Blue Star Families’ Welcome Week

Military life, in any capacity, is challenging by nature - time apart, training, frequent moves, high operational tempo. These challenges can leave veterans, service members, and their families feeling alienated. Americans may have a broad understanding of what Military life entails, such as deployments and training, but unfortunately most are unaware of the daily sacrifices our military families make. Our research indicates 81% of military families reported feeling that the general population is entirely blind of the daily battles they face.

An inevitable component of military life is having to move frequently, averaging every two to three years, often on short notice. Moving is stressful for everyone, but civilians often have greater flexibility in planning the details, big and small, that go into moving. Lamentably, military families aren’t as fortunate and often land far from friends and family, disconnecting them from their support networks. As they navigate relocating and getting settled into a new community, their service member continues to bear the burdens of service.

Although Americans can empathize with transition, most have not experienced the nuances that face the military while moving. Every year, 600,000 military-connected families representing approximately 30% of our all-volunteer force are experiencing a move. This annual movement disrupts the entire family unit. When there is stress on the service member, it impacts their readiness, and the military as a whole. For each individual involved, unmitigated stress often leads to other challenges.

Blue Star Families’ Annual Survey identified that a “lack of a sense of belonging to their community” is a major challenge for military families. Belongingness is a natural feeling humans need to feel secure and comfortable. Without a sense of belonging, leading a healthy, successful life becomes an all-consuming battle. Everything from financial health/food insecurity, to mental health, to overall family well-being is harmed by isolation. However, those who do have a sense of belonging are proven to have a higher likelihood of thriving. The survey identified the problem and Blue Star Welcome Week is the solution.

Blue Star Welcome Week is an opportunity for communities across the country to welcome military families and remind all Americans what we owe to our military families, service members, and veterans. It is an opportunity for military families and transitioning families to
make meaningful connections with their communities. Many civilian communities likely don’t even realize when a military family moves into the area. Simply bringing awareness to the civilian community will begin to form a more connected community.

Blue Star Welcome Week is an emerging annual event, piloted and designed to welcome our military-connected families to their new communities. Blue Star Welcome Week has the potential to be recognized as a major annual event in the United States. More importantly, it has the potential to seriously improve the lives of military and transitioning families, creating stronger community and neighborhood bonds. There will be more details to come, so be sure to keep an out!