Chicagoland Vets Receive A Free Gift Of Love From Their Community This Valentine’s Day
February 13, 2012
by Veronica Cruz, Communications Specialist, www.familybridgeschicago.org
Chicago, IL – For many veterans, deployment may be the easy part. It’s coming back home that is hard. Readjusting is not an easy task for veterans, their partners, or their families. That’s why the Military Outreach Greater Chicago and Date Night Challenge Chicago are teaming up to give veterans and their partners a FREE Love Style Indicator assessment, which can help in that transition.
According to the National Center for PTSD, many veterans suffer from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which can affect how couples get along with each other. It can also affect the mental health of partners. In general, PTSD can have a negative effect on the whole family. However, people with PTSD can create and maintain good relationships by:
– Building a personal support network to help cope with PTSD while working on family and friend relationships.
– Sharing feelings honestly and openly, with respect and compassion.
– Building skills at problem solving and connecting with others.
– Including ways to play, be creative, relax, and enjoy others.
Valentine's Day is just around the corner and couples are looking for that perfect gift. Why not show your loved one how much you love them by taking a personal relationship assessment! Military Outreach Greater Chicago is happy to offer this assessment free of charge to military veterans and those that are currently active. "We believe that a strong marriage is vital for our military men and women and want to provide them with a tool that will make those marriages last," said Military Outreach of Greater Chicago President James H. Mukoyama, Jr., Major General (Retired) U.S. Army 1964-1995. "With the strains and stresses that many military marriages face, we wanted to provide a relevant way we could help."
The LOVE Style Indicator, created by Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott (www.lesandleslie.com), takes only 10 minutes to complete online, and will help veterans and their partners find out their personal qualities and also reveal how the unique combination of the two personalities creates a “Love Style” that is unlike any other. They'll discover where each stands on these four fundamental dimensions:
L – Leader: The Take-Charge Spouse
O – Optimist: The Encouraging Spouse
V – Validator: The Devoted Spouse
E – Evaluator: The Careful Spouse
“Taking the Love Style Indicator has helped me understand why my spouse sometimes just doesn’t “get me”. We have used it as a springboard into conversations we’ve never had before.” (SSG Colette Martinez, veteran US Army).
Date Night Challenge and Military Outreach Greater Chicago will give a FREE Love Style Indicator assessment (up to a $30 value) from February 14, 2012 to March 8, 2012 to all veterans and those currently active who sign up at the Date Night Challenge Chicago website and find the FREE offer in the “Stuff to talk about and Quizzes” section.
Additional resources for couples needing more support are available by partner organizations Family Bridges, Christ Together, and Urban Ministries.
Military Outreach Greater Chicago is a faith-based non-profit that exists to encourage, engage, educate and equip individuals and churches in the Chicago metropolitan area to provide a support role to active military, veterans and their families impacted by the invisible wounds of military service, aiding these heroes in their adjustment to civilian. More information is available at www.militaryoutreachgreaterchicago.org.
Date Night Challenge is a not-for-profit venture designed to strengthen relationships. Businesses and organizations participate by providing meaningful Date Nights for their couples in the community in a simple and powerful way by providing the place and by offering fun, creative resources (date night ideas, quizzes, videos, events and deal) to help them along the way. Download the mobile app for your Android or iPhone (Date Night Challenge Chicago), or visit their website.
