Guardsman Feels Safer and Calmer After Replacing Windows
A billboard for the National Guard caught Sarah Davis’s attention in 2007. She was a single mother of two young sons, and she felt like she was in a dead-end job.
After visiting with a recruiter, Sarah embarked on a service career that, so far, has spanned 16 years and taken her on one yearlong deployment to Afghanistan and one to Iraq.
“I like a challenge,” said the Fort Worth woman, who now has three children and two jobs on top of serving as a combat medic in the Texas Army National Guard.
Though Sarah might not have anticipated all the challenges the Guard would present – especially being separated from her children while serving in Afghanistan and Iraq – she said the experience has deepened her appreciation for life in America.
Sarah faced financial hurdles this past spring when her full-time job ended unexpectedly. The family budget was already stretched by rising costs for food, fuel, utilities, and insurance.
Without her primary income, Sarah struggled to provide for her 15-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son who live at home.
The stress exacerbated her PTSD symptoms, which she said she works continuously to manage because of the impact on her daily life. She already had the goal of replacing the broken single-pane windows and sliding doors in her home because they made her fear for the security of her family. That caused anxiety, which was compounded by interrupted sleep because the windows did little to dampen street noise.
Nothing was left in the family budget for home repairs. However, a friend mentioned to Sarah that the nonprofit Operation Homefront had helped her father, a disabled combat veteran, through its Critical Financial Assistance (CFA) program.
The program is designed to provide short-term financial help for military families who are experiencing financial hardship. Since its beginning in 2011, the CFA program has fulfilled nearly 56,000 requests from military families and post-9/11 veterans, totaling over $40 million in assistance for food, critical baby items, home and auto repairs; and past-due utility, rent, and mortgage payments.
Thanks to Operation Homefront’s generous donors, Sarah was able to replace seven windows and a sliding door that were original to her 1978 home, and she has noticed big differences.
“I am overwhelmed with gratitude. I don’t know if you can fathom what you’ve done for my family.” – Staff Sgt. Sarah Davis, Army National Guard
She appreciates the improved energy efficiency of the new double-pane windows and has seen her utility costs decrease by about 30 percent, and she is especially grateful for improved security for her home and family. She also is sleeping better.
“It’s not just the physical attributes of new windows in my house. This helps me relax in my house and calms down my PTSD,” she said.
Sarah recently began working full time as a medical assistant in a doctor’s office in addition to her part-time job at a home-improvement store. One weekend a month, she attends drills with her Guard unit.
“I am overwhelmed with gratitude,” Sarah said. “I don’t know if you can fathom what you’ve done for my family.”
