Your County should also have a VA agency. Call them and set up an appt. Have all your military discharge paperwork together. My Dad had everything in the same envelope they gave him when he was discharged in the 40s. I would also take your birth certificate and any other ID you have.
If you served during wartime, you may be able to receive Aid and Attendance for care needs you may have.
When we called for an appointment the representative told me everything we needed to bring and after that appointment we handled everything else by phone.
Many have already given great advice especially for financial help. To get started, it may not be required but it really helps to be enrolled in the VA Health Care system. We misunderstood this for a long time because we have good insurance and I did not want to give up my husband's current providers. I finally learned that you can keep your private providers and you only have to go for an annual checkup to stay current in the VA Health Care system.
That being said, there are so many benefits that I was not aware until I became involved in a non-VA support group with other caregivers and some were veteran families. VA benefits obviously vary depending on each individual's situation, but there are some that may be available to all vets. Sharing with other veteran caregivers in the support group was huge in becoming aware of items the VA provides and once I asked my husband's VA providers for what we needed we began getting them!
Incontinent supplies... pads/guards for underwear, briefs, pads for the bed. Nutrition supplies... Ensure, Boost, etc. Durable Medical Equipment... wheelchairs, bedside commode, etc. Hearing Aids and eyeglasses Respite Care... I get 16 hours a week where he gets help with showers, help to the bathroom and someone to stay with him while I run errands or even just to take a long undisturbed nap. Renovations... make bathroom more accessible
Basically anything you need, before you spend money ask the VA if it is something you are eligible. Once you are in the health care system you will have a social worker assigned to you that can be your go between to help you. So while you may be looking for financial assistance... consider all the caregiver products you are already using or may need. We still haven't received "financial" assistance per se but the value of all we have received has been a huge savings for us. Again... you need to request whatever you need as often many providers were not aware of all the available items until I asked if it was something I could get for my husband and they checked for me. If you are currently spending money on something used in caregiving... it may be something the VA will provide.
If this is for your dad... Get all the information you have and contact your local Veterans Assistance Commission. There is one in every County. Set up an appointment, if you can bring dad that would be good if not no worries. They will help you fill out any papers that need to be completed. They can help determine if there is what is called a "Service Connected Disability" and what the % is. A lot will depend on that. This service is FREE!!! You can also get the same FREE help going through "Your State" Department of Veterans Affairs. There are Lawyers and other "Services" that will do the same thing but they will charge you for the service. One good thing is that once you file the paperwork necessary benefits received will be RETROACTIVE to the date that you filed. If you have a VA near you they can also help fill out any paperwork needed. But I would start locally and contact the Department of Veteran Affairs or the Veterans Assistance Commission. Make a call and see who you can get into see first. You might be able to start much of the paperwork on line right now. The problems might be if you do not have all the paperwork necessary, you might have to contact one of the offices mentioned to get the papers you might need. Good Luck, don't give up. There are great advantages to getting into the VA system.
Almost every county in the country has a veterans service officer. They are usually county employees. Look to the county courthouse to get pointed in the right direction.
My husband applied on his own several years ago. He first searched the conditions he had and matched them up to the various risks, i.e., asbestos, agent orange, etc. You can do a web search and find out where the risks were prevalent; for my husband it was service in Vietnam and on board a ship. Once you gather all of this information, you then go through the medical records, correlating all of the medical conditions with your initial research. THEN you take this information to the VA who will try to put up every roadblock possible. If that doesn't work, then contact a VSO. My husband persisted and after a year, he won. Initially, the VA approved one disability at a time. In the end, he was categorized as 240% disabled and gets the full amount possible for his disabilities. Good luck!
There is very good information above but be sure to locate dad's discharge form DD214 and take his VA ID card when you apply. You will be requesting Aid and Attendance.
This process is quite lengthy and you may consider using a third party to help you navigate the process. I used American Veteran's Aid. It was recommended by the facility where dad's apartment was on a senior community campus.
