PAPILLION, Neb. (KMTV) — On Saturday morning, military families had the opportunity to speak with Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff, who were in the Omaha area representing their spouses.
“There’s so many things that we’re going through, that nobody really knows unless you’re in that moment and in those situations with us," said Kaycee Greninger, whose husband is currently on active duty.
While serving as second lady, Biden worked with Michelle Obama on the Joining Forces project, which worked to address issues with employment, education and healthcare in the military.
Now, alongside Emhoff, she is looking to continue that work, taking the time to hear from veterans and military spouses about what still needs to be done.
“They need to know how the veterans see it," said Charlene Ligon who moderated the discussion and is also a veteran. "They need to know, especially if they feel it’s a deficiency.”
Greninger said that for her and her neighbors at Offutt Air Force Base, even basic needs aren’t being met.
“I also wanted to talk about food insecurity," Greninger said."When you have military families that don’t even know where the food is coming from, where they’re going to pay their bills or feed their children or go without completely, there’s a problem.”
Another concern brought up by many in the round table discussion was access to healthcare. While some said the local V.A. offers state of the art healthcare, others say actually getting that care can take months.
“I would love to see a psychiatrist for some suicidal idealizations and things like that, and it took two months for me to get there," said Erik Servellon. "And this is not hyperbole; it was two months where I had to survive."
Biden and Emhoff say they would be taking these concerns back to their spouses.
“There’s a lot we have to do," Biden said. "But I hope you feel and I hope you know that a Biden/Harris administration, will have your backs like you’ve always had ours.”
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