Getting certain accrued benefits for your disability claims as a veteran is your right. This is something you are entitled to without a doubt for all the efforts and sacrifice made to see that everyone sleeps peacefully without fear of attack on the nation. Losing a part of the body in the line of duty can be a lot to cope with, most people never recover from it. The country can only alleviate part of the pain by providing veterans some benefits. The issue comes when a veteran is unable to convincingly put to writing what he has lost and what kind of help he deserves.

Here are a few tips to bear in mind when you want to write that killer VA statement:

• While the VA Statement that will increase your ratings should be detailed, explaining the severity and impact of your disability, it should not be too long.
• Clearly state when the disability started and the present symptoms you experience. Add specific dates if you remember.
• Rather than trying to evoke pity, be factual and have evidence readily available to back up your claim.

Veterans are real life superheroes and deserve the best of treatments. In order to know how and what exacy you need help with, there is a need to let the rater know where the shoe pinches. A top notch VA statement will pull down the needed support faster because in that 3 -5 paragraph document, the reader will get a glimpse of your world.

Celebrating veterans is a duty of all whether you are in the military or not. Veterans Day is a day of honour and recognition for those most deserving of it. Both serving and non-serving veterans deserve all the appreciation for their sacrifices, timeless labour and several deprivations that come with the job.
How then should one ensure a fun-filled and memorable veteran’s day celebration for our living heroes?

● You should attend: it’s a special annual celebration hence your presence will go a long way to convey a message of love and support to the veterans. People go out sometimes for family get-togethers and picnics, so honouring veterans by showing up on their day to celebrate them would speak value and honour.

● Fly the country’s flag: whichever way you understand how to, a flag off for the sake of veterans on their day will be well appreciated and would also communicate to them that they are loved, honoured and appreciated.

● Support: there are countless organizations opened to donations and other services for the sake of honouring the veterans day, you could team up with anyone to donate cash and gifts.

● Drop a note: no matter how bad you are at writing, scribbling your gratitude on a card and sending it to a veteran on his day is a priceless gift. It sends a signal of deep appreciation down his marrows.

● A visit to a VA health care: checking up on veterans in the hospital as well and marking the day with them in that state is a great show of love and appreciation.

In the words of Roy Rogers, “we all can’t be heroes”, hence, it’s only fair to celebrate those who are in every way possible.

After spending months and even years in combat with national enemies facing the horror of war and the fear of death; it is not too much to take a few days to cool off and relax while unboxing surprise gifts. As a matter of fact, it is well deserved. Spending quality time with family and loved ones at Christmas, going on sightseeing, eating fine meals during Thanksgiving are the luxuries that most veterans have either been denied or can not afford.

When it comes to comfort and making fun memories with loved ones who are veterans, no one can put a price to that of course but some Veterans can not afford it.  Some organizations exist who have taken it upon themselves to shoulder part (or all) of the cost and responsibilities of affording veterans who have defended the country so fearlessly the opportunity to be pampered during holidays or to reach out to their loved ones  with gifts to remind them that they are not alone.  They are:

1. Operation Holiday Joy: They provide food, toys and presents to families of military personnel and their loved ones.
2. Veteran Service Organization: they offer diverse help to veterans to make their holidays enjoyable.
3. USO: this is the Santa for Veterans. They give out gifts, food and giveaways.

Final Note

You never have to have a boring holiday as a veteran or leave your loved ones without some presents while you are away during the holidays. Visit your VA headquarters to find out holiday treats near you for Veterans.

Benefits for Spouses of Veterans.

Marriage comes with a lot of responsibilities no doubt but marrying an active service member, a retired military personnel or a veteran can bring with it some extra responsibilities. You would have to deal with their constant absence and the ever looming shadow of death or an injury that changes your whole marital experience. The unpredictability of their profession can take a toll on anyone but it gets better!

When you know that there are benefits that you stand to enjoy as a spouse of a veteran, though it does not in anyway compensate for the actual loss,  you can heave sighs of relief without worrying so much about the future. These VA benefits seeks to alleviate the aftermath sufferings of spouses and families of Veterans and show gratitude.  There are different criteria that must be met to qualify for different benefits but they are not rocket science. Some of the benefits accrued to spouses of

Veterans include:

• Dependency and Indemnity Compensation: as a program under the Veteran Affairs, this supports spouses of dead or disabled veterans in the event of economic losses brought about by their demise.
• VA loans for homes: Spouses of Veterans can get VA loans to acquire homes as long as their veteran spouses died or suffered service-related injuries and disabilities.
• Healthcare benefits: this is about the most popular benefits spouses to living or dead veterans can enjoy. Healthcare benefits ranging from surgeries to drug prescriptions are covered by the VA.
• Educational assistance benefits: spouses caring for veterans can enjoy educational benefits too.

