Armed Forces Emergency Services
It’s a fact of military life; military families are frequently separated and on the move. No matter how strong the family ties, moves and separations often put a strain on relationships. They may lead to problems managing a home or children, making ends meet on a limited income, or adjusting to new communities, often without the help of families or friends.
In the event of an emergency, critical accident, illness, or death in a service member’s immediate family, the Red Cross is equipped to verify the situation and relay an emergency leave request, if necessary, to proper military authorities. It is always up to the military authorities to decide whether or not to grant leave.
Regular communication between service members and their families is ordinarily no problem, but sometimes a long time with no word can become worrisome. The Red Cross can help.
Through our worldwide communications network, the Red Cross can communicate with the military installation or ship where the service member is stationed and provide the family with a report on the service member’s health and welfare.
These Red Cross services and more are available to service members and their families 24 hours a day, 365 a year. For more information, call or e-mail the chapter.
Disaster Services
Each year the American Red Cross responds to more than 60,000 disasters. The Keystone Chapter annually responds to approximately 75 disasters, basically but not limited to residential house fires. Each year the Keystone Chapter assists families with immediate disaster caused needs including food, clothing, shelter and emergency medical supplies. The Red Cross works with you and your family as a team in aiding in disaster recovery. All disaster services are a gift from the American Red Cross and repayment is never sought or accepted.
The Red Cross also provides disaster preparedness materials relating to a variety of weather related situations as well as preparedness information on non-weather related situations. For the latest information on preparing yourself and your family for possible weather related problems, more information about disaster preparedness materials or how you can become a disaster volunteer, call or e-mail the chapter.