More than 40 children from military families attended MFRI’s Passport Toward Success (Passport) on Saturday (Feb. 11.) The program seeks to build resiliency skills in children experiencing the return of a parent from a combat deployment.
Designed at the request of the Indiana National Guard, Passport’s goal is to provide an interactive, engaging and evidence-based program for youth ages 5-17. The program has been identified in a study commissioned by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) as a program with the potential to gain wider use in the military.
Forty-six youth ranging in ages 5-16 attended Passport, which was held at the J.W. Marriott in Indianapolis. Aided by community volunteers, Passport facilitators used activities built around a vacation theme to help foster skills that navigate the challenges of being a child with a deployed parent. Children engaged in activities promoting resiliency skills such as communication, problem-solving and stress reduction.
Passport is one of the few evidence-based reintegration programs for youth. Prior to each event, children aged 9 and up are asked to complete a voluntary, anonymous survey designed to assess their positive and negative experiences with deployment and reunion. After the event, these same children are asked about their feelings about the program and whether they found it helpful and/or fun.
“Through Passport’s conception, wwwelopment, pilot and revision, our goal has always been to provide an interactive and engaging program,” said Kathy Broniarczyk, director of outreach for MFRI. “Results of a Passport evaluation study led by Professor Steve Wilson of Purdue University were recently published in the Journal of Applied Communication Research. The knowledge that we are gaining through evaluation helps to make the program even stronger than it already is.”
Many of the children who filled out the post-event surveys on Saturday reported that they found it helpful to talk with other kids from military families whose parents have been deployed. Passport helped them to realize that they are not alone. Other participants had praise for the Passport staff and volunteers.
“They were encouraging us to open up about what has been going [on] in my life,” wrote one participant.
“They talked me through things and helped me when I had questions,” said another.
While children attended Passport event, their parents attended other aspects of the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration program, designed to help service members and their families who have recently returned from a deployment.
For more information, contact Outreach Specialist Christy Flynn at flynn14@purdue.edu or call 765-496-6036