Phoenix VA provides support for caregivers at annual resource fair
By Stephen Woolverton, Public Affairs Specialist
At the Phoenix VA caring for Veterans includes supporting those who care for Veterans.
It is both an act of love and an act of service to care for a Veteran who has medical needs that require at-home full-time or part-time care. Those who step up to become caregivers are often wives, husbands, sons, daughters, or other relatives or close friends to the Veteran.
“The Caregiver and Family resource fair provides veterans, caregivers, and their families an opportunity to find a variety of these resources, in one place, to make this goal a reality,” said Ashley Adams, caregiver support program coordinator.
Unfortunately, it is often that these caregivers don’t know about the support programs offered to them from the Phoenix VA and community partners. This is an issue that the annual Phoenix VA Caregiver Resource Fair and Summit hopes to address by holding this annual evet.
“Many Veterans want to live at home for as long as possible,” said Adams. “This may include the assistance of a family caregiver as well as VA or community resources.”
This year’s resource fair brought together nine programs offered by the Phoenix VA as well as programs offered by 11 community partners to the Phoenix 32nd Street VA Clinic, so that Veteran caregivers could learn that there are many different opportunities to help them.
“This is great. It’s very informative,” said Judith Wheatley who is the wife and caregiver for Army Veteran Richard Malone. She and her husband live in West Virginia, but she was in Phoenix for her granddaughter’s graduation. “After I landed, I got a text message from Annie saying this was happening. I had some extra time, so I thought I’d come.”
Phoenix VA programs attending this event were Caregiver Support Program, Caring for Older Adults and Caregivers at Home (COACH), Community Nursing Homes (CNH), Adult Day Health Care (ADHC), Recreation Therapy, Suicide Prevention, Military Sexual Trauma/PTSD Clinical Team, Intimate Partner Violence Awareness Program, and Post 9/11 Military 2 VA. Thank you to those community agencies who partnered with the VA for this event were Vet Center, Arizona Caregiver Coalition, Brain Injury Alliance of Arizona, Dementia Friends Program / Banner Alzheimer's Institute, Duet, Hospice of the Valley/Dementia Campus, American Parkinson Disease Association, DES, AZ Long-term Ombudsman Program, Ability 360, Sun Health Center for Health and Well-Being.