Growing up, New Jersey native Carmen Cuza-Velez was a daddy’s girl.
But after seeing the film “Private Benjamin,” which stars Goldie Hawn as a ritzy, prissy girl who joins the United States Army, Cuza-Velez made the decision to enlist.
“It was the best decision of my life,” Cuza-Velez said. “I would definitely be a career soldier.”
Now a proud veteran, Cuza-Velez’s father didn’t take her too seriously when she announced her plans to join the armed forces. But after doing well on her tests, Cruz-Velez was stationed in Georgia, South Carolina and Hawaii, while serving from 1991 to 1995.
As part of her active duty, Cuza-Velez worked as an armor supply specialist. She inspected and cleaned weapons, and was able to take them apart and put them back together.
“It’s funny, because I never really liked weapons,” Cuza-Velez said. “But I liked putting on my uniform … and doing what I do. The camaraderie, the teamwork … it felt like a family.”
In 1995, Cuza-Velez left active service to give birth to her eldest son, Triston Wright. Wright, now 19, was Cuza-Velez’s first child after three miscarriages. Cuza-Velez left active duty with a hearing disability, but thought about re-enlisting after she finished her three years in the U.S. Reserves.
“It made me independent,” she said of her service. “It made me not lean on Mom and Dad so much. I learned discipline.”
Now a mother of four, Cuza-Velez said she would encourage any child to join the armed forces if they chose not to pursue higher education upon high school graduation.
“If school’s not for them, then one way to teach them is the military,” Cuza-Velez said. “I still believe that fully.”
Cuza-Velez describes herself as a provider and a soldier. But her newest battle isn’t like one she would fight in the military.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 49,933 veterans are homeless. Over half have disabilities.
Cuza-Velez is one of them.
FIGHTING FOR HER HOME
For years after her service, Cuza-Velez led a normal life. She lived with her husband and their four children in a three-story duplex in New Jersey.
Just seven classes short of completing her nursing degree, Cuza-Velez was working for a company in New York City as a general manager when she was laid off. Her husband, who worked for the same company, was laid off one month later.
The family was evicted from their home.
Following the eviction, the family moved to Miami to be closer to Cuza-Velez’s brother. But the home was too small for the family, so the family relocated to the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World.
“I liked the country upbringing,” Cuza-Velez said. “It’s just a more decent way of living. It’s just a brighter day.”
After raising her two eldest children, Triston, 19, and Lexiss, 14, in New Jersey, Cuza-Velez decided Plant City would be the perfect town to raise her two youngest children, Chase, 7, and Dylan, 5.
But the family’s financial troubles continued. The family received some assistance from the United States Department of Veteran Affairs but largely relied on husband Roy’s unemployment check of $300 per week to survive.
With a limited income, Cuza-Velez and her family stayed with friend Darlene Schaible. Cuza-Velez paid Schaible monthly, but the families were cramped, and Cuza-Velez’s two oldest children slept on the couch.
After receiving some help from St. Vincent de Paul, a nonprofit organization that seeks to help the homeless and those in need, the family moved to a Super 8 Motel in Tampa on Nov. 10 — one day before Veterans Day.
Later, the family was moved to Tampa’s La Quinta Inn & Suites, where they are currently staying. But Cuza-Velez said their program, which pays for the hotel, only lasts for about 45 days. In the second week of December, the family will once again be in need of a home — a situation Cuza-Velez never expected to find herself in.
“I’m a provider,” she said. “Our home was always our safety net. It felt like somebody took a rug from under us.”
Cuza-Velez has a job lined up beginning in January, but the family is running out of funds. Though they’re staying in Tampa, Cuza-Velez and her family drive Chase and Dylan to Walden Lake Elementary School every day to give the children a sense of normalcy. Lexiss, 14, is enrolled in virtual school.
Cuza-Velez’s oldest son, Triston, has delayed pursuing college to help out with his family during their time of need. In New Jersey, Wright was offered three full academic scholarships, including one to Rutgers University.
“The hardest part for me is seeing how it affects her,” Wright said. “Me and her are very close.”
“I was a single mother,” Cuza-Velez said. “He was my first, he was my partner. My son had to swallow his first year of college. He took a hit for the family.”
With the constant moves, the limited funds and the motel stays, the family has had to put the majority of their belongings, with the exception of clothes and a few other items, in three storage units. Cuza-Velez was unable to pay for two storage units and the items were auctioned off. The third is about to be auctioned.
“What’s important is that we’re all together,” she said. “I know what it’s like to start fresh. I don’t mind the work of starting over, it’s just … acting like it never existed.”
The family has had trouble getting approved for a home since their evictions. As their motel stay continues, Cuza-Velez has made contact with other veterans in similar predicaments. She met multiple veterans while staying at the Super 8 Motel in Tampa. Despite their prevalence, the large number of homeless veterans remains vastly overlooked.
“I never knew until I was in this predicament,” Cuza-Velez said.
But it’s a reminder: she’s a warrior.
“My children never needed for anything,” she said. “The only thing I want is for my kids to have a home to go go home to and not have them worry about losing it again. I’m a soldier.”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.