I had no idea my mom was eligible. My stepfather had been in the army during wartime. She missed out on many years of monthly payments and really could have used the finances. After her stroke, I researched and went through a service. They took care if everything. There was trouble finding my dads DD 214, but they handled it. If you fill out paperwork yourself and mess up one thing, it could sit on someone’s desk for many months. My mom is now receiving payments. The cost was 99 dollars to register and they take the first 3 months payment if your loved one receives payment. They take nothing if loved one is ineligible.
There are also many Veteran Organizations that will also take care of everything for you and the service is free. You are definitely right in advising do not do it all yourself... it can save time filing appeals when you learn you did not complete all the forms properly the first time. We used the County Office of Veteran Affairs to help my husband file a disability claim for hearing and it was approved the first time.
Re: paying someplace $99 and them taking the first 3 months payments if someone is eligible—I would not advise this. I walked in to my local VA office and they helped me. It took almost a year for mom to receive her aid, and my mom was prioritized bc of her age, then 92. But the payments when approved were retroactive to the date of my filing a form—I will look it up—which staked our claim even tho filing was not complete. Go to your local VA office.
If you served during wartime, you may be able to receive Aid and Attendance for care needs you may have.
That being said, there are so many benefits that I was not aware until I became involved in a non-VA support group with other caregivers and some were veteran families. VA benefits obviously vary depending on each individual's situation, but there are some that may be available to all vets. Sharing with other veteran caregivers in the support group was huge in becoming aware of items the VA provides and once I asked my husband's VA providers for what we needed we began getting them!
Incontinent supplies... pads/guards for underwear, briefs, pads for the bed.
Nutrition supplies... Ensure, Boost, etc.
Durable Medical Equipment... wheelchairs, bedside commode, etc.
Hearing Aids and eyeglasses
Respite Care... I get 16 hours a week where he gets help with showers, help to the bathroom and someone to stay with him while I run errands or even just to take a long undisturbed nap.
Renovations... make bathroom more accessible
Basically anything you need, before you spend money ask the VA if it is something you are eligible. Once you are in the health care system you will have a social worker assigned to you that can be your go between to help you. So while you may be looking for financial assistance... consider all the caregiver products you are already using or may need. We still haven't received "financial" assistance per se but the value of all we have received has been a huge savings for us. Again... you need to request whatever you need as often many providers were not aware of all the available items until I asked if it was something I could get for my husband and they checked for me. If you are currently spending money on something used in caregiving... it may be something the VA will provide.
Get all the information you have and contact your local Veterans Assistance Commission. There is one in every County.
Set up an appointment, if you can bring dad that would be good if not no worries. They will help you fill out any papers that need to be completed. They can help determine if there is what is called a "Service Connected Disability" and what the % is. A lot will depend on that.
This service is FREE!!!
You can also get the same FREE help going through "Your State" Department of Veterans Affairs.
There are Lawyers and other "Services" that will do the same thing but they will charge you for the service.
One good thing is that once you file the paperwork necessary benefits received will be RETROACTIVE to the date that you filed.
If you have a VA near you they can also help fill out any paperwork needed. But I would start locally and contact the Department of Veteran Affairs or the Veterans Assistance Commission. Make a call and see who you can get into see first.
You might be able to start much of the paperwork on line right now. The problems might be if you do not have all the paperwork necessary, you might have to contact one of the offices mentioned to get the papers you might need.
Good Luck, don't give up. There are great advantages to getting into the VA system.
This process is quite lengthy and you may consider using a third party to help you navigate the process. I used American Veteran's Aid. It was recommended by the facility where dad's apartment was on a senior community campus.
It took almost a year for mom to receive her aid, and my mom was prioritized bc of her age, then 92. But the payments when approved were retroactive to the date of my filing a form—I will look it up—which staked our claim even tho filing was not complete.
Go to your local VA office.
See All Answers