SAIL Helps Vets Get Independent Living Funds

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Category: News

Created on Friday, 13 December 2024 15:04

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By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
    A federal program making thousands of dollars available monthly to help veterans live independently, paying for such things as in-home care, has only a handful of beneficiaries in Sitka.
    But a local nonprofit, Southeast Alaska Independent Living, says it’s always ready to help veterans connect to the funding they may be entitled to.
    SAIL independent living advocate Mary Sheehan says SAIL is in partnership with the Veterans Administration in a federal program, VOICE, that pays an eligible veteran about $1,400 to $6,100 a month for the goods and services that help them retain their independence.
    VOICE stands for Veterans’ Options for Independence, Choice and Empowerment.
    At present there are four beneficiaries in Sitka, and a few dozen around Southeast in VOICE, which gives the veteran a great degree of choice and flexibility in how they use the funds, Sheehan told the Sentinel.
    “The VOICE program is coordinated through SAIL and the VA, and the VA provides a budget for the veteran, which they can use to hire their own employees,” she said. “Oftentimes, it is people who are already taking care of them, normally family members or neighbors. And the beauty of the program is that the veteran gets to be in charge of their own care.”
    To be eligible, a veteran must be enrolled in VA healthcare and require a nursing home level of care.
    Sheehan aids veterans in navigating the system and securing VA assistance through VOICE.
    “In terms of getting enrolled in the program, I’m happy to help at any step of the way,” she said. “I’ve helped people go through these first steps, even though SAIL doesn’t join in until later. The veteran would go to their doctor at a VA approved hospital, which in Sitka would be SEARHC. They would then complete an assessment with their doctor, which goes over activities of daily living, like showering, changing, eating, those sorts of activities, and that form is sent to the VA. The VA then reviews it, makes sure that they’re enrolled in VA health care and that the veteran meets the standard of requiring help. Once the veteran is approved, the VA will give them a budget based on their assessment review, and then that’s where I step in.”
    One VOICE participant in Sitka, Keith Greba, broke bones in a fall last spring, and receives in-home care through the VOICE program following some help from SAIL. He has a 100 percent disability rating from the VA, and broke his back as a young man in service.
    He recommends the program highly.
    “I wanted to really encourage other veterans in the community, as they age and have certain disabilities, they can possibly qualify for assistance,” Greba told the Sentinel. Often the caregiver is the veteran’s spouse, “and it is really a burden on them,” he said.
    Greba, 71, is a Coast Guard veteran, and said his back injuries have hampered his artistic career.
    “I’ve been painting, I used to have a gallery downtown, but during COVID, everything was shut down,” he said. “We had the opportunity to go out to the cruise ship terminal to have a spot out there… Because of my physical condition I can’t really stand; I’m pretty much jacked up. But I’m still trying to get back into painting.”
    Greba is a watercolor artist, though he also dabbles in other media.
    His wife, Martha, used VOICE funding to hire a caregiver in their home after putting a hospital bed in the garage for Keith, as he could no longer walk up or down stairs. The couple first heard of VOICE from a nurse at SEARHC.
    “Through this program, we were able to get in-home health care,” Martha Greba said. “... Their goal is to keep a veteran home and not put them in like a nursing home, and so that’s how we’ve been able to use this assistance, besides hiring people to come up and help when it was critical.”
    Both Grebas expressed appreciation for Sheehan’s help.
    Sheehan said she helps veterans fill out paperwork and decide who to hire, and then checks in monthly on the budgeting.
    “It’s my job, along with the veterans, to keep an eye on that budget every month to make sure they’re on their spending track.” Most of the spending is for personal care, to help with bathing, laundry, making meals, and other activities of daily living, she said.
    Many beneficiaries are older, but younger vets can be eligible, too, Sheehan said.
    “Sometimes it is just the age that people are; they’re noticing the signs of aging, and that’s what’s causing them to join the program,” said Sheehan. “But other times, people may have an unexpected medical event, and that can cause people to use the program as well.”
    Veterans interested in the VOICE program can email Sheehan at msheehan@sailinc.org or call at 888-487-1029 for more information.