Disabled veterans qualify for aid to "age in place"

Stephanie Borden: Disabled veterans qualify for aid

It's heartwarming to live in a community that has wrapped its arms around soldier Corey Kent, contributing donations of cash, time, and building materials for a wheelchair-accessible home addition to maximize this brave soldier's ability to independently navigate the activities of daily living.

However, Corey Kent is not alone.

In Southwest Florida, there are many disabled veterans who deserve nothing less for their service in every U.S. war and conflict dating back to World War II.

Fortunately, the Veterans Administration offers a program that provides grants of up to $63,780 for qualifying disabled veterans to make their homes safe and barrier-free.

In many cases, these modifications make it possible for a veteran to "age in place" in the familiar surroundings or his or her home and neighborhood, rather than being forced to relocate to an assisted living facility or, eventually a nursing home, which is the fate of 59 percent of assisted living residents, whose median age is 86.9 years, according to The National Center for Assisted Living in Washington, D.C.

The VA supports aging-in-place not only for veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, but also for our young men and women whose deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan have been cut short by devastating injuries, including loss of limb, that would have killed them in previous conflicts.
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