VA question

My neighbor is having some troubles and I'm trying to help. I know next to nothing about the VA or what other kind of resources might be available to them. I thought I'd ask here because I know some of you all are pretty knowledge about these things.

I don't know the neighbors very well but they seem like good people. He's a disabled Vietnam veteran. Apparently quite recently he's taken a turn for the worse, physically and with dementia. She called this morning asking for help getting him up off the floor and back into bed. He didn't know who I was, and I could tell he was embarrassed at needing help.

She said she's asked the VA for help but didn't get anywhere, and they can't afford much otherwise. I told her we'd be glad to help her however we can but I think she's going to need more than that. Any ideas that I can give her to check into, resources for assistance she might not be aware of?

You have to approach the VA the right way. Call the patient advocate at your local VA medical center.

1. Does he have any rated disabilities from the VA?
2. If so what is his rating level?

fatelk
Does your locality have an "Office of/for the Ageing"? Here in NY each county has this with the responsibility of getting appropriate assistance to Seniors, VA qualified or not.
Thank you for your concern and being willing to get involved.

Contact the local American Legion and DAV. They are very knowledgeable about dealing with the VA.

Good advice both. Realize that VA quality varies from good to horrible. As with dealing with ANY government agency, persistance is the key. Took me 3 years to get my Agent Orange disability. The VA hopes you will die and they can get back to coffee and porn on their computers.

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Originally Posted by fatelk

My neighbor is having some troubles and I'm trying to help. I know next to nothing about the VA or what other kind of resources might be available to them. I thought I'd ask here because I know some of you all are pretty knowledge about these things.

I don't know the neighbors very well but they seem like good people. He's a disabled Vietnam veteran. Apparently quite recently he's taken a turn for the worse, physically and with dementia. She called this morning asking for help getting him up off the floor and back into bed. He didn't know who I was, and I could tell he was embarrassed at needing help.

She said she's asked the VA for help but didn't get anywhere, and they can't afford much otherwise. I told her we'd be glad to help her however we can but I think she's going to need more than that. Any ideas that I can give her to check into, resources for assistance she might not be aware of?

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The most important issue is does he has a service connected disability rating? And if so, what % is the rating?
Second, what type of help is she asking for?

the vet advocate at the hospital should be able to help, as can the veteran service officer for the county (usually located in or near the court house). D.A.V. , VFW, or American legion should be able to help out also. be aware dealing with the VA is dealing with the gvmnt, and can be frustrating to get where you want to go. if a door closes and its not to your satisfaction, regroup and attack from another direction.

Contact your VA County Service Officer, likely he will be in your county building.

Thats how I went about it, I was in within 3 weeks, course I had cancer at the time!

Thanks everyone. Honestly I don't know the answer to any of the questions, as I know almost nothing about these things. You've given me some good questions to ask though.

We don't know them well but it's sure hard to see someone go through what they're going through.

IMO the VA has to have a purpose before it can help. A general "can you help" question most likely will not result in anything.
Ask your neighbor specifically what help she is asking for. They will then tell her if her hubby qualifies for the care or service, or not.

If memory serves, you live in SW Washington but if you are close enough to the Seattle VA hospital, I would recommend a trip after talking to the DAV in your neighborhood as well. If your neighbor parks in the new high rise parking lot on the west side of the building, they should go in the main entrance and on the left, the American Legion and DAV have a post where they can give directions but if not manned, there are some enrollment offices a few steps in from the entrance on the right side. They should bring a copy of their DD-214. They should smile be of good humor since that attitude without demands will take them farther. Have patience, of course, with that or any other bureaucracy. The VA in Seattle has done right by me. Madigan south of Tacoma also has a VA facility but I know little of it.

I believe she needs someone to come in and help her with him a few times a week, or he'll have to go to a nursing home. My wife said that she told her that he was permanently disabled from a gunshot wound while serving in Vietnam.

I've written your questions and suggestions down for my wife to talk to her about when she sees her next. At this point I don't know what resources they have utilized or are aware of. I assume that being permanently disabled for most of his life he's pretty familiar with the system.

She told my wife that her biggest fear is that he'll be taken away from her and put in a home, because she can't take care of him by herself at this point.

If you feel that you are getting a runaround, contact your congressman- this initiates a "red folder" that makes things happen rapidly. I worked for the VA for 9 years before I retired and found most people to be very caring. The system is simply overwhelmed and you need to keep pushing.
Loren

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Originally Posted by quilbilly

If memory serves, you live in SW Washington but if you are close enough to the Seattle VA hospital, I would recommend a trip after talking to the DAV in your neighborhood as well. If your neighbor parks in the new high rise parking lot on the west side of the building, they should go in the main entrance and on the left, the American Legion and DAV have a post where they can give directions but if not manned, there are some enrollment offices a few steps in from the entrance on the right side. They should bring a copy of their DD-214. They should smile be of good humor since that attitude without demands will take them farther. Have patience, of course, with that or any other bureaucracy. The VA in Seattle has done right by me. Madigan south of Tacoma also has a VA facility but I know little of it.

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Thanks, but we're actually in Northwest Oregon, an hour from Portland. I assume they'll have something similar there. She took him to the VA doctor in Portland today; my wife helped her load him into their truck (I was at work). I'll pass on all this info and try to help them as much as we can.

if he is already in the system as disabled, only thing needs to be done is hunt down the right person to actually help.

Note: make sure she know the rules on elderly indigent financial rules. She does't want the gov. To take over their finances.

Check and see if your county has such a thing as a "County Veteran's Council". Look under the listings for your county's government listings in the phone book. Our county does and they were extremely helpful in getting things rolling for VA widow's benefits for my mother-in-law when she needed help. If not, local DAV, American Legion or VFW should have a "Service Officer" who can advise and help. Sometimes the "wheels" move slowly but there should be someone out there who can be contacted for advice and help. Good luck!