Land of the free, because of the brave is the ideology this great country was founded on. This holiday season, Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) salutes the service men and women who protect and preserve our ideals on the ground, at sea, and in the air.
All of our veterans face challenges as they return to society, and today’s wounded veterans are meeting extraordinary obstacles year round — including both physical and invisible injuries. WWP has made a promise to this generation of wounded service members to be there no matter how long or difficult their road to recovery. Our 20 programs are designed to fill gaps in service, providing much-needed support in the areas of engagement, physical and mental health, economic empowerment, job placement, and access to care and benefits.
As conflicts continue in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is more important than ever to keep the long-term needs of our warriors at the forefront of public mind. Looking to the future, we know these warriors will continue to need our support long after the conflicts end – especially those living with the most severe wounds of war. As part of our ongoing commitment to provide for those who have honorably served our country, Wounded Warrior Project has committed to meet both the immediate and long-term needs of those, who without the appropriate support, are most at risk for institutionalization. Because for many, sometimes the hardest fight comes after the battle.
The Independence Program is an innovative program, created to help warriors design their own path from surviving to thriving. Independence Program pairs warriors who rely on their families and/or caregivers because of moderate to severe brain injury, spinal-cord injury, or other neurological conditions, with a specialized case manager to develop a personalized plan to restore meaningful levels of activity and purpose into their daily lives. For many, this is an opportunity to participate in the types of daily tasks, and meaningful activities others take for granted.
Each warrior’s roadmap is developed to meet their own interests, goals for independence and quality of life, as are the resources brought to bear. The program is a team effort, bringing together the warrior and his or her full support team to focus on goals that provide a future with purpose – at no cost to the warrior and his or her support team.
In many instances, for the cost of one month in an in-patient institutionalized brain injury rehabilitation program, WWP’s Independence Program can provide a year’s worth of community-based support on a weekly basis to an individual warrior. Current rehabilitation programs typically invest heavily in the beginning of a warrior’s recovery, but not during the longest, most difficult and least supported phase of recovery, which begins upon the return home. For these warriors who are working through the compounding effects of both visible and invisible wounds, a long range, strategic plan for care and independence is needed.
No program currently focuses on a warrior’s day-to-day quality of life, or what happens in the future when their family caregivers may no longer be able to provide care, or when they are ready to try to live more independently. Until now.
Launched spring of 2014, the Long-Term Support Trust ensures services including life-skills training, home care, transportation, and additional resources remain available to the severely wounded who, upon the loss of their caregiver, are at risk for institutionalization. Through the Trust, resources are available to supplement current services and benefits the warrior may be receiving.
Established to empower each warrior to live as independently as possible, with the highest quality of life and the finest, most compassionate care, the Trust provides families with access to secured funding allocated to supplement the costs of up to 20 years of support services. All funding is administered through advisory panels in consultation with individual warriors or their representative.
Through this focus on long-term care, WWP and its partners are stepping up to say we will be there to make sure our warriors are not only cared for, but also supported and provided opportunities to live life to the fullest. If we, as a nation, genuinely want to empower a generation of warriors, and provide those with the greatest need opportunities to define what independence means to them, it will take community support and public responsibility.
Help us help more of these warriors in their new life-long battle.
To learn more, please visit woundedwarriorproject.org.
About Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP)
Wounded Warrior Project is recognizing its 10-year anniversary, reflecting on a decade of service and reaffirming its commitment to serving injured veterans for their lifetime. The mission of Wounded Warrior Project is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors. WWP currently serves more than 60,000 warriors and nearly 9,000 family members through its 20 unique programs and services. The purpose of WWP is to raise awareness and to enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured servicemen and woman aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. WWP is a national organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. To get involved and learn more, visit woundedwarriorproject.org.
