Enhancing Caregiver Support

DAV is an organization that empowers veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity. Those words are more than just a powerful phrase. They are stitched into the fabric of our organization. From World War I to today, we proudly fight for the benefits, health care and recognition our veterans have already earned.

However, keeping our promise to America’s veterans doesn’t stop there. It’s past time to shine a brighter light and offer critical support to those unsung heroes who contribute so much every day to our community: veteran caregivers.

Last fall, I was immensely proud as we launched our newest program—DAV Caregivers Support. The program provides additional resources and continuity of support to the friends, family members and other loved ones who dedicate their lives to caring for their veterans. Attending to our wounded and ill veterans upon their return is a noble yet often thankless task. However, we at DAV are intimately familiar with the contributions veteran families make and the costs they face, particularly for those who wake up each day with a sole mission in mind: supporting their loved one who has been forever changed in service.

Now, it’s their turn to receive a helping hand.

Our new DAV Caregivers Support platform is powered by TCARE, which is a Service-Disabled Veteran- Owned Small Business founded by a DAV Patriot Boot Camp alum. It will provide veteran families with tailored assistance, including financial help, online resources to better understand their role as a caregiver and personalized one-on-one interaction from trained caregiver specialists. No matter where family members are on their caregiving journey, they won’t have to guess how to best care for their veteran.

Facts and figures of the millions of veteran caregivers may paint a broad picture of the landscape, but to understand the genuine cost of providing essential care, one only needs to look into the eyes of people like Yvonne Riley.

Her husband, Dave, an Army and Coast Guard veteran and DAV past national commander, became a quadruple amputee after contracting a rare bacterial infection that wreaked havoc on his limbs. For him, every day begins and ends with Yvonne’s assistance; in between, she provides near-constant support.

It is touching to see the care she extends to Dave and her sacrifice in doing so. But like millions of caregivers throughout the country, Yvonne views it as just another day of supporting her loved one. That humility, fearlessness and selflessness are why we must do what we can to make each day just a little bit easier. Military families are among the most visible when their service member is wounded and rightly receive the proper assistance they require. But that can quickly evaporate after transitioning back to civilian life.

But with DAV Caregivers Support, they won’t have to face it alone.

Visit https://rly.pt/DAVCaregiversSupport to learn more.