SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A San Diego-based nonprofit is providing crucial financial support to military families and veterans struggling with economic uncertainty, offering both immediate assistance and long-term planning to help service members achieve financial stability.
For Jaquetta Edwards, transitioning out of the military after serving 10 years in the Navy brought significant financial anxiety. She went from having a stable job to relying on a monthly check from the VA, leaving her worried about running out of cash. As the primary breadwinner in her household while raising her five nieces and nephews, the stakes were high.
"I could be homeless, I could be, my kids probably would have been taken away from me. All of these things could have happened," Edwards said.
That's when she connected with the nonprofit Support the Enlisted Project, also known as STEP, which just opened a brand new warehouse in San Diego. Tony Teravainen is the CEO.
"We designed it specifically to help military families and transitioning veterans through a financial crisis but specifically do it in a way that makes this their last crisis," Teravainen said.
STEP connects service members and veterans with financial counselors. Part of that free service includes getting them immediate financial help if needed.
"We have the ability to write a check to restore or retain basic necessities along the way," Teravainen said.
The financial counseling helps them create a plan to stay within their budget.
"We're gonna walk with them for the next year and help them recognize the small wins and big wins they're doing and really work to institutionalize those behaviors. And that's the program we're working to scale across the country," Teravainen said.
Data from the Military Family Advisory Network shows almost 93% of service members and their families identified financial stress as a major concern. Household Pulse Survey data shows more than 40% of service members report difficulty paying for their usual household expenses, something that's also included in the assistance STEP provides.
"It's about 3,000 to 250,000 pounds of food a year, 250,000 diapers, and in total about $1 million worth of other merchandise that comes through this warehouse that gets donated to the community," Teravainen said.
STEP has expanded its reach to Oregon, Washington, and now Hawaii. In total, the program has helped more than 9,000 military and veteran families permanently overcome financial crises. Edwards says she's thankful STEP is around to help get service members like herself back on track.
"Because without them I'm not gonna lie, and say I would have figured it out because I wouldn't have because that was my last resort," Edwards said.
For more information about the STEP program, visit teamstepusa.org.
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