Couple provides 'Faith for Soldiers'
Posted On: Tuesday, Dec. 1 2009 05:20 AM
By Jackie Stone
Killeen Daily HeraldKEMPNER – Tina Mason is used to bringing soldiers and their families into her home to talk, offer a shoulder to lean on or just serve a warm meal.
But now she and her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Terry Mason, are attempting to cross the line from informal aid to an official non profit.
Faith for Soldiers aims to help soldiers emotionally, spiritually and financially cope with injury, personal tragedy or the loss of a spouse or child.
A nonprofit application is in the works, a board of directors is developing a business model and volunteers, veterans and counselors are on board to help with everything from alcoholism and post-traumatic stress disorder to finding money for Christmas presents.
With love and support
When he was stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Terry Mason came home one day and told Tina they needed to do something. The wounded soldier divorce rate of 95 percent was too high.
So the couple began inviting wounded soldiers and their wives to family dinners in hopes of talking them through what can be the breaking point of a marriage.
"Three years and 200 families later, we lost one family (to divorce.)"
These days she has one soldier from Fort Hood sleeping on the couch at her ranch house in Kempner, and a few others who come by regularly to talk, ride horses and get support they may not be able to get anywhere else.
But when violence broke out at Fort Hood on Nov. 5, Terry Mason called his wife from Iraq and again told her they needed to do something – for thousands, not hundreds.
'A life changer'
Pfc. Robert Copp met Tina Mason while she was raising money to fix up her husband's project car at a local club.
Copp has been at Fort Hood – across the country from his family in New York – since he was injured in Iraq. He was on patrol with the 1st Cavalry Division's 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment when he suddenly collapsed. The cause is still undiagnosed.
"It was very hard for me. I was drinking a lot, didn't really care about what was going on, late to work, not caring about work," he said. "Not being able to do what I used to be able to do – it's a very depressing thing."
Tina invited Copp to her birthday party in October, and he has been a fixture at her house ever since. He said she made him part of the family and gave him something to do.
"I'm happy and I'm not drinking anymore," he said. "Because of them I feel wanted, I don't feel depressed anymore, my anger's gone. ... It's been a life changer for me."
Copp represents the result Tina wants for thousands of other soldiers.
Faith for Soldiers
The program is just getting off the ground, but the Masons' have high hopes. On Tuesday "The Today Show" filmed a segment about the organization.
The program aspires to open branches at every military installation, and the soon-to-be nonprofit's board is working to develop standards.
"We want to create a really good model here, and create something that's really easily duplicated everywhere else," said Thomas Sinkey, board member and business development officer for Extraco Banks.
While there are many programs through military channels, soldiers don't necessarily know about them and going through military channels can be daunting, said Tim Stroud, a board member and retired combat medic.
"We want to make sure that the soldiers know that there are resources this side of the gate. Because what happens when a soldier has any disability – mental, physical or spiritual – they are slow to raise their hand because that goes in to their permanent record one way or another," said Stroud, also CEO of Stroud Marketing Group.
Currently, Faith for Soldiers is working to help 10 military families purchase gifts for Christmas.
The Masons' two daughters, Kayla and Sydney, are forgoing gifts this year and giving that money straight to the group. Their father is coming home for Christmas, and that's the gift they really wanted, Tina said.
For more information or to donate, go to
www.faithforsoldiers.org or (254) 577-6377.
Contact Jackie Stone at
jstone@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7474.