|
There’s a new service in town
and you may not even have heard about it.
It’s called Army One Source.
Army One Source is a phone and
web-based “virtual Army Community Services” that provides services to
Soldiers and their families, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“You can pick up the phone or
go on the Internet to get services for something as simple as pet care
services to more serious issues,” said Carla Cary, Army One Source
program manger at the U.S. Army Community and
Family Support Center. “Any time, any where you have a question,
pick up the phone and we’ll answer your question.”
The program is not intended to
replace the services already in place at Army installations. Instead,
it is a referral line for services and counseling available in the
communities where Soldiers and their families live, Cary said. It is
also a valuable asset for the families of deploying Soldiers.
“Army One Source is an added
service to the family programs we have now,” she said. “It provides an
ease of mind to Soldiers deploying because they know there’s one more
resource available for family members to get help if they need it.”
Army One Source can be reached
at 800-464-8107 or visited at
www.armyonesource.com. To log on to the website enter army as the
user ID and onesource as the password.
By providing services in the
communities where Soldiers and their families live, Army One Source
reaches out beyond the installation and embraces the total Army,
especially Soldiers in the National Guard and Army Reserve, Cary said.
Seventy percent of active duty families do
not live on installations and National Guard and Reserve families may
live hundreds of miles from the nearest installation.
“Army One Source has had a
significant impact,” she said. “It brings in the Guard and Reserve. It
fills the gap for people who are no where near a military installation
but still need to have their questions answered.”
The phones at Army One Source
are answered by consultants who hold at least a master’s degree in
social work or psychology, Cary said. The issues consultants can
address include parenting, child care, legal assistance, finances,
emotional well-being, relocation and everyday household issues, like
finding a plumber. Army One Source will recommend a reputable plumber
to a caller if that’s what the caller needs.
“You can tell the consultants
what your need is and they do triage,” she said.
Some issues--like Army
administrative or personnel issues--will be referred back to the nearest
installation. Other issues may also be referred to the nearest
installation depending on the services that are available there, Cary
said.
If a Soldier or family member
does not have time to call Army One Source to get the answers they need,
they can log on to the Army One Source website and schedule an
appointment for a consultant to call back, Cary said.
Another feature of Army One
Source that makes it so valuable for Soldiers and their families is the
geographic availability of services. The program expands family
resources to families that do not live on or are not near an
installation.
“We are in the community where
you are,” Cary said.
If face-to-face counseling is
not available in a community, Army One Source will send counselors from
the nearest location where the service is available to the Soldier or
family member free of charge, Cary said.
“There are no out-of-pocket
expenses for Soldiers and their family members,” she said.
Army One
Source counseling is a way to get help for stress, marital problems or
other issues. Soldiers and family members can visit with Army One
Source-provided counselors before a problem becomes too serious. Army
One Source’s services are private, too. That privacy can be waived,
however, if there is a threat of harm to life or limb.
As of Sept. 23, Army One
Source has fielded 22,243 calls and counted 31,739 online visits, Cary
said.
Army One Source can be reached
at 800-464-8107 or visited at
www.armyonesource.com. To log on to the website enter army as the
user ID and onesource as the password.
Later in the fall, Army One
Source will be combined with Military OneSource. The new label will
offer all of the services of Army One Source and the phone number will
not change. The Army One Source website is also accessible through
www.militaryonesource.com.
Editor’s note:
This is the second story in a series covering the services available
through and in support of Deployment Cycle Support. |
