Army Community Service
The Army Community Service Program is a community-oriented, social service program designed to assist the commander by identifying emerging social problems, and to assist soldiers and their families through programs and services designed to meet individual and community needs.
The following is a list of services provided by the three centers, exceptions are indicated:
Christmas Dinner Program
Provides Christmas dinner for junior enlisted families experiencing financial difficulties.
Emergency Supplemental Food Program
Provides food for military families on a temporary basis during emergency situations.
Exceptional Family Member Service
Provides information and advocacy to link family members with a disability to programs and services designed to meet their needs. Provides opportunities to meet and network with other families with similar challenges through family support groups. Offers suggestions and guidance in securing housing, child care education and training, community resources, recreational opportunities, and respite care.
Family Advocacy
The Family Advocacy Program is designed to preserve and protect the family unit through the prevention, identification, referral and treatment of individuals involved in incidents of family violence. Provides crisis intervention and referral resources for child and spouse abuse. Designs and provides community education prevention to enhance the family and life.
Food Stamp Application Assistance
Provides an application to a family that can possibly qualify for food stamps and assists with completion of forms.
Consumer Affairs/Financial Assistance Program
Provides a variety of services to the community that includes: consumer complaint and problem resolution, individualized financial appointments for new incoming personnel, pay problems, budgeting, transition budgeting and asset analysis, financial planning sessions. Information on a variety of financial subjects such as low and moderate income housing, guidelines on living expenses, and food stamp guidelines. A consumer library with books, magazines and audiovisual tapes and various financial subjects.
Information and Referral Service
Provides answers to a wide variety of questions from simple inquiries such as a location or phone number of a service to a more complex question of child abuse, spouse abuse, marital problems, etc. Information and Referral Specialists are available for individual appointments. Computerized data base for both military and civilian services.
Lending Closet
Provides temporary loans of household items to arriving and departing personnel depending on availability of items in stock. The loan is usually for 60 days. There are also a limited number of child car seats.
Worldwide Military Installation Library
Provides information about Army installations throughout the world. Data is available that can help families make plans for housing, relocation expenses, schools, special service, etc. Other service installations are available on a limited basis.
Relocation Services
Helps you when you get here to find where things are, and when your family is ready to leave, helps you find out about where you are going. This includes deployment briefings, welcome information packet, military resource library and welcome briefings, and sponsorship training. Relocation assistance using computerized worldwide installation information is available by appointment at Schofield Barracks Area and Fort Shatter ACS Centers. Worldwide Military Installation Library provides information about Army installations throughout the world. Data is available that can help families make plans for housing, relocation expenses, schools, special service etc. Other service installations are available on a limited basis.
Volunteers
ACS needs organizers, creative people and industrious people who want to make a commitment as well as use their time helping others. Free childcare is provided by ACS for the time one spends volunteering at ACS.