Special Forces
Special Forces
3
3
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I am looking to help a veteran with expenses and get his brother who was hiking the Grand Canyon and fell 40’. He was brought to a trauma hospital in Flagstaff. The friend is from a military family. The goals are to help with expenses for the veteran and to get the hiker closer to family in Virginia. He is paralyzed from C4/c5 is currently breathing on his own and can communicate a little. Photos won’t upload tonight. I am writing a biography about the veteran. He’s got severe PTSD after watching his father executed, fleeing to the US with his mother and then going back with special forces. This community often resorts to humor and politics. It’s not the case here. I’m asking for ideas to move the paralyzed hiker to Virginia closer to family. I am also asking if anyone knows of any financial assistance the veteran can access while he stays by his side in Flagstaff. I have sent a small amount to cover a day. I would not ask if I could afford to pay everything. I told the special forces veteran I would reach out on his behalf for ideas. Please help. It is the veteran’s brother and I met him here in Kansas.
Hiking
Flagstaff
Special Forces
Afghanistan
Edited 17 d ago
Posted 17 d ago
Responses: 3
Kim, there are a couple of websites you can start with that might be able to point you towards resources that can assist your friend. These are starting points and in many cases will require further digging to see if the criteria that a particular organization has for giving a grant will fit the circumstances.
• DHA's Recovery Coordination Program hosts and maintains the National Resource Directory (NRD) which has many government and non-government programs to assist veterans and family members.
https://www.nrd.gov/
• The United Way maintains the nation-wide 211 program (i.e., 911 for emergencies, 211 for assistance and social services) which will connect you with assistance resources. 211 will be different entities for each state, but generally is a partnership between the state other agencies (for example, 2-1-1 VIRGINIA is a service of the Virginia Department of Social Services provided in partnership with the Council of Community Services, The Planning Council, the United Way of Central Virginia, and the United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg).
I think of 211 as the Military OneSource for everyone - https://www.211.org/about-us
• USA Cares has a program while will provide financial grants to post 9/11 veterans facing temporary financial hardships as a result of 'medical hardship' and also has many other potential resources
https://usacares.org/programs/
• Military Money maintains a list of resources that can assist a veteran financially depending on the situation they are facing
https://www.militarymoney.com/debt/financial-help-for-veterans/
I would start with the first two (the NRD and 211) as they will have an overview of the largest number of possible resources. After that, it will require digging to determine if there are 'unregistered' resources that can be accessed (this is where the websites like USA Cares and Military Money come into play).
You can see if there are government benefits or financial help available by going to https://www.usa.gov/benefit-finder. Usually these are much more formalized type of programs that will apply "down the road", but I would still plug in the information to see if anything shows up.
Finally, also tell your friend to read over the hospital's Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) (sometimes referred to as "charity care"). All non-profit hospitals are required by federal law to have one, but many states require it from all hospitals.
• DHA's Recovery Coordination Program hosts and maintains the National Resource Directory (NRD) which has many government and non-government programs to assist veterans and family members.
https://www.nrd.gov/
• The United Way maintains the nation-wide 211 program (i.e., 911 for emergencies, 211 for assistance and social services) which will connect you with assistance resources. 211 will be different entities for each state, but generally is a partnership between the state other agencies (for example, 2-1-1 VIRGINIA is a service of the Virginia Department of Social Services provided in partnership with the Council of Community Services, The Planning Council, the United Way of Central Virginia, and the United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg).
I think of 211 as the Military OneSource for everyone - https://www.211.org/about-us
• USA Cares has a program while will provide financial grants to post 9/11 veterans facing temporary financial hardships as a result of 'medical hardship' and also has many other potential resources
https://usacares.org/programs/
• Military Money maintains a list of resources that can assist a veteran financially depending on the situation they are facing
https://www.militarymoney.com/debt/financial-help-for-veterans/
I would start with the first two (the NRD and 211) as they will have an overview of the largest number of possible resources. After that, it will require digging to determine if there are 'unregistered' resources that can be accessed (this is where the websites like USA Cares and Military Money come into play).
You can see if there are government benefits or financial help available by going to https://www.usa.gov/benefit-finder. Usually these are much more formalized type of programs that will apply "down the road", but I would still plug in the information to see if anything shows up.
Finally, also tell your friend to read over the hospital's Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) (sometimes referred to as "charity care"). All non-profit hospitals are required by federal law to have one, but many states require it from all hospitals.
National Resource Directory Connects Wounded, Ill & Injured Service Members, Veterans, Their Families, and Caregivers with Those Who Support Them
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COL Randall C.
Maj Kim Patterson - Wow, I didn't realize that. If it is anything like Military OneSource (and from the descriptions I've seen about it, it is) then you rightfully should be proud of that accomplishment!
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I know nothing about this organization, just remembered a clip about it on our local tv awhile back. May be worth looking into in his situation. https://palservices.org/?origin=serp_auto
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