Home Allows Navy Veteran and Daughter to Live Near Family
As Navy veteran Cydni O’Meally listens to daughter Jordyn run through their new home near Madison, Wisconsin, she feels deep gratitude.
She’s happy she doesn’t have to tell Jordyn, days from her fifth birthday, to walk softly out of respect for downstairs neighbors. She’s excited to once again live in her home state and be near family. And she feels blessed to be on the path to homeownership after struggling for more than two years in her transition from military to civlian life.
“This is a blessing for me and my daughter,” said Cydni, who served nine years and earned the rank of petty officer third class before her medical retirement in 2022. “I thought I would have to work until Jordyn was in her teen years before we could get here, so I’m very grateful.”
Cydni’s home is part of Operation Homefront’s Permanent Homes for Veterans (PHV) program. It was made possible through the generosity of U.S. Bank.
Families in the PHV program receive financial counseling and homeowner education while living rent-free in a home for two years. During that time, they pay down debt and build savings. When they complete the program, they receive the deed to the home, mortgage-free.
The O’Meally family was living near San Diego, California, when she learned about the PHV program from a fellow Navy veteran. Though Cydni had persevered in building a civilian life there as a single mom, she wanted to live nearer her family in Wisconsin.
She began making the 2,000-mile trek back home every couple of months after her younger sister was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer. Relocating became a priority.
Cydni was excited to find a PHV program available only two hours from where her parents live and near Madison, where her sister receives treatment.
“I don’t want to waste any time,” Cydni said, adding that she is happy she will be able to go to medical appointments with her sister and care for her sister’s son and daughter. Jordyn is excited to live near her grandparents.
“It’s always been me and her in one room,” Cydni said. “It will be a blessing for both of us to be closer to family and be able to start somewhere new together and see my sister more.”
“It is a blessing for both of us to be closer to family and be able to start somewhere new together and see my sister more.” – Cydni O’Meally, Navy veteran
After a Navy career that took her away from home — including being at sea for almost two years total on deployments to Dubai, Vietnam, Abu Dhabi, Guam, and Singapore — she’s excited to make up for time separated from family.
She is pursuing a degree in cybersecurity. Her goal is to work as a network engineer.
“This will be a good foundation for me and my daughter,” she said.
The O’Meally family is one of more than 720 military families Operation Homefront has placed in PHV properties throughout the United States since 2012. In that time, nearly 690 military families have completed the program and received mortgage-free deeds to their homes.
The PHV program is one of the national nonprofit’s four distinct housing programs designed to help military families succeed in their transition to civilian life. Operation Homefront also offers family support programs and critical financial assistance as part of its mission to build strong, stable, and secure military families.
