Navy Veteran Thanks Village for Easing Transition to Civilian Life
Navy veteran Bernice Sanchez-Arce is happily married, financially stable, and working in a federal job she loves. She credits the Operation Homefront Transitional Housing – Villages program with helping her get to where she is now.
“Operation Homefront has been a savior in many, many, ways,” Bernice said.
The Puerto Rican native grew up in New Jersey. She got her associate degree through a program in New Jersey that provides free community college.
She joined the Navy to help pay for the rest of her schooling because neither she nor her family could afford college. Her dream was to work in TV or film production.
Bernice enlisted in 2016. She served stayed stateside and was stationed in Bethesda, Maryland, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She worked as military police but developed an autoimmune disease that was difficult to diagnose. Her body, which already had the regular wear and tear of military life, began breaking down. She lives with back problems, fibromyalgia, and at times the autoimmune disorder causes extreme fatigue and makes walking or other movement painful.
“Thank you for being the bridge that made the transition easier for me and my spouse.” – Bernice Sanchez-Arce, Navy veteran
The illness forced Bernice to medically retire after six years. During the separation process, she learned about the Villages program in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
The program provides fully furnished apartments for wounded, ill, and injured service members with families to live in rent-free while they go through the process of medically separating from the military. The program also includes financial and career counseling for service members as they become established in the civilian community.
Before she and her wife, Angel, moved into the Village in March 2022, Bernice thought her marriage may not be saved because she had difficulty managing the emotions of losing her job in the Navy. But the time she had to decompress, get their finances in order, learn more about transition, and spend time with her wife without all the stress helped them focus on their relationship.
“Operation Homefront saved my marriage,” Bernice said.
The couple was able to save money and raise credit scores. Once they graduated from the program in spring 2023, they moved into an apartment in the Washington, D.C., area, where Bernice got a federal job involving production and broadcast.
Bernice said she is grateful for the support provided by Operation Homefront donors, adding that she wants them to know their donations are helping service members in need.
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to take a second and not go from being in the military to jumping into the deep end of civilian life,” Bernice said. “Unless you are in the military, you don’t realize how stressful it is to leave the military and jump into the civilian world. It’s a massive culture shock, and it’s terrifying. And thank you for being the bridge that made the transition easier for me and my spouse.”
