Yesterday I received a question/comment in my which I posted on the Army Wife 101 Facebook Fan page that asked:
It’s no secret that some people in general can be judge mental because that is just life. I think it is in some people’s DNA to speak as if they have never endured any life challenges. In a weird way I accept that.
Yet as contradictory as it may sound I am bothered by the high and mighty committee when it comes to military spouses. While most spouses who answered understood that life happens, quite a few intended to demean others who sought some kind of assistance that would aid in feeding themselves and their families.
Everything from “don’t have kids” to “use spermicidal cream” to when I was a E-1 we sacrificed and made it work so you should to! Oh and believe me those were the “nice” things said! I had to block some of the other comments.
We as a military family despite any other differences know that we all live one equal life when it comes to this lifestyle. This meaning that our service members all have to move up the rank and pay scale and are aware of the tolls that some PCS moves can take financially.
Then there are those times when the military screws up your pay and it takes forever to fix it. In my case there was also the time when I moved to Hawaii and was unaware that we could have charged food we purchased at base lodging. We spent much of our savings on food and even when we got reimbursed that to had to be spent on things for the house that we needed, because it took almost two months for our household goods to arrive.
I know it’s an election season and the public assistance issue is at the forefront. That aside, as military spouses we know the sacrifices that service members and we as families make. Sure I think we (us personally) did well financially as a military family despite some of our struggles. Should the military make more ? Of course they should!
Yet the fact is they don’t because of that little four letter word known as “rank” and something called family size , everyone’s financial situation is different.
It’s so easy to say what you sacrificed when your at the better end of the pole financially then another person. While there are stigmas and some people who do definitely abuse the system it’s certainly not fair to make others feel worthless and horrible for seeking a little help.
Huffington Post did an article about military families on food stamps a little while back which had some shocking stats. The numbers (in my opinion) tell me that this is far deeper then some people who are abusing the system. It tells me that a lot of our military families need extra government assistance just to make it.
For those who need help: A twitter friend reminded me about a resource that is available to military families who may be in need of some supplemental assistance because guess what life happens.*The base pay of most recent enlistees — from corporals on down — is at or below the $23,050 poverty rate for a family of four.
* Over $101 million in food stamps have been redeemed at commissaries nationwide.
FSSA Program
Family Subsistence Supplemental Allowance (FSSA) program is a voluntary financial benefits program for military families, intended to increase a service member’s income in order to remove their household from eligibility for SNAP benefits (formerly the food stamp program).
Find out if you are eligible here.
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Army Wife 101
Krystel is the mom of two and an Army Wife. In addition to Army Wife 101 she is the Co-Founder of SoFluential.com a digital media agency that connects brands with the military market. She has appeared on MSNBC ,FOX LA and formerly was a weekly contributor to HLN's "Raising America". She has written for various outlets including Sheknows and Lifetime and is a big fan of cupcakes and french fries.
Krystel is the mom of two and an Army Wife. In addition to Army Wife 101 she is the Co-Founder of SoFluential.com a digital media agency that connects brands with the military market.
She has appeared on MSNBC ,FOX LA and formerly was a weekly contributor to HLN's "Raising America". She has written for various outlets including Sheknows and Lifetime and is a big fan of cupcakes and french fries. 19 Comments on Yes Some Military Families Get Food Stamps…Stop The Judgement…Also A Resource for Help for Military Families Who May Need Assistance.
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I firmly believe that if you can’t afford a family why start one and depend on the government to bail you out? Wait until you can afford a child before you create one. Children aren’t asked to be here. It takes two. So people need the assistance due to finances but when your popping out babies just because and you don’t have income and all you do is sit around and wait for the government to give you handouts that’s just wrong. Everyone pays taxes and while I struggle to feed my family the ones that do nothing but expect the world by popping out 6-7 kids knowing they can’t afford to take care of them is ridiculous.
I think people need to mind their own business. Perfect example of why: I knew a family that has 6 children and the working parent lost their job. The mother stayed home, he joined the Navy just to have some money and healthcare for his family. He was an E3. When they had their children, their finances were fine but job loss changes things. Just because one job enable them to care for 6 children doesn’t mean the next one will. You never know why or how families come to be in their current financial situation and it shouldn’t be anyone’s business but their own.
This is a good post! However, it wasn’t easy to read because of the missed words, typos, and grammatical errors. You aren’t a bad writer at all! It just dilutes the overall quality of work when it seems a writer hasn’t had some grammar review for basic rules of writing. Keep up the good work and I hope you improve.
Hi Aimee,
I guess it doesn’t help I wrote this post at 4AM. Glad you picked up on my bad grammar. I normally check a post a few times before I publish it. In this case I just hit submit. Thanks!
Ya know… I am not at all surprised at how judgey some people are and yes, for all of the grammar checkers, I KNOW judgey is not a word. :) Krystel, I LOVE your site!!! You have helped me more than I could ever put into words. If I ever need information; I know I can go to the archives. I constantly tell new military spouses about you and reference your blog in daily conversation. It is a massive source of information that for some of us is invaluable. I have not been a military spouse for as long as others, almost 6 years here, but I always learn something new here and I always feel at home here. Thank you so much for a wonderful blog and for being the rock that a lot of us depend on, whether you are aware of this or not. You are an amazing person and I personally have never had any issues reading your blog. :) Thanks Again!
I don’t think there is anything wrong with getting help if you truly need it. You find people though who are not willing to work or try. Yes even with your husband being military and having children it’s feasible to work without shelling out hundreds of dollars for child care. I just think our generation doesn’t want to work for anything and want handouts. I won’t ridicule anyone but do I think our welfare system, food stamps, etc. etc need to be over hauled? For sure.
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Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an very long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up.
Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyways, just
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