Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers offers Operation Family Caregiver
Operation Family Caregiver is an evidence-based program that has been proven to consistently achieve positive outcomes for family caregivers. The Program targets improving the family caregivers' problem-solving skills to lower depression, decrease health complaints, and reduce burden. Serving families in Georgia and through the United States, the 4 - 6 month coaching sessions can be delivered in-home, by telephone or via Skype, and is available FREE of charge to family caregivers of returning veterans dealing with traumatic brain injury (TBI), post traumatic stress, and physical disabilities. For an informational brochure,or to schedule a confidential session, click the link in the title. Or click here to go directly to the RCI Caregiver Support site.
Veterans find help for post traumatic stress through meditation
Veterans are returning in ever-increasing numbers, dealing with post traumatic stress, sometimes for decades after service. There is increasing evidence that meditation can be a powerful tool as complementary approach to healing. Here's an article from Huffington Post on this issue: Veterans Find Comfort In Meditation Therapy
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Updated information on benefits for Veterans and their CaregiversHere's the most recent update of all kinds of helpful information for Veterans and their caregivers along with links to additional resources. There are some exciting things happening to assist those needing care for traumatic brain injuries, PTSD, Depression and other care needs. Check out this excellent article from AgingCare.com here:
www.agingcare.com/Articles/VA-benefits-for-veterans-and-their-caregivers-136403.htm |
New Resources for Professional Facilitators Helping Veterans
Whole Person Stress and Wellness has published an award-winning book for professionals dealing with mental health, trauma, and stress in Veterans. This is an excellent resource for facilitators! wholeperson.com/store/veterans.shtml
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Check out the new Explore VA website:
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News for Caregivers of VeteransVeterans Can Receive Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Benefits
This article appeared at the AgingCare.com website with excellent information, contacts, links and help to find support for veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. in the article by Marlo Solitto, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is defined as "a mental health problem that can occur after someone goes through a traumatic event like war, assault, or disaster." Due to the severity of emotional problems that PTSD can cause, the Veteran's Administration (VA) enacted new regulations that classify PTSD as an injury, enabling veterans to receive monetary benefits, in some cases, and services or medications for the veteran and caregiver, in others. (To read the article, click the title link above...) |
Medical Foster Homes Provide for Care for Elderly Veterans in Private Homes
Did you know that the VA will pay benefits in certain circumstances for an elderly veteran needing extra care and assistance to live with a foster family?
In an effort to provide assistance to elderly veterans who can no longer safely live alone, but wish to remain in their community rather than in a nursing home, the Veteran's Administration now has a program for Medical Foster Care. Below is a link to a great article with detailed information and further links to the VA website for application information and qualifications. This is an excellent way to use resources in a cost effective manner, which helps our elderly veterans and families willing to bring them into their homes and hearts! It is a win/win for all involved and will potentially help to fill the growing need for care. VA Website information on Veteran Foster Care Medical Foster Care Option May Keep Elderly Veterans out of Nursing Homes |
Adam Burke, founder of Veterans Farm receives Presidential Citizens Medal
President Obama awarded Adam Burke the 2012 “Presidential Citizens Medal” February 18, 2013
U.S. President Barack Obama presents Army veteran and Veterans Farm founder Adam Burke with the 2012 Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation’s second-highest civilian honor, in the East Room of the White House February 15, 2013 in Washington, DC. ‘Their selflessness and courage inspire us all to look for opportunities to better serve our communities and our country,’ Obama said about this year’s recepients. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) |
New Projects for Veterans create reintegration, healing and life skills through farming
There are several exciting programs that are beginning to spring up around the country which offer excellent opportunities to veterans returning from war. The need for a way to reenter society, create business opportunities and also provide a livelihood which will assist in healing the wounds of war (and growing healthy food in the process!) makes these veteran's farm projects a perfect fit.
