The Foreign Service Journal, March 2009

24 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 0 9 Our second major hurdle is to cre- ate an unaccompanied tours commu- nity when families are scattered not only throughout the U.S. but through- out the world. Only about 25 percent of the family members (including spouses, partners, adult children, par- ents, siblings) on our contact list reside in the Washington, D.C., area. Fami- lies residing at an overseas post during the separation may already have that sense of community, but even they are not always prepared for the challenges an unaccompanied assignment poses. So how does this community connect? One mechanism is the HomeFrontUS Yahoo group. This is intended as a means for family members with a loved one serving at a high-threat, unaccompanied post to communicate with oth- ers in a similar situation. Members include parents, part- ners, spouses, fiancés, “friendly exes” and adult children, as well as veteran UT employees. When new members in- troduce themselves, they will often include their city and state; this allows group members in close proximity to find each other. People also get in touch through events sponsored by FLO. Families in the D.C. area, for example, attend an annual fall gathering and con- tinue to stay in contact with one an- other. FLO is exploring several other ways to connect this geographically dispersed community. Among the ideas we are considering are: a SharePoint site, a family-to-family (as well as peer-to- peer) mentoring/sponsorship program, and an expansion of MHN services to better utilize avail- able technology. We hope to launch some of these initia- tives during 2009. Support for Families with Children Two initiatives that have received rave reviews from parents and children alike are our workbooks and medals programs. Through a generous donation from the Una Chapman Cox Foundation, FLO has developed age-ap- propriate handbooks for children with an employee par- ent on an unaccompanied assignment. We have sent out F O C U S D ue to the geographic dispersal of many Foreign Service employees and family members, FLO and CLO may have limited direct contact with clients. The Web and telephone services offered through our contract with MHN, a health care network, are available to employees and family members worldwide to meet their potential needs. This is the third year that the company has had the contract to provide supplemental resources and support to the community be- fore, during and after unaccompanied assignments. With a password provided by FLO, MHN’s portal is acces- sible from any computer — either in the quiet of home or at work — to learn about emotional health, health and fitness, and family and work issues. The site is available in English and Spanish and contains interactive self-assessments, arti- cles and exercises to help manage stress, insomnia, depres- sion and other reactions to an unaccompanied tour. There is also a specific section devoted to managing an unaccompa- nied tour. For those who may wish to actually speak to a counselor, the toll-free, 24/7 MHN hot line offers assessment and refer- ral in more than 160 languages. For Eligible Family Members and Members of Household who prefer face-to-face counsel- ing, MHN has a network of counselors throughout the United States who will see a family member up to three times per pre- senting issue at no charge to the family. These services are meant to supplement the confidential counseling the State De- partment already provides through Employee Consultation Services, which is staffed during Washington, D.C., work hours. Some individuals may rely on family, a clergy member, good friends, their long-time doctor or a combination of these to meet their counseling needs and may not seek network as- sistance. Regardless of the source, it is important that people receive the support they need. Approximately six times a year, we offer a joint FLO/MHN orientation session to familiarize employees and family mem- bers with the services offered. To accommodate the varied time zones and locations of our clients, we offer the session in the FLO offices (for those in the D.C. area) and also by simul- taneous webcast and conference call dial-in that are free for participants. We use this same format for training sessions throughout the year, most recently the “Coping with the Stress of Change” program offered in December 2008. Other popu- lar sessions have been “Parenting in a Time of Crisis” and “Building Healthy Families.” What Is MHN? The allowances and regulations applicable to employees serving in unaccompanied positions and their family members vary greatly.