 

Final Note

Being a spouse of a veteran whether dead or alive qualifies you for some benefits. You can visit appropriate VA quarters to find out the steps to take to begin enjoying benefits that are due to you.

In the spirit of the season, our dedicated team at Gumps Legal has compiled a list of deals, giveaways, and discounts for veterans and active-duty military members this holiday.

We are glad to bring you a resource guide that will help you enjoy your holiday. However, keep in mind that most of the companies will require a means of identification or proof of military service.

2020 Holiday Deals, Giveaways, and Discounts for Veterans and Service Members

Trees for Troops
Trees for Troops is a wonderful organization on a mission to extend the Christmas spirit to veterans, children, and the environment at large by delivering free and farm-grown Christmas trees to various places.

The Christmas-based organization delivers trees directly to various military bases across the United States.

You can check HERE for more information or contact your MWR office.

YMCA Operation Holiday Joy
YMCA is an amazing organization that gives out gifts and foods to junior service members and their families. The organization was founded in 2004, and more than 25,000 food baskets and 320,000 toys has been given out to service members and their families.

YMCA has different branches in various cities across the United States.

You check HERE to find your local branch

Operation Christmas Spirit
The Operation Christmas Spirit’s mission is to show gratitude and appreciate active service members for the sacrifices they make for the nation by giving them Christmas gifts.

The organization also has a program that give toys to children and an Adopt-a-family program.

Eligibility requirements:

• Rank of E1 to E5
• Any rank with four children and above.
• Any rank with proof of need.

Apply for Operation Christmas Spirit support HERE

Full Circle Home

Full circle home supports deployed service members by helping them send Christmas gifts to their loved one(s) back home.

If you are a deployed service member, click HERE to sign up and send a gift to that special person or people.

Veterans’ Service Organization

The local veterans’ organization are not left out too. They also support veterans and their families in various ways during the holiday. This includes grocery gift cards, Adopt-a-family programs, and toy drives.

You can check for your local VSOs HERE

Vietnam Era Navy Deck Logs

In a bid to ensure that disability claims are disbursed for Vietnam-era veterans, the Department of Veteran Affairs announced that they have successfully digitized thousands of deck logs from ships used during the Vietnam war which were stationed offshore. They were able to achieve this due to their collaboration with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Who worked closely with VA to discover locations of those ships and then digitize the deck logs recovered from the ships, all of which sums up to over 1,800 in numbers.

How The Digitization Helps Veterans

The information in these deck logs will help validate the claims made by the Blue Water Navy Veterans (those who were posted to serve on ships in deep waters off the Vietnam coast). So, these deck logs will help VA determine where the veterans served, the type of toxins they were exposed to, and also determine if they are eligible for VA disability benefits.

In a press statement made by the VA secretary Robert Wilkie, he said “the deck logs move should make it easier for veterans to receive the benefits they have earned without burdening them with paperwork”.

In the past, only Vietnam-era veterans that served within inland waterways or served on the ground could receive VA disability benefits based on an assumption of exposure to harmful chemicals. The veterans that served on ships offshore were not granted this same opportunity by Veteran Affairs. They were required to provide certain proof that the illnesses they experienced later in life were service-related, and they were also required to provide ship logs as a proof that they truly served in the waters around Vietnam.

Veterans Affairs Advocates clamored for years that the proof required was an unfair obligation on aging and infirm veterans. Now, lawmakers have finally agreed and passed legislation last year which instructed the Department of Veteran Affairs to update their decades-old records.

What Veterans Should Know

The collaboration between VA and NARA successfully digitized over 29 million images from the Coast Guard deck logs and U.S Navy dating back as far as 1956-1978. This provides vital information like date, ship name, and coordinates, which are enough to foster the VA internal processing system. It also ensures that the Veteran representatives have all the evidence needed to make a decision when a claim is filed.

