thedrifter
02-09-06, 02:17 AM
Military families' needs rise with deployments
By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
With more than 25,000 locally based Marines and sailors in Iraq, the telephones are rarely quiet in the San Diego offices of Operation Homefront, a support group that has answered calls from service members' families ever since U.S. forces attacked Afghanistan after 9/11.
Cribs and cars dominate the calls for help in recent weeks, and there is never a slowdown in requests for food and help with rent and energy bills.
"We have six families waiting for cribs ---- something we didn't really have on our radar," said Beth Steinke, president of the San Diego chapter of the nationwide organization that provides assistance for needs unmet by government and military relief efforts. "Changing tables and all the things for babies are in hot demand."
Steinke said Operation Homefront, which works under the motto "Supporting our troops by helping the families they leave behind," gets as many as 40 calls a day from military families in need of assistance. About half of those calling are North County residents, she said.
"January came in like a lion for us and it's been a steady stream," said Steinke, noting that deployments from Camp Pendleton, Miramar Marine Corps Air Station and Naval Station San Diego got under way just after the holidays.
Working with a core group of about 20 volunteers and only three employees ---- two full-time and one part-time ---- Operation Homefront responds to just about any need, with its efforts typically directed toward young military families.
Besides the items needed for new babies and help with fuel and light bills, food has been a big need, Steinke said.
"Food requests are way up," Steinke said Wednesday. "We sent out $1,500 in food purchase cards in January."
For families who come to Operation Homefront for the first time and are in dire need of food, the group relies on a warehouse full of donated food in Escondido to meet immediate needs. After that, a family that still needs help with groceries will be given a grocery store voucher once the necessary paperwork has been completed.
Tires have also been in demand lately, Steinke said, and the group also is looking for a half-dozen people willing to donate vehicles, gasoline gift cards, household furniture, computers and more volunteers.
Steinke became the chapter's president in late 2004, quitting a better-paying job to take the reins.
"My former boss asked me if I was crazy to take a pay cut and cut in benefits, but I just believe so much in what we do," she said. "Every dollar goes back to helping families and we make a big difference in people's lives and that's what keeps us going."
Steinke knows the challenges that face military families whose spouses are gone on long deployments. Her husband is a U.S. Navy chief petty officer who heads up a helicopter squadron and recently returned from a six-month deployment to the Middle East aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.
For more information about Operation Homefront, or to sign up, volunteer or make a donation, call (866) 424-5210 or see the group's Web site at www.operationhomefront.net/sandiego.
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.
Ellie
By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
With more than 25,000 locally based Marines and sailors in Iraq, the telephones are rarely quiet in the San Diego offices of Operation Homefront, a support group that has answered calls from service members' families ever since U.S. forces attacked Afghanistan after 9/11.
Cribs and cars dominate the calls for help in recent weeks, and there is never a slowdown in requests for food and help with rent and energy bills.
"We have six families waiting for cribs ---- something we didn't really have on our radar," said Beth Steinke, president of the San Diego chapter of the nationwide organization that provides assistance for needs unmet by government and military relief efforts. "Changing tables and all the things for babies are in hot demand."
Steinke said Operation Homefront, which works under the motto "Supporting our troops by helping the families they leave behind," gets as many as 40 calls a day from military families in need of assistance. About half of those calling are North County residents, she said.
"January came in like a lion for us and it's been a steady stream," said Steinke, noting that deployments from Camp Pendleton, Miramar Marine Corps Air Station and Naval Station San Diego got under way just after the holidays.
Working with a core group of about 20 volunteers and only three employees ---- two full-time and one part-time ---- Operation Homefront responds to just about any need, with its efforts typically directed toward young military families.
Besides the items needed for new babies and help with fuel and light bills, food has been a big need, Steinke said.
"Food requests are way up," Steinke said Wednesday. "We sent out $1,500 in food purchase cards in January."
For families who come to Operation Homefront for the first time and are in dire need of food, the group relies on a warehouse full of donated food in Escondido to meet immediate needs. After that, a family that still needs help with groceries will be given a grocery store voucher once the necessary paperwork has been completed.
Tires have also been in demand lately, Steinke said, and the group also is looking for a half-dozen people willing to donate vehicles, gasoline gift cards, household furniture, computers and more volunteers.
Steinke became the chapter's president in late 2004, quitting a better-paying job to take the reins.
"My former boss asked me if I was crazy to take a pay cut and cut in benefits, but I just believe so much in what we do," she said. "Every dollar goes back to helping families and we make a big difference in people's lives and that's what keeps us going."
Steinke knows the challenges that face military families whose spouses are gone on long deployments. Her husband is a U.S. Navy chief petty officer who heads up a helicopter squadron and recently returned from a six-month deployment to the Middle East aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.
For more information about Operation Homefront, or to sign up, volunteer or make a donation, call (866) 424-5210 or see the group's Web site at www.operationhomefront.net/sandiego.
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.
Ellie