FORT NOVOSEL, Ala. -- Conceived as a safe place for Soldiers, families and civilian employees to find welcoming smiles, compassionate advice and a helping hand, the new Fort Novosel Spiritual and Family Life Center hosted an open house June 23.
The open house served as a way for the new center and its helper agencies to say “hello,” to the community, according to Chaplain (Maj.) Jeremy Michael Rhoades, installation family life chaplain and director of the Soldier and Family Life Center.
“I’m so thankful that this vision has finally come to fruition – and this is only kind of a steppingstone,” he said, adding the center is a team effort by the religious services, the Army Substance Abuse Program and Army Community Service staffs. “Our open house is the platform for us to be able to tell the community that we are here for them.”
The center, located in the former Spiritual Life Center connected to the main post chapel, brings numerous helping agencies into the same building, according to Traci Waters, ASAP manager.
“We recently joined several programs within the building – originally there was just the family life chaplain and some chaplain assistants in here,” she said. “Now, we also have the Army Substance Abuse Program, including the employee assistance program that offers short-term, solution-focused counseling to civilians and family members, and we have Army Community Service that is offering several of its programs out of the building.”
ACS programs operating out of the facility will include family advocacy, financial readiness, Exceptional Family Member Program and military and family life counselors.
But even though they are operating out of the new center, the ACS services are also still available in Bldg. 5700, as well, Waters said, adding that there are no new numbers to call – if you need financial help, call financial readiness, if you need to speak to the family life chaplain, call that number.
“It’s a community effort – a connection between the programs all working together,” she added. “We all have similar goals and we’re trying to serve the Soldiers and their families in the best way that we can. We hope the community comes out and takes advantage of our services.”
And the location is ideal, Waters said.
“We’re hoping this will be more of a resiliency-type center – people will come and have a more low-key space to receive services,” she said. “We feel like some people may feel intimidated by going to Bldg. 5700 – it’s a big building and there is a lot of stuff happening there. We’re a quieter space where they can come and receive services in a more private manner.”
Co-locating the different agencies also helps ensure people find the right agency for their individual needs and to follow through with referrals, Waters added.
“If people come to see the EAP (employment assistance program) and they find their needs are outside of its scope, the EAP representative can walk them across the hallway to the family life chaplain,” she said. “A common problem we have seen is if we give people names and numbers as a referral to the agency that can best help them, they oftentimes do not actually follow through. Now, when we tell them they need to see financial readiness, we can walk them right over and make sure they get what they need right then – the opportunity to provide a warm handoff from one program to the next is important.”
The open house featured agency booths describing their services, and also games for children, free food, snow cones, a fire truck and tours of the facility.
Both Waters and Rhoades are excited about the new center, and hope servicemembers, families and civilian employees take full advantage of its services and tremendous upside.
“There was a vision that was cast many months ago – a passionate vision to transform this static building and its sole occupant, which was me, into a multi-faceted facility serving as a wellness and resiliency marketplace,” Rhoades said. “Easier, quicker access to care for families and Soldiers in the community all in one facility.”
For more information on the family life chaplain, call 334-255-3447 or 3903.
For more on ASAP and the EAP, visit https://home.army.mil/novosel/index.php/about/garrison/dhr/asap.
For more information on ACS, visit https://novosel.armymwr.com/categories/community-support.
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