What Is a Twitter Chat?
A Twitter chat is like a meeting on Twitter; it has a specific discussion topic and a scheduled start time. Using the hashtag #MilCents at the end of each tweet, MFAN will ask questions to a group of financial experts.
Blog
The MFAN blog spotlights the latest news affecting our community.
State of the State: Texas
Military Family Advisory Network’s (MFAN) research over three years revealed that an alarming number of military families face food insecurity. One in eight survey respondents in 2019 reported experiencing food insecurity. Our data showed that survey respondents in Texas were experiencing higher frequencies of food insecurity among national respondents, with one in six families...
Read MoreWhat Military Spouses Need to Know Before Getting Politically Active
This has already been a year of many things, but calm is not one of them. In addition to COVID-19, movements, protests, and political elections have filled the news and stirred many hearts. But what are the rules for military family members who want to get politically active? What does a military family member who...
Read MoreFun Things to Do at Your Duty Station: Colorado Springs
With Ft. Carson, Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever Air Force Base, the Air Force Academy, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), U.S. Northern Command, and possibly Space Force, a lot of lucky military families get to call Colorado Springs home, at least for a little while—and many choose to stay forever. Surprisingly mild winters,...
Read MoreFact: Military Spouses Need Professional License Reciprocity
The Good News? States are Starting to Give it to Them Colorado Governor Jared Polis recently signed a bill into law that will make it easier for military spouses moving into the state to transfer their professional licenses and start working. Colorado is the latest state in growing list to take steps to ease the...
Read MoreThursday Three is Here!
Life in a time of COVID-19 is a lot like military life in general. You can plan all you want but ultimately, there are times when someone else is going to make the calls that affect your life. You spend a lot of time in hurry–up–and–wait mode. And if you can’t make it better, you can choose to embrace it and...
Read MoreCOVID-19 has changed literally everything for military couples getting married this year
There are nearly as many how the military changed my wedding plans stories as there are military couples, but this year has added a layer of unpredictability that even Uncle Sam would find maddening. All over the country, couples that had planned to get married this spring and summer have had to postpone or change...
Read MoreThursday Three is Here!
Last week we devoted a special edition of the Thursday Three to the 2019 Military Family Support Programming Survey. If you haven’t yet taken a look – we highly encourage you to do so. Before we jump into this week’s news, we wanted to circle back to some of last week’s news that we didn’t...
Read MoreLGBTQ Military Families Have Won Victories, But Still Have Big Fights Ahead
Emily Starbuck Gerson is an MFAN Advisory Board member and the partner of an Air Force service member stationed in England. Emily is an award-winning freelance journalist and runs the LGBTQ blog Profiles in Pride. On June 23, MFAN released findings from the 2019 Military Family Support Programming Survey. It covered a wide range of topics...
Read MoreThursday Three is Here!
Earlier this week, MFAN shared the findings of our 2019 Military Family Support Programming Survey during an exciting, virtual event presented by Cerner Government Services. This event represented the culmination of a tremendous amount of effort by so many people – starting with you as opened your hearts and with courage and truth, shared the stories...
Read MoreA New Resource for EFMP Families
Having a family member with unique health needs is stressful for anyone, anywhere. The challenges that come with the military lifestyle—frequent moves, deployments, living far from friends and family—add an additional layer of stress for military families with a family member enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP). On Tuesday, June 23, MFAN will release...
Read MoreThe Real Cost of Moving
Every move can set a military family back about $5,000. That’s money they’ll never be reimbursed for and will never recover. And military families move, on average, every two to three years. MFAN has collected data from military families over the past four years that shows that financial stress is a primary burden during the...
Read MoreWhat Do Military and Veteran Families Really Need?
Last fall, approximately 8,000 members of the military and veteran community answered MFAN’s call to share details of their lives with us for our 2019 Military Family Support Programming Survey presented by Cerner. We learned of challenges, victories, and everything in between as we explored all facets of military and veteran life. For MFAN, research...
Read MoreThese 8 Meals Will Get You Through PCS Season
Those last few weeks before you PCS can be difficult, in every way, right down to what to feed your family. You don’t want to waste money by filling your fridge with foods that won’t get eaten, and you’d really like to use up what you have rather than tossing it all out. But you...
Read MoreEven Before the Pandemic, Domestic Violence was a Problem in the Military Community
“I received severe emotional abuse from my military spouse. Finally got strength to leave after a marriage of over 40 years,” — a divorced military spouse. Military family members have whispered for decades about Intimate Partner Violence in our community. We’ve heard stories about friends and neighbors. We’ve been confidants for friends who needed help....
Read MoreTenant Bill of Rights: What’s Taking So Long?
Last year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) included a Tenant Bill of Rights to address problems reported by military families living in housing on military installations. MFAN was at the forefront of this discussion because data we gathered in our survey of military families detailed where and what types of problems were occurring. The Tenant...
Read MoreA Good Goodbye
PCSing military families find COVID-friendly ways for their kids to move on Even in normal years, military life is tough on kids—and 2020 is not a normal year. This year, about half a million military families will try to navigate the always-stressful PCS process with a heaping spoonful of coronavirus served on top of...
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