By our name, many believe Law Enforcement Today is only focused on police officers. That couldn’t be further from the truth. While advocating for and supporting our brothers and sisters in blue is our primary mission, we also support all first responders and unabashedly support our men and women in the military who fight to defend our freedom.
When we hear about a charity that supports first responders or service members, we want to draw attention to its efforts. The latest one we came across is called Little Patriots Embraced.
This Fenton, Missouri-based charity, a registered 501(c)(3), is “dedicated to strengthening the lives of military children and families.”
The charity was formed to help children whose parents or guardians are deployed, especially in cases where one or both of their parents or guardians were deployed. According to the charity’s website, over two million US children have experienced precisely that over the past 23 years. Many have been left “confused, scared, uncertain, sad, maybe even angry.”
According to statistics, children of deployed parents “experience higher than average rates of mental health issues, trauma, and more than 30% reported feeling sad or hopeless,” including an estimated 25% that have considered suicide.
Prolonged deployments also have a detrimental effect on spouses, where over 36% of women have experienced at least one mental health diagnosis.
The charity’s website warns that military families experience real struggles that require support.
“We invite you to put yourself in a military child’s shoes. As they silently shoulder the burden of fear and uncertainty. As they watch their mother cry herself to sleep at night. As they struggle with making friends because they move every 2 years. And as they experience exciting milestones in life without the presence of their deployed parent or guardian.”
According to its website, Little Patriots Embraced is not “a large charity with millions of dollars and a big team” but rather “small by design.” The nonprofit needs support to “continue our grassroots, hands-on approach to offering comfort, education, training, and support to the people who need it most: our military families.”
While the toy drive addressed in the embedded video has expired, it is not too late to offers support. Donations to support the children of deployed military members may be made here.
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