Take, for example, a very special veteran named Adam Burke, recently returned from combat. He suffered post traumatic stress disorder and was unable to either find a job or tolerate a “normal” indoor work situation, so he went back to his “roots” (very tiny pun intended) of farming by creating an organic blueberry farm in northern Florida. He put the blueberry bushes in 30-gallon containers, so that they would be accessible to disabled vets in wheelchairs and started a program to teach veterans how to grow blueberries. That vision has now expanded into a more formal training program offering returning vets a chance to not only make a living, but make a good life farming. In addition to the farm training, the veterans receive assistance in business planning and getting land to create their own farm. What a great win-win project! The veterans get time to heal their wounds of war while in the company of other vets who understand completely, learn new skills that are therapeutic for them, and make a whole new life that also benefits the wider community by producing organic food. The side benefits are also astounding because, as those of us who spend time nurturing growing plants for food and pleasure know — gardening or farming is healing balm to the soul, too. Take a look at the website created to support this very worthy project: Veterans Farm Also, check out a California Sustainable Farming Education and Business program for veterans called Archi's Acres. |
Special information for Caregivers of Veterans
In my experience, dealing with the Veterans Administration (VA), working through the rather confusing maze of paperwork, requirements, prerequisites and qualifications involved in securing benefits due a veteran can be a stressful and challenging undertaking, totally aside from your regular care duties. It is not for the faint of heart! I've been in your shoes, as the daughter of a WWII veteran, and I can tell you it is frustrating, time-consuming, and at times completely bewildering -- however, if you persevere and keep asking questions, you will eventually find it worth all the trials & tribulations of dealing with the bureaucracy. The hardest part is often getting reliable information as to what benefits the veteran is entitled to receive. There is a great deal of information on the VA website -(click here for current Benefits book) and it is available as a PDF file if you'd like to print it out. Have a ream of paper ready! It makes great reading for the insomniac.
If you are seeking resources to care for an elderly veteran, this page of the VA website has a great deal of helpful information about available services and financing them: http://www.va.gov/GERIATRICS/index.asp Also online, you can begin the process of making application for assistance by filling out the necessary, but I would strongly recommend finding a live human being in the system to help. They know how to navigate the obstacle course and they know "VA-speak", which is a particular dialect of government legalese. There were two such individuals along our 17-year journey, who were extremely helpful -- one was in the office of Disabled American Veterans. He helped complete all the voluminous paperwork to achieve a veteran's Aid & Assistance pension. The other was in the local county government Veteran services office and they provide the following services:
(I am not sure every county has this type of liaison, but if you can find help at this level it will save you a great deal of time & trouble.)
Honoring Our Heroes: Veterans Benefits
Each year, on the last Monday in May, America sets aside a day to honor the servicemen and women who died serving our nation: Memorial Day. We owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to these men and women who have given their lives for our freedom and safety. But this debt of gratitude extends to all those who served our country. One of the most profound ways to memorialize those who fell serving our country is to honor their surviving comrades— our veterans.
Benefits for Veterans
Veterans, and their families, risked much and sacrificed much, and are entitled to special consideration as they age. There are benefit programs through the Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA) that can help wartime veterans and their spouses pay for care, including assisted living, memory care and nursing homes.
Five Little Known Facts About Veteran’s Benefits:
1. The veteran does not need to have been involved in actual combat, only to have served during a period considered wartime. Wartime dates are listed here:
The Service Requirement
The foremost eligibility requirement is the service requirement. The veteran
must have served at least 1 day during wartime. The dates that the VA
considers wartime are below:
World War II:12/7/1941 through 12/31/1946
Korean Conflict:6/27/1950 through 1/31/1955
Vietnam War: 8/5/1964 through 5/7/1975, although veterans
who served in Vietnam itself ("in country") as early as 2/28/1961 may also
qualify.
Gulf War: 8/2/1990 to date to be determined by U.S.
government
Dates of service can be established from discharge papers. Copies of lost discharge papers can be requested from the National
Archives, or by calling 314-801-0800.
