When an injury forced Petty Officer 2nd Class Jaquette Edwards out of the service last year, she thought she was in pretty good shape — the 10-year veteran had just purchased a home in San Diego where she, her mother and five nieces and nephews lived.
She planned to go to school for electrical engineering — the same job she'd been doing in the Navy.
"When I first got out I had saved ... a good amount of money," she said.
She thought it was enough to hold her over until her Veterans Affairs education benefits kicked-in.
"It did not happen that way," Edwards said.
The financial challenges Edwards encountered aren't unique. Recent Pentagon survey data show only one-third of the junior enlisted ranks feel financially stable. Across the military, 35% have less than three months living expenses saved.
Edwards said she and a lot of people in the military take pride in self-reliance.
"The military kind of makes you feel like if you depend on someone else, you're weak," she said. "Everything that you have, you do — you do it for yourself. You don't take no handouts."
But Edwards had people depending on her. Four years ago, she took in her sister's five children.
So, when she got behind on her mortgage earlier this year, she realized she was in trouble.
"I said 'if I don't pay this bill ... we're going to be homeless,'" she said. "I've got too many kids to be homeless."
That's when she connected with the San Diego-based nonprofit Support the Enlisted Project, or STEP.
"Our program restores hope, it changes lives and it does this permanently," said Tony Teravainen, co-founder and CEO of STEP.
STEP serves the enlisted military and veterans community. It offers financial help in times of crises and provides food and financial counseling. The idea, Teravainen said, is that the organization helps get people out of immediate crises and gives them the tools to avoid finding themselves there again.
Over the last few years, STEP has expanded along the West Coast but Teravainen said they hear from people across the country.
"I think last year we served about 120 families in 39 other states," he said.
Teravainen said the high cost-of-living in some places make it difficult for military families — especially on the enlisted side. Many of their clients are mid-career sailors with families he says aren't always equipped to manage their increased financial demands.
By this time, he said people often have families, a divorce or both.
"You've got two cars, you've got a dog, you've got kids in school," Teravainen said. "You manage to get there, you manage to get there ... but it's like the house of cards just got so big (and) one of those fundamental cards fell off and you really weren't just set up for that crisis. It just happens very quickly."
He said though, it's not just high cost-of-living areas where service members struggle.
"We had 99 cases from Texas — that makes sense because this is another large population (area)," Teravainen said. "But we also had 99 cases from Alabama.
STEP is expanding to handle the demand. It purchased a larger warehouse that will serve as its national headquarters.
"Our goal is to be able to have our program available to any, you know, young military veteran family across the country that needs it," he said.
Edwards said she's started school and doing well now. She said there's no shame in asking for help when it's needed.
"Even if you think — like I thought — other people have more problems," she said. "There's nothing wrong with asking for help."
STEP's expansion is proceeding carefully, Teravainen said. They're expanding next to Hawaii and will move into their new headquarters later this fall.
