with their families following the death or serious illness of a family member, the birth of a child or in other family emergencies. The Red Cross sends messages quickly, anywhere in the world, including ships at sea, embassies and isolated military units. The Red Cross also provides 24-hour emergency communication services to military personnel overseas. Overseas personnel stationed at military installations can access Red Cross services by calling base/installation operators or on-base Red Cross stations. Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services workers are also sent to areas of conflict when military personnel are deployed.
Emergency Financial Assistance The Red Cross may provide access to financial assistance, either as an interest-free loan or as a grant, for travel expenses during a personal or family crisis requiring the presence of the service member or his or her family. Access to financial assistance may also be provided when there is a demonstrated need for funds for emergency travel, burial assistance, or urgent health and welfare needs such as food and shelter. In overseas deployment areas, Red Cross mobile staff working directly with America's military provide access to emergency financial assistance services. On overseas military installations, military personnel can get help through on-base Red Cross stations.
Military life comes with its own set of challenges. Our chapter offers confidential services to active duty, National Guard and Reserve personnel, and to members of their families. Counseling, guidance, information, referrals, and other social services are available through our worldwide network of offices, located on military installations and in civilian communities. Counseling is becoming increasingly important as the ranks of the National Guard and Reserve swell. Because members of the National Guard and Reserve typically live in civilian neighborhoods, they and their families frequently have difficulty accessing much-needed military-related social services. Red Cross counseling services are available to all military personnel. If a hardship exists within a service member's immediate family that cannot be resolved by emergency leave, our chapter can counsel the family or service member about requesting a humanitarian reassignment (closer to home) or a hardship discharge. The chapter helps the service member understand the procedures and documentation needed. Final decisions on these applications are made by military authorities.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter provides assistance and information to veterans about the Department of Veterans Affairs. Red Cross workers assist veterans in the preparation, development and effort to obtain evidence to support a claim for financial benefits through the Board of Veterans Appeals. Also, through the Veterans Administration Volunteer Services, Red Cross volunteers ranging in age from teenagers to retirees, provide a number of support services to patients in VA medical centers. Services provided by Red Cross volunteers may include physical rehabilitation, social work, general ward help and information, library work, nursing, and administration.
Community-based Military Services Members of the U. S. Armed Forces don't have to be actively deployed to benefit from Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services. The Red Cross provides services to more than 1.5 million members of the Reserves and National Guard when they are living in their local communities and when they are mobilized. Red Cross services are also available to members of the Reserve Officers Training Corps, Recruiters, U.S. Coast Guard, Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, retirees and to their families. The Red Cross wants members of the National Guard, Reserves and other community-based military personnel to get to know us before you need us. All too often, members of the Reserves and National Guard don't know about available Red Cross services until they are mobilized. Knowing in advance that communication links, access to financial assistance and counseling will be available in an emergency brings peace of mind to the military and to the families from which they are separated. Similarly, knowing that Red Cross services are available to inactive service members and their family members provides a safety net in times of need. For more information on our services to military families, download the brochure, Get to Know Us Before You Need Us. Red Cross services for inactive and active members of the Reserves and National Guard include:
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