2. The approval process for VA benefits usually takes many months, but it pays retroactively. That means if an application takes eight months to be approved, the first award includes a lump-sum payment for the eight months that the application was pending.
3. Applicants 70 and over can request that the review process be expedited.
4. Those who intend to apply but don't have all necessary documents ready can submit a one-page form (VA Form 21-4138) to get the process started. Retroactive benefits will then be based on the date that this "intent to apply" form was received, rather than the date the final documents are submitted.
5. There are maximum allowable incomes for VA benefit applicants, but medical and personal care expenses can be deducted from applicants' overall income to calculate "countable income." Even applicants with above-average incomes may be eligible when medical and care expenses become high.
If you are seeking resources to care for an elderly veteran, this page of the VA website has a great deal of helpful information about available services and financing them: http://www.va.gov/GERIATRICS/index.asp Also online, you can begin the process of making application for assistance by filling out the necessary, but I would strongly recommend finding a live human being in the system to help. They know how to navigate the obstacle course and they know "VA-speak", which is a particular dialect of government legalese. There were two such individuals along our 17-year journey, who were extremely helpful -- one was in the office of Disabled American Veterans. He helped complete all the voluminous paperwork to achieve a veteran's Aid & Assistance pension. The other was in the local county government Veteran services office and they provide the following services:
(I am not sure every county has this type of liaison, but if you can find help at this level it will save you a great deal of time & trouble.)
- Filing claims for service connected disability and non-service connected pension
- Access to VA health care
- Certificates of Eligibility for VA home loans
- Information on Montgomery and Post 9/11 GI Bill requirements
- Survivor's benefits
- Burial benefits
- Dependent's education
- Headstones and markers
- Life insurance information
- Homestead exemptions
- Domiciliary and nursing homes
- Veteran's preference in employment
- Replacing military records
- Review of discharges
- One-time reissue of decorations
- Vocational rehabilitation
- Readjustment counseling
Honoring Our Heroes: Veterans Benefits
Each year, on the last Monday in May, America sets aside a day to honor the servicemen and women who died serving our nation: Memorial Day. We owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to these men and women who have given their lives for our freedom and safety. But this debt of gratitude extends to all those who served our country. One of the most profound ways to memorialize those who fell serving our country is to honor their surviving comrades— our veterans.
Benefits for Veterans
Veterans, and their families, risked much and sacrificed much, and are entitled to special consideration as they age. There are benefit programs through the Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA) that can help wartime veterans and their spouses pay for care, including assisted living, memory care and nursing homes.
Five Little Known Facts About Veteran’s Benefits:
1. The veteran does not need to have been involved in actual combat, only to have served during a period considered wartime. Wartime dates are listed here:
The Service Requirement
The foremost eligibility requirement is the service requirement. The veteran
must have served at least 1 day during wartime. The dates that the VA
considers wartime are below:
World War II:12/7/1941 through 12/31/1946
Korean Conflict:6/27/1950 through 1/31/1955
Vietnam War: 8/5/1964 through 5/7/1975, although veterans
who served in Vietnam itself ("in country") as early as 2/28/1961 may also
qualify.
Gulf War: 8/2/1990 to date to be determined by U.S.
government
Dates of service can be established from discharge papers. Copies of lost discharge papers can be requested from the National
Archives, or by calling 314-801-0800.
2. The approval process for VA benefits usually takes many months, but it pays retroactively. That means if an application takes eight months to be approved, the first award includes a lump-sum payment for the eight months that the application was pending.
3. Applicants 70 and over can request that the review process be expedited.
4. Those who intend to apply but don't have all necessary documents ready can submit a one-page form (VA Form 21-4138) to get the process started. Retroactive benefits will then be based on the date that this "intent to apply" form was received, rather than the date the final documents are submitted.
5. There are maximum allowable incomes for VA benefit applicants, but medical and personal care expenses can be deducted from applicants' overall income to calculate "countable income." Even applicants with above-average incomes may be eligible when medical and care expenses become high.