Camp Pendleton Spouse Recognized for Service to Military Families

Military Spouses of Strength recently announced that its’ founder Camp Pendleton's own Liz Snell has been nominated for 2014 Military Spouse of the Year.

The award was created by Military Spouse magazine in 2008 to honor military spouses of all ranks and from all branches of service, according to its creators.

“More than a million military spouses support and maintain the home front while our service members defend this great nation,” magazine staff wrote on their website. “The Military Spouse of the Year award recognizes military spouses’ important contributions and unwavering commitment to the military community and our country.”

To learn more about the award, you can visit the Military Spouse of the Year website.

Below is a portion of a news release issued by Military Spouses of Strength.

It is no secret that after 13 years of war and sacrifice, military spouses face unusual struggles that they battled silently. Liz recognized a need for strong mental health support specific to military spouses after her own battles with depression. After seeking out help, she turned her experiences into a platform that fills an important need. She has created a resource driven initiative called Military Spouses of Strength (MSoS). Through this initiative she has brought together licensed professionals who are donating their time to provide spouses with the help they need. Further, she provides information, resources, peer to peer support, and a place to connect with others going through the hardships of mental illness.

"Our military spouses have endured supporting their service members through nearly thirteen years of war. Thirteen years of combat deployments and other challenges that uniquely face military families. In a recent Military Spouses of Strength survey, nearly 91 percent of those surveyed stated they had dealt with a bout of depression, of that number 73 percent felt it was caused to deployment, 83 percent sought out mental health support and of those who didn't seek support 80 percent said they didn't feel like they were in a bad enough place to do so. As a community, we need to change the dialogue about mental health related issues. We need to begin taking preventative measures, and not react to situations, " said MSoS Founder, Liz Snell.

This year Liz is more determined than ever to continue her fight on raising awareness of mental health issues while crushing the stigma that accompanies diagnosis the of depression, anxiety, and PTSD among others within the military community.

MSoS is asking the community to please vote for Liz Snell as "2014 Military Spouse of the Year" which will empower her to carry on her mission full speed ahead with Military Spouses of Strength. Voting begins today Jan. 21 through the website.

If you would like more information about MSOS please visit Military Spouses of Strength website or contact Shannon Messer at (410) 652-7430 or email at Shannonm@milspousesofstrength.org.