Veteran, Military Mom Grateful for Home Repair, Financial Assistance
Joy Dubberstein has always believed in order and justice. She thought enlisting in the military would be a good fit, and she wanted to prove to herself and others that she could do it. Joy joined the Army in 2009 with the goal of making it a career. She wanted to eventually go into the medical field and possibly become a registered nurse.
Because of wear and tear on her body, along with PTSD following a 2011 deployment to Iraq, Joy was medically retired in 2014 after six years of service. She reached the rank of specialist. She took a civilian job in the medical field at Fort Bliss, Texas, where she had been stationed. In 2020, Joy, a single mom, moved to Yukon, Oklahoma, so her children – son Caden, 10, and daughter Addison, 8 – could be closer to their grandparents.
“I don’t even know if there are words for how grateful I am.” – Joy Dubberstein, Army veteran
In January 2023, Joy lost her job. Finding a new one was difficult because both of her children have special needs, and her son is not in school a full day. At first, her VA benefits provided enough to sustain the family. But in August she realized her air conditioner was no longer cooling their home. She spent money trying to repair the problem and was eventually told she would have to replace her HVAC system. That, coupled with rising costs of everyday essentials such as food and utilities, meant her VA benefits were simply not enough.
The summer was getting hotter, and she was worried about her kids in the hot house. She did a web search on organizations that help veterans and found Operation Homefront’s Critical Financial Assistance (CFA) program.
Thanks to the generosity of Operation Homefront donors, Joy received funds to replace her HVAC system. She turned to Operation Homefront two more times, once for food assistance and once to help with utility costs.
“I don’t even know if there are words for how grateful I am,” Joy said. “For a single mom struggling to feed her family, there’s no way we can afford home repairs. For someone to have an organization that helps us because we served in the military is just so special. I’m so glad that Operation Homefront and their donors are here for us.”
