The challenges facing military families can often go unseen. But their voices are being heard in a recent survey by Blue Star Families, a national non-profit that supports military communities. The 2023 Blue Star Families Military Family Lifestyle survey found the top concerns were spousal employment, housing, military pay and climbing on the list is childcare. When Maggie Meza married into the military life, she spent decades moving in all corners of the nation. “We were able to take each time of moving to treat it like it was an adventure,” said Meza. But her husband’s deployments made it difficult to plant any roots for the family. The VA reports more than 600,000 military families move or transition out of service every year. “It’s hard for employers to want to take a chance on military spouses because of the fact that they aren’t where they’re stationed for very long,” said Meza. Blue Star Families reports there is a 21% unemployment rate among military spouses. In December Blue Star Families partnered with Hiring Heroes and launched its 4+1 Commitment to hiring military spouses and turning jobs into careers. MORE: https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/outreach/on-the-homefront/the-unemployment-rate-for-military-spouses-reaches-21-percent/509-48b31074-8fde-41d6-9b9d-f180309f6389