HAMPTON, Va. — The transition from being a civilian to a young airman can be tough for some, but at Langley Air Force Base, they're doing what they can to provide resources to make it as seamless as possible.
One of those resources is the Adopt An Airman program. The goal is to get young airmen, ages 18-22, out of the dorms and connected with a host family to do daytime activities.
"It’s so nice because being so far from family it’s nice to have one nearby,” said A1C Kerrigan Issler.
SMSgt Ryan Hendrickson is an organizer for the program.
"This just gives them a place to go outside of their dorm room to make those connections with the local community and just have some sense of normalcy,” said Hendrickson.
Issler does activities with her host mom Sya LaManque like baking cookies and watching movies. She tells News 3 having a change of scenery helps with her mental health.
“We always want to make sure our airmen have the best and that they’re ready to go at a moment’s notice and mental health, mental stability is one of the pillars that we focus on,” said Hendrickson.
It's a win-win for all involved; LaManque became a host mom because her two sons are serving and she wanted to give back.
“I just feel like we’re doing our part, we want to support someone who is doing so much for us,” said LaManque.
Langley Air Force Base is partnering with the city of Hampton to find more families to host local airmen. If you're interested, click here for more details.
