We Are One Incorporation raises awareness about prominent issues like finance and food insecurity, mental health, intimate partner violence, legal, child development disabilities, and other social and economic challenges that military families face in the hope of finding comprehensive solutions to fill existing service gaps. Approximately 1.3 million people in the United States are tied to the military, serving as active-duty personnel in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or as Coast Guards. These people sacrifice their lives so we can eat and sleep soundly in our homes. The path military families are on poses certain challenges for them. Many military families in Southern California are currently at a great threat from one main issue: financial hardship. These financial difficulties, mostly faced due to constant relocation and military geolocation assignments, put their stability at risk, leading to further problems like mental health issues, domestic violence, and food insecurity. Military families serve the nation out of the love they have for their country or to make ends meet, not to become millionaires. So, as citizens of the United States, there is an urgent need we must fulfill. We must provide financial relief for military families to help them sustain their living. There is a strong need for legislative authorities and funding organizations to come forward and take action to help military families. Financial Hardships Faced by Military Families 1. Emergency Savings According to a Military Family Advisory Network [...]

Trigger warning: The content contains mention of domestic violence, r*p*, s*x*al violence, and emotional abuse. Reader’s discretion is advised. Intimate partner violence or IPV is a national public health issue. It’s a form of domestic violence where a current or former spouse inflicts physical, verbal, sexual, emotional, and economic abuse on the partner they’re in an intimate relationship with. Statistics show that 24 people per minute are subjected to intimate partner violence in the form of rape and physical violence in the United States. It’s a crime characterized by escalation and recidivism—meaning that the perpetrator is likely to repeat the abuse, and with more intensity over time. Intimate partner abuse in military families is also common. In 2018, the DOD reported over 17,000 incidents of intimate partner violence. Some of these even resulted in fatalities of the perpetrators or the victims. IPV not only results in physical and mental trauma for the victims of abuse, but also for the children who witness the abuse. It has both immediate and long-term health effects, along with significant costs to society. Let’s delve deeper into the issue of IPV and how you can help military families that have undergone similar circumstances.   Intimate Partner Violence in Military Families Intimate partner violence is a significant social issue within the military population. It’s caused by several factors that include psychological disorders like posttraumatic stress disorder. Statistics show that the prevalence of IPV in military [...]

The Vietnam War taught us a lot about the harmful effects of community exclusion and stigma that service members face when they return. While the exclusion may not be intentional, they can still harm and interfere with a veteran’s trauma recovery and transition to civilian life. Numerous studies show that if veterans with PTSD and depression feel like outsiders, they struggle to understand and work on their post-deployment struggles. Some common causes behind this include service members experiencing low levels of recognition and empathy for their traumatic experiences.     To help service members for a positive transition from combat to home, the civilians must come together to support military members and their families. Here are a few ways you can assist them with a better post-deployment transition. Acknowledge Their Efforts Whether it’s a distant relative, friend, or neighbor, acknowledging the people who have been deployed goes a long way in reassuring the service members that their struggles aren’t in vain. Steer clear of sympathy as that could be counterproductive and opt for gratitude instead. Instead of saying, “I’m sorry,” go for “Thank you” as encouraging words can help them more. Publicize Discounts If Your Business Has Any Although service members and veterans are never looking for handouts, offering discounts, deals, and a percentage off their purchase is another way to express gratitude. But don’t just sit on those discounts while you wait for veterans to walk through your [...]

Military life is challenging for service members and their families. From overcoming the typical day-to-day challenges to unique stressors that come with the job, veterans and deployed service members struggle with a range of problems that ordinary citizens may be unaware of. Some of the common challenges they face include PTSD, experiencing disassociation from reality in a post-deployment period, and finding it difficult to mesh with people who live a relatively normal life. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Let’s take a look at a few other challenges that service members and their families face and how citizens can lend them a helping hand. What Challenges Do Service Members Face?—Looking At Survey Results According to a survey that interviewed 7,000 soldiers, there are several problem domains identified by service members. Each domain further includes a number of issues that service members and their families face. These domains include: maintaining a work-life balance, household management, problems with the healthcare system, relationship problems, and a service member’s own well-being. Out of these, the most common problems were as follows: Feeling stressed, tired, or overwhelmed Having trouble sleeping Poor communication with superiors and coworkers in the workplace What Type Of Help Do Service Members Need To Address Their Problems? Upon further inquiry from the participants, it was concluded that a few ways could help service members address their problem for a healthy post-deployment transition. These included advice and education [...]

Wheels down, another successful deployment complete! Service members reunite with families and friends to reconnect. Human beings need love and affection, whether from family members, partners, teachers, friends, colleagues, or pets. Military service members and their families are no exception. They need each other and build each other up through the numerous sacrifices they make together for our beloved country. The love that military men and women share with their families also keeps them motivated to fight. Being a part of the military is not easy; you have to endure painful situations during deployments, along with experiencing loneliness. However, in most cases, there is a family at your home station to return to. But what about single people who decide to join the military out of love for their country and not just for family security? Although camaraderie and Esprit de Corps are fused in the fabric of all the service branches, there are a few unique challenges that quietly prevent some single military men and women from thriving and fighting heroically. The Challenges of Being Single in the Service In this section, we will address the challenges that single military service members face and see whether their hardships resemble those faced by military families. Inequity According to a study published by a student of U.S. Army War College in PA, single military service members are disadvantaged when compared to their married counterparts because they are a minority in [...]

