Your spouse is deployed, and you are hundreds or even thousands of miles from your family, so who do you turn to when you have a problem?

Perhaps a car broke down, or you were laid off from your job and your household monthly income has been greatly reduced.  Or maybe you made a permanent change of station move and spent your rent deposit to cover expenses.

If you have any of these or other financial issues, the Air Force Aid Society, (www.afas.org) the official charity of the United States Air Force can help.  Started in 1942, as a private, nonprofit organization funded by private donations, the Air Force Aid Society provides emergency assistance, education grants and on base community enhancement programs.

"With the economy the way it is, this safety net has to be here," said Jim Flammio, the Air Force Aid Society officer at McChord Field. "It helps keep families together... and it helps keep stress down."

Last year the organization provided $21.6 million in assistance to about 42,000 Air Force members and their families around the world.  The McChord Field branch provided $166,000 in emergency assistance, and $15,000 in education grants.

The assistance provided includes emergency assistance in the form of interest-free loans, and grants for vehicle repairs, emergency travel, basic living, funeral costs, medical and dental bills, child care and respite care, and moving expenses; as well as education grants for children and spouses to assist with college costs, and spouse tuition assistance for spouses who are overseas.

At McChord Field, a majority of the assistance provided involves vehicle repairs and rental assistance, Flammio said.

"Emergency assistance for vehicle repairs is very high," he said. "We might give $3,500 for engine or transmission repairs."

Also, the economy is hitting military families hard, he said.

"A lot of spouses work to help make ends meet," he said. "Some of them get laid off, or they move and lose their job.  Most people pay their bills first instead of concentrating on their needs of food and shelter."

Foreclosures are also hitting military families hard.

"What is happening quite often is that the soldiers are changing duty stations and they can't sell their house before they leave," Flammio said. "They have to continue to make the payments on the house, and pay rent or a payment on the house they move to. The government has programs that are below the market price that can assist them, and we can provide mortgage payments to eligible Air Force members."

However, in addition to the loan, the society helps the servicemembers and their families develop a financial plan, he said.  If an individual has lost control of their finances, we offer them financial counseling, he added.

In addition to financial services the organization offers a number of community enhancement programs.

These programs include Give Parents a Break, a program that provides stress-relieving child care; Child Care for PCS, an initiative that offers 40 hours of child care for families on PCS orders; Child Care for Volunteers, a program that provides child care to support base community volunteers; Phone Home, a program that offers $20 value phone cards purchased for members deployed 30 days or more; Car Care Because We Care, provides preventive vehicle maintenance inspections performed; Bundles for Babies, a program that offers bundles of gifts for mothers expecting a baby; Youth Employment Skills (YES), a program disbursed in education and base community dollar credits for high school students who volunteer on base; Local Education Programs, for short-term job training for spouses; Spouse Orientation, helps to support base Heart Link programs; Armed Forces Services (AFSC) Memberships, that provides AFSC memberships for surviving spouses and/or children of AF members who die while on active duty or within 120 days of retirement; and Sammy Rabbit Visits - which is a financial education initiative.

"One of our most popular programs is Bundles for Babies," he said.  "At McChord, the program has been embraced by the community. There are several organizations that contribute to this program, like the women who make and donate afghans to the new mothers."