Strength in Service

10/14/2026

Military Spouse Social Work Career Support: Mentorship Listening Session 💚

Our career mentorship program was built for Y-O-U, and we need your input!

Join us for one of three online listening sessions over the next week to learn about our mentorship prototype and find out how you can get involved to gain mentorship and career support for your social work journey.

📲 Link in our bio to book your Career Mentorship call!

Can’t make the listed times? Reach out and we’ll find a time that works for you.

10/13/2026

You guys loved the last one!! So we are doing it again, join us on another Boots & Connection event! 🥾☀️

📩 To register or learn more, email Ruby Flores!!

10/08/2026

Strength looks different on every surface.

Sometimes it’s building, sometimes it’s healing, and sometimes it’s reaching out. 💚🤲

Take the next step and book a session at www.strengthinservice.org or at the link in bio.

10/07/2026

Our Boots & Connections hike two weeks ago with our San Diego family was a success! 🥾🍃

Thank you to everyone who came and explored Missions Trails Regional Park with Strength-in-Service in September!

Comment below your favorite / go-to trail snack! 😋

10/06/2026

Thank you to all of the amazing stories that have been submitted by our Strength in Service community! 🫂

Want to see yours featured on our social media? Submit your story at the link in our bio. 🫵📑

10/05/2026

HAPPENING today!!!

📚 MSW students, this one’s for you.

Grad school is a lot. Join our confidential, virtual support group to connect with peers, share experiences, and find your people. 💛

🗓 Mondays | 12–1pm or 7–8pm CST
📍 5 virtual sessions starting Sept 28

Let’s talk, share, and grow together.
Link in bio to join! ✨

09/30/2026

Connection Story from Kristie Perez!

During her undergrad internship in Washington, DC, Kristie was asked to meet an injured veteran at Walter Reed Hospital. That one meeting turned into a friendship, and a full day by his side at medical appointments showed her the real needs in military care. It shaped her path to becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a private practice supporting veterans and first responders. Thank you Kristie for sharing your story with us!

Submit your Connection Story at the link in our bio to have your story shared on our social media. 💚📝

09/28/2026

Mark your calendars once again — October 7th! 📆

We are hosting another Social Health Listening Session, live and online. We want to hear YOUR voice. Community starts with conversation. 💬

No registration needed, join on zoom at the link in our bio! See you there. 🎙️💚

09/28/2026

📚 MSW students, this one’s for you.

Grad school is a lot. Join our confidential, virtual support group to connect with peers, share experiences, and find your people. 💛

🗓 Mondays | 12–1pm or 7–8pm CST
📍 5 virtual sessions starting Sept 28

Let’s talk, share, and grow together.
Link in bio to join! ✨

09/28/2026

Join Secure Families Initiative this week for a Back-To-School Summit.

You’ll hear from them at the summit. Get to know them first.

Meet Crystal Bettenhausen-Bubulka!

Crystal Bettenhausen-Bubulka is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, military spouse, and advocate at the intersection of mental health, social connection, and military family advocacy.

Crystal is the Founder and Executive Director of Strength in Service, a nonprofit providing mental health therapy, career mentorship, and social health advocacy for military spouses and military-connected families. Strength in Service is built on one core belief: community is not just a resource, it is essential to our health. Rooted in community, driven by connection.

Crystal has served as Region E Associate Director for NASW-CA and as a clinical and field practicum supervisor for master level social work students. She also serves as a Social Health Ambassador with the Foundation for Social Connection and has represented lived military experience on a World Health Organization Commission on Social Connection, bringing the voices of military families into critical conversations on public health.

Currently pursuing her Doctorate in Social Work at USC's Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, her research focuses on licensure barriers for military spouse social workers, career mentorship for future social workers challenged with professional isolation, and the role of social health in reducing mental health disparities in military communities. She is a proud 2024 Pat Tillman Scholar.

Crystal is married to a Navy officer with 32 years of active-duty service. Together they have three daughters and have lived across global relocations from Japan and Bahrain to Hawaii and California, navigating deployments and geographical separations along the way.

Her honors include the 2022 and 2025 Naval Base San Diego Military Spouse of the Year, the 2023 Red Cross Real Heroes Good Samaritan Award, and the 2025 Camp Pendleton/San Diego Mighty MilSpouse Award.

Watch her panel live:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1G3vC13xNh/