More Progress Needed to Create and Inclusive Community for those who Serve
It wasn’t that long ago that LGBTQ+ military families were explicitly banned from serving in the military, and eventually only allowed to serve while closeted. In the 1940s, your sexual orientation and/or gender identity were seen as a mental illness, disqualifying you from service. As recently as 1982, military policy banned gay and lesbian individuals…
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Balancing Act: Military Families Struggle to Juggle it All
Modern family structure commonly includes two working parents. Financial stability often requires both parents to work, but beyond that, employment outside of the home can bring mental fulfillment as well. Military families today are no different. However, they face unique challenges based on their lifestyle that make accomplishing a dual income household especially challenging. So…
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Professional Organizer and Military Spouse Shares her Tips for Tackling Any Move
Military life is difficult because it’s unpredictable. From frequent moves and long-term separation due to deployments and training, to long and demanding work schedules that aren’t family-friendly, it can be a challenge to find balance. All of those uncertainties put a lot of pressure on military spouses, and make it difficult for them to find…
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Shining a Light on Female Service Members and Why it Matters
Female service members bring talent and diversity to the military. We need women in the military to maintain a strong, capable All-Volunteer Force. But did you know a staggering 48% of female active-duty service member respondents to the 2020 Military Family Lifestyle Survey have experienced gender discrimination in their unit? This presents a real problem…
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Blue Star Community Changemaker: Meet Cassie
Blue Star Community Changemaker: Meet Cassie Delivered by CSX Pride in Service Meet Cassie, a member of Blue Star Families’ Dayton Chapter and Advisory Board President. She’s an Air Force veteran who served over 20 years. Throughout her career, Cassie understood the importance of being confident—confident in having a seat at the table, and confident…
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Blue Star Summer Camp Hits Home for Military Families
Moving is one of the most stressful events for the average person. But our military families move a lot, and often, without much notice — most moving every two to three years, on average. Packing up that much to uproot to a new location often lands families far from friends and extended family, leaving them…
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Managing MilLife Stress with Spiritune
The reality is, being a military family can be hard. It’s often unpredictable and that uncertainty can end up causing a lot of stress and anxiety, especially for those families also navigating a deployment or long term separation. In fact, according to the 2020 Military Family Lifestyle Survey, nearly half (47%) of active-duty family respondents…
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Military Spouse Turns Career Challenges into Opportunities
Military Spouse Turns Career Challenges into Opportunities Did you know that 20% of military spouses are unemployed and, according to the 2020 Military Family Lifestyle Survey, 67% of employed military spouses are underemployed? That’s a major problem because spouse under/unemployment is not only creating financial stress for families, but also mental and emotional stress. Adam,…
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Adjusting to Life as a Military Connected Caregiver: Finding a Community of Support
Adjusting to Life as a Military Connected Caregiver: Finding a Community of Support There are 5.5 million military and veteran caregivers in the U.S. today. Two of every five veteran family respondents to the 2020 Military Family Lifestyle Survey (43%) reported they were an unpaid caregiver; a quarter of these caregivers (27%) are caring for…
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