Aging Veteran Services Kelly

Breshears

causing him to fall and injure himself often, he agreed a placement in an assisted living facility would be best for him.

Today, Joe is still living in the assisted living facility. He has staff there who ensure he is able to get to medical appointments as well as looking after all his other needs. He is no longer a victim of financial fraud and abuse. Even though his cost of living has increased, with the help of ODVA, Joe has been able to save approximately $20,000 now that scammers no longer have access to take advantage of him. Joe is a true example of a success story and what can happen when agencies come together to find a solution.

Volunteer Program:

In 2022, the ODVA Veteran Volunteer Program had 15 active volunteers who logged a total of 198 hours and spoke to 1510 veterans and dependents. So far this year from January 1st through May 9th we have 84 volunteers who have logged a total of 610 hours and have spoken to 2,737 veterans and dependents. All 84 of these volunteers have completed their formal training and passed an extensive background check.

Here is just one story of a volunteer who through her efforts has made a difference in many veterans’ lives. Although we have changed her name for privacy purposes, Jane’s service in the program has had a ripple effect, reaching far more veterans than she herself has spoken with.

Jane has been working as a Veteran Volunteer in Clackamas County since the inception of the program in 2018. She was a member of the pilot project that we first put in place to test some of our programmatic assumptions. Her husband was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. As she worked with other Veterans and they gained access to benefits for hearing loss and other service-connected disabilities, her husband watched, and waited. Like many veterans of his era, he has long harbored a negative image of the Federal VA and was apprehensive about the volunteer program as well. Through watching his spouse work with other veterans and hearing about success stories firsthand, Jane’s husband finally applied for hearing loss and was granted 10% service-connected disability. He has now become more involved in trying to obtain additional benefits that have laid on the table for nearly 50 years.

Due to Jane’s hard work and some amazing Veteran Service Officers in Clackamas County, her husband is now 70% service connected and on his way to 100%. While monetary compensation does not fix the disabilities he has suffered, it does show some recognition and acknowledgment of the things he has gone through as a part of his wartime experience. Her