FORT CARSON, Colo. -- The Soldier and Family Assistance Center hosted an open house for Fort Carson and members of the community June 3, showing off its new building and the many different services offered to wounded Soldiers and their Family members.
The 15,000-square-foot facility is a top-notch center with a full-service staff capable of taking care of the needs of those it serves.
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Today we're really celebrating the opening of our new facility," said SFAC director Tiffany J. Smith. "Our mission has been going on for a couple of years now, but this is really an opportunity to share with our community partners and with folks on the post. Essentially this is where the Army is putting its money to take care of wounded Soldiers, and it's a pretty impressive facility," she said.
Smith is a clinical social worker by trade and spent many years working for the Air Force, where many of her clients happened to be Army. While working with them, she heard many stories and said she developed a big heart for all the things they went through and a tremendous respect for them. Smith said she came to Fort Carson, and the SFAC, to work with real American heroes every day.
"In my estimation, this is really the Army putting its money where its mouth is, saying we're really going to take care of our wounded Soldiers," she said.
The brand-new facility is more than three times the size of the temporary building SFAC occupied since June 2008.
The staff started its mission of providing services for the wounded and their Family members in January 2008, working out of the Army Community Service building.
Lt. Col. Andrew Grantham, commander, Warrior Transition Battalion, said the new building offers exactly what wounded Soldiers and their Families need.
"What this building is showing is that the Army is dedicated, Fort Carson is dedicated, to the healing process of the Families and the Soldiers. This building represents, I believe, a place where Soldiers and their Families can come and get the resources that they need to heal from their own individual points of view. We always look at the Soldiers that are in the (Warrior Transition Unit) as individual cases. Everybody has their own special needs, has their own special requirements, and when they bring the Families into it, they do as well," he said.
The center offers a number of resources, including retirement counseling, records reviewing, help with getting or renewing identification cards, Veterans Affairs, Social Security and many other services.
There is also a financial counselor, a social services assistance coordinator who helps find resources for wounded Soldiers, information and referral representatives and a donations management outreach coordinator who helps find events for Soldiers to participate in and also works as a community relations representative for SFAC.
Along with all these services, the SFAC offers legal assistance, educational assistance, child and youth services, social services assistance, chaplain support, help with finding jobs, resume and interviewing help, and an extensive volunteer program for numerous other needs.
Patricia Randle, director of Fort Carson Army Community Service, said this facility is another part of the Army's dedication to its Soldiers and their Families.
"The Soldier and Family Assistance Center continues to fulfill the Army's commitment to the Army Family Covenant, and to provide the services that we feel are so vital to the Families of our wounded Soldiers," she said.
Col. Robert F. McLaughlin, garrison commander, spoke at the open house, and said the new building is a perfect example of how the Army takes care of its own.
"With this new, state-of-the-art facility, Soldiers and their Families now have the ability to receive all the support and help they need, all under one roof. This facility, and the great people who work here, show the Army's commitment to making sure wounded Soldiers and their Families are properly taken care of, and all their needs are met," he said.
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