SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — As there appears to be no end in sight for the ongoing government shutdown, Blue Star Families has created a resource hub to provide support for military families navigating the uncertainty of the situation.
ABC 10News spoke to Maggie Meza, the executive director for the San Diego chapter of the organization, about how the group is stepping in.
"We're offering military spouse career opportunities and advice, mental health support, financial support and really just providing an online community where they can come together and share best practices and be able to speak freely about what they're going through," says Meza. "I will say for our chapter alone, we've pivoted into the programming that has been needed since the shutdown: More resources out in the community, some food distributions that we've been able to be a part of and provide."
According to Meza, one in four military families has a hard time putting food on the table. Additionally, she says, although financial institutions are offering loans, she believes it's ill-advised for service members to kick the can down the road.
Meza says Blue Star Families coordinated with SeaWorld to set up a private event Tuesday evening that would allow 900 military and veteran individuals into the park for free, offering them food as well.
ABC 10News asked Meza the following questions during our interview:
- What are the impacts from the shutdown that you've seen so far?
- What's your opinion on the Trump administration using other funds to pay service members? Has that helped them in this process?
- What is your group doing now to help those in need?
- How frequently have people been utilizing those services? Have you gotten a good response?
- Are these year-round services you offer?
- What kind of toll is the uncertainty about the length of the shutdown taking on military families?
