When a Helper Needs Help: Asking Is Tough, and Understanding Is Appreciated
The federal government shutdown put disabled Army veteran DaQuan Bethea in the difficult position of asking for assistance after he was furloughed from his civilian job with the Department of Defense and then returned to work without pay.
DaQuan ― who served four years in the Army as a behavioral health technician ― now works as a civilian family and soldier readiness specialist with the North Carolina National Guard. He has connected thousands of families with resources when they faced everything from budget shortfalls to food and housing insecurity to mental health crises.
After missing two back-to-back paychecks, DaQuan and his wife, Evelyn, needed help so they could maintain a strong, stable, and secure home for their 2-year-old son, Myles. The family’s budget reserves began dwindling in summer when health concerns forced Evelyn to leave her job as a criminal background investigator. They stretched their reduced income to cover rising grocery and utility costs.
After two missed paychecks, however, the budget snapped. The mortgage fell past due, and bill collectors began calling.
“Even though I’m a federal employee who’s working and not getting paid, (lenders) still want their money, and I’m still obligated to pay,” he said. “I knew I couldn’t come up with the money by (working gig jobs).”
The national nonprofit offered emergency food gift cards during the shutdown as part of its mission to build strong, stable, and secure military families. Operation Homefront achieves its mission through relief and recurring family support programs designed to help military families overcome short-term challenges so they don’t become long-term hardships.
Since 2011, Operation Homefront has fulfilled nearly 60,000 requests and totaling more than $46 million in financial assistance.
During the October 2025 application period, caseworkers processed 1,757 CFA requests, a record number and an amount that exceeded October 2024 requests by more than 130 percent. Almost 30 percent of those requests were for food assistance.
Applying to Operation Homefront’s Critical Financial Assistance Program® brought DaQuan full circle.
“(The donors) may not have seen the faces they help daily, but as the middleman, I’m seeing the people they help. They are changing people’s lives.” – DaQuan Betthea, Army veteran
“I’m usually the person telling people about Operation Homefront and other nonprofits that support service members,” he said, adding that he has set up events and picked up donations at Dollar Tree stores for Back-to-School Brigade® and Holiday Toy Drive.
Stress lifted when he learned his application for food and mortgage assistance was approved.
Though DaQuan doesn’t know when the shutdown will end and paychecks will resume, he is happy to be working to support military families.
“Being back at work and helping service members is helping me mentally while I go through the government shutdown,” he said.
A day earlier, he steered four National Guard families to resources to put food on their tables. All were Title 32 workers, paid with federal funds but under state command and among 1.4 million federal workers not receiving paychecks during the shutdown.
“I’m happy I can focus less on myself because helping others relieves stress,” he said, adding that he appreciates the donors who make Operation Homefront’s programs possible.
“The donors are not forgotten in this process,” he said. “(The donors) may not have seen the faces they help daily, but as the middleman, I’m seeing the people they help. They are changing people’s lives.”
