Her husband is a veteran today, and her husband’s father was a Monroe police officer.
For Maples, seeing Operation “Epic Fury” today has awakened certain all too familiar feelings.
“All those feelings are coming back,” she said. “The fear, those types of things.”
Maples, executive director of the Blue Star Families’ Dayton & Southwestern Ohio Chapter, knows that others are experiencing these anxieties, too, perhaps for the first time. With war again making itself felt, there can be feelings of “isolation” for spouses and family members.
“We are responding to that,” Maples said.
From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday , at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts, 101 S. Monument Ave., Hamilton, Blue Star Families of Dayton & Southwestern Ohio, with allies, are inviting active-duty, National Guard, Reserve, and veteran families in Hamilton and Ross to a “Nourish the Service” event.
Families will receive fresh food, household, and hygiene items, along with fire prevention kits from The Home Depot, while supplies last.
Sometimes families struggle with food security, Maples said. Blue Star surveys have found that 17% of respondents said they turned to food pantries at times.
“This time, we’ll probably see an increase on that,” she said. “We are getting calls from our partners; our families need some extra things.”
“They’re our neighbors,” she added. “They’re our co-workers.”
Jeannine Dennehy‘s son served in the Middle East, in 2023.
The Xenia mother is involved in Blue Star Mothers, an organization connected to, and supportive of, Blue Star Families.
“A lot of moms don’t know we have that (this level of support) here in the Miami Valley area,” Dennehy said.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
“We have gained a couple of new members, but I don’t think we’ve seen a tremendous influx of membership,” she said when asked about inquiries to her organization. Residents simply may not know of the group.
But the mission is similiar: Support the troops by supporting families back home.
“Every single one of them is someone’s child,” she said.
Dennehy can be reached at 3VP.OH3@bluestarmothers.us.
BLUE STAR SUPPORT
If you need help, go to the Blue Star Families website, bluestarfam.org/chapters/dayton. Look for the Dayton and Southwestern Ohio chapter. Registration is free.
You can also reach out to gmaples@bluestarfam.org or communitymanager@bluestarfam.org.
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