LANSING, Mich.
When Michelle Engel returned from a trip to Florida to help her sick mother, she found a leaking hot water heater in her home that had damaged drywall, carpeting and floorboards.Her husband, John, and son, Michael, could not help — they were both stationed in Iraq with the Michigan National Guard. Another son, Joshua, was also unavailable. He was stationed with the Air Force in Japan.
But Engel did not have to deal with her damaged home in Reading entirely on her own. A fund set up in Michigan to help the families of National Guard and military reserve troops gave her $1,700 to help with repairs.
Michigan is among more than 20 states that give military personnel and their families income tax breaks, college tuition help and emergency financial assistance as volunteer forces and National Guard troops are increasingly relied upon. Most of the programs have been established since the National Guard began playing a larger role in Afghanistan and Iraq after the Sept. 11 attacks.
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