THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 23, 1995 TAG: 9508230469
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KRYS STEFANSKY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
A roomy, two-story brick building on Independence Boulevard in Virginia Beach holds one of the nicest military secrets in the area.
Not many people know that this Armed Services YMCA exists. It's one of six operating centers in Hampton Roads designed to met the needs of junior enlisted military personnel, their spouses and children. Located at the corner of Lakeside Road, the Beach Family Center is the only Armed Forces ``Y'' not on a military base.
Monthly calendars offer schedules of exercise, dancing, quilting, sewing and parenting classes, children's activities and field trips. Last month, the facility had 579 participants.
Next month, beginning Tuesday, Sept. 5, two new services will be offered here. Both will be led by staff with education degrees.
A preschool program for 4-year-olds will be Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon. It will cost $50 a month. Two- and 3-year-olds may attend on Mondays during the same hours for $25 per month.
The other new service is an after-school program for 5- to 12-year-olds. It will be from 4 to 6 p.m. and, unlike other after-school programs, it will be open on school holidays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The program will cost $15 per week for the first child, $13.50 for each additional child. Transportation from nearby schools will be available.
The new programs offer participants the chance to be with youngsters whose families are like theirs. That's another plus, said Mary Carson, associate executive director of the Armed Services YMCA of Hampton Roads.
``When a new family comes here and the spouse goes to work and the child knows no one, if the child expresses a concern, our employees - many of whom are military - will pick up on it,'' Carson said.
Staff members say both new programs are their most recent effort to offer local military families support for their unique lifestyle.
``It's a kind of nasty little secret how bad off lower ranking military people are. We're trying to help improve the quality of life for junior enlisted people and their families,'' said Ed English, executive director of the Armed Services YMCA of Hampton Roads. Until two years ago, English was base commander of Fort Story.
Low military wages are the problem, English said. Young enlistees, fresh out of living in barracks and eating in mess halls, have a rude awakening when they marry early, have children right away and a pile of bills to pay. An E-1's base pay of $790 a month doesn't go far.
``They have a kid or two and find out they have no money,'' English said. Add to that the stress of moving to strange new duty stations every few years and soon families are unable to cope. The military, struggling with budget cuts in every area, has little money to devote to family support programs.
Organizations like this need help from both the military and civilian communities to keep social problems in military families from affecting the local civilian population, English said.
The Armed Services YMCA of Hampton Roads is supported by the United Way, the Combined Federal Campaign and has received a grant from the Ronald McDonald Children's Charities for the new preschool and after-school care program.
``If you have lonely women, that leads to child abuse and wife abuse. We have programs to bring these women together. While they're making friends and doing things, we're taking care of their children,'' English said. If organizations like his don't help keep the troops happy, said English, they won't stay in the military, and training dollars will go down the drain.
Nancy S. Lamb has been a faithful user of the Beach Family Center since she became a military spouse and moved here from Indiana five years ago. She takes aerobics and sewing classes, and her 5-year-old comes for the preschool crafts.
``I like to come there because there's military people there,'' Lamb said. ``They understand putting up with officers and the upper echelon and the ships and we talk each other through it. We're in the same boat.'' ILLUSTRATION: MOTOYA NAKAMURA/
Staff
Brianne Booker, 4, left, and sister Kristina, 2, paint their caps at
the Armed Services YMCA in Virginia Beach, which now offers a
preschool and after-school program to junior-enlisted families.
by CNB