As citizens of the United States, you should know how difficult it can get for military service members and their families to navigate through the challenges in life. These challenges come about as a result of insufficient provision of resources and assistance. Even though the government provides help to military families, it is simply not enough.   We Are One’s 2020 military family awareness and fundraising raising campaign will explore the many challenges facing military families in hope of creating long-term improvements to enhance the health and welfare of service members. The theme for our August Campaign is “Clothing For Military Families,” under which we aim to collect and provide clothing items and clothing gift certificates to military families to help close this existing resource gap.   Military families face food insecurity, financial hardships, mental health issues, and intimate partner violence amongst several other problems that life throws at them. According to the Military Family Advisory Network, 27.4% of current, serving military families, 49.2% of veterans, and 22.2% of retired military service members have less than $500 in emergency savings or no emergency funds at all.   Military families, especially those with children, find it hard to fulfill basic needs, such as clothing. 44% of serving military families encounters financial stress that presents a danger to their physical and mental well being. The UCLA Loneliness Scale measured that military service members suffering from financial stress were lonelier since they have little to no resources to go out and be social. It is their right as human beings to get access to proper clothing and shelter and enjoy the very freedom they provide to us. We must pledge to help them tackle these issues. Clothing Needs – Problems Military Families Face  One of [...]

Military service members and their families are essential assets for our country and its citizens. Their eternal sacrifices for our nation enable us to live our lives safely every single day. It is our duty as citizens of the United States to ensure the survival of our armed forces and preserve their livelihood by giving them the assistance they need. At We Are One Incorporation, CA, we have made it our mission to help military families battle the challenges life throws their way each day. Our aim is to help them regain a sense of normalcy, enabling them to lead a healthy and happy life, free from financial hardships as well as mental health issues. As part of our military assistance program, we conducted a “Food Insecurity” Campaign in July and kicked off our “Military Clothing Needs” Campaign this month. Both campaigns were created with certain targets in mind. These campaigns helped us raise a significant amount of money and non-perishable food items for military families. Our Food Insecurity Campain’s success enabled us to conduct the first ever distribution drive. We are delighted to share the details of our distribution drive for military families,which was held this month with our We Are One community. We thank our sponsors, volunteers, board members donors and supporters for making this happen. An Overview of the Distribution Drive for Military Families One of the goals of July’s “Food Insecurity” Campaign was to raise [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the entire world. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their precious lives and loved ones battling the virus. With businesses and travel coming to a halt, the whole world is experiencing setbacks and faces the virus’s repercussions. To better assist individuals in these troubling times, many organizations and authorities have come to the rescue playing a vital part in “bending the curve.” In addition to healthcare heroes and government authorities, the U.S. Military is also assisting the people of America. The military’s response to COVID-19 has significantly helped in turning the tides against Coronavirus. The Challenges Presented by the Coronavirus Military Service Members The U.S. Military does not have immunity from COVID 19. The U.S. imposed strict rules on military personnel who live in close quarters or are deployed since they are more prone to catching the virus. On July 30th, 2020, the news reported that more than 26,000 military service members had fallen victim to the virus since it entered America, with 14,000 of them still struggling to recover. Seven thousand out of these are enlisted in the U.S. Army.People 18 to 24 years old, the largest demographic in the U.S. Military, are experiencing higher infection rates than any other age group. The most significant numbers of cases have been reported in California, Texas, Arizona, and Florida. Military Families The situation is no easier for military families. COVID-19’s impact on military families [...]

There is no surprise that as part of military families, military spouses have to endure challenges that shake up their lives. According to the Department of Defense, there are approximately 1 million military spouses. Around 92% of them are females, and about 8% are men. Many Military spouses find it hard to adjust to the new way of life, letting go of things not in their control as they begin their journey as military spouses. Life becomes even harder when there is the added responsibility of being a military mom or dad,who is the only adultto raise the children. Military spouses take on different roles in their lifetime. They are teachers, financial planners,culinary specialists, homemakers, loving parents,and much more. Many of them sacrifice their career to keep their family unittogether. They fill in critical job roles in the government, hospitals, and in their local communities. Many military spouses volunteer as coaches, in local schools/churches, as Key Spouses, in base services, and peer support roles. America’s military spouses are the backbone of the families who support our armed forces during the mission, deployment, reintegration and reset. Lots of patience and restraint is required to be a military spouse. Strength and resilience are the two essential traits that military spouses must possess to preserve normalcy and emerge as empowered men and women. Pros and Cons of Being a Military Wife Being a military wife is hard. You have to share your [...]