The data obtained has also resulted in faster service for veterans as it has already assisted the VA in granting more than 22,524 claims since Jan 1, 2020. However, NARA has not finished their work yet, as they are still trying to make the newly-digitized records publicly available on the National Archives Website.

VA  officials have also advised veterans looking to file a claim to do so with the help of an approved Veteran Lawyer. However, if veterans or survivors have previously filed a claim and were denied, they can also file a supplemental file with the help of their VA Lawyer.

The military lifestyle has taught servicemen and women to be strong in battlefronts and expect the unexpected. Unfortunately, there is no training that teaches them how to handle life after they leave the military. For this reason, many veterans deal with a lot of crises and stress that their civilian family and friends can’t understand, and 95% of the time, these crises are usually due to experiences from their military years.

So, helping these veterans requires a deep understanding of what they are going through. They need to talk to someone who gets it or who has once been in their shoes, and a veteran community is precisely what they need to scale through a crisis.

Below are some of the benefits of community support for veterans in crisis:

• Access To Top-Notch Care

Veteran communities help veterans get the medical care they need by connecting them to the health services based on their unique needs.

• Helps Identify More Veterans In Crisis

Many campaigns and programs have been carried out in the past to create awareness and also identify veterans in crisis. Some of these programs have been effective, while some are not.

Fortunately, veteran communities have been able to identify veterans in crisis with the help of social media. Once they find a veteran in crisis, they immediately appoint another veteran in that area to care for the veteran in crisis.

• Restrict Access To Lethal Equipment

Veterans find it difficult to give up their weapons, and research shows that this is the most common tool veterans use to commit suicide.

So having a supportive community that can be trusted with their weapons will help reduce suicide rates.

Final Note

There are lots of veterans out there that have lost their sense of meaning and can’t figure out their life after the military.

So, if you know a veteran in crisis or you are a veteran in crisis, you can try connecting with other veterans in real life or social media, seek out faith-based communities, reach out to mental health experts at the VA hospital, and also apply for VA benefits available through the Veteran Affairs Department.

 

The VA Department provides some benefits to assist families of disabled veterans. This help can help reduce the responsibilities of veteran families if they are informed and know how to apply for them.

Supports Provided For Disabled Veterans Spouses

• Monetary Benefits

Veterans that have been previously allotted a rating of 100% for their service-connected disabilities are qualified for some specific payments, which will be given to their spouses and children. Some of these payments are granted automatically, so there will be no need to apply for them.

The payments include:

• A spouse that has no child will be given $150 per month
• A spouse that has a child will be given $259 per month
• Then an additional $75 per month will be given for each child
• Medical Benefits

The family could also be eligible for health care benefits via the Civilian Health and Medical Program (CHAMPVA).

Medical care that spouses and children can get include; medical equipment, mental health care, prescribed medications, and nursing care. However, all the children must be below 18 years of age or 23 years of age but still in school.

• Educational Benefits

Families of disabled veterans don’t need to place the veteran care above their children’s education. The Department of VA will assist by providing reimbursement for up to 3 years and nine months for each of the children. Spouses can also use this compensation for further studies.

• Government Offered Benefits

The state government where the spouse resides may also provide additional assistance like employment, exemption from paying property tax, and free counseling. However, the benefits vary based on state, so it’s advisable to confirm from your State’s Veteran Affairs Department.

How To Apply For The Veteran Affairs Disability Compensation For Spouses

Some benefits would be automatically sent to you if your spouse’s disability was rated 100%, while some benefits will be given only after your application has been approved. The application process can be daunting, but the team of VA lawyers at Gumpslegal are ready to work with you to ensure you and your family get all the benefits you are qualified for under the law.

As a veteran, if you sustained disabilities from service that is preventing you from getting employment, thereby unable to take good care of yourself, then you can qualify for VA compensation from the Department of Veteran Affairs.

However, to qualify for this unemployability compensation, you will need to establish beyond sustaining a service-connected disability. You also need to confirm that the disability is truly stopping you from getting a good-paying job.

Income Limits For Veterans That Want To Apply For The VA Unemployability Compensation

The following are the income limits that will qualify you for an Unemployability Compensation from the VA Department;

• You are presently not working and cannot work due to the disability you sustained in service.
• You are currently employed, but your earning is below the poverty level.
• You are employed, but in a sheltered position, i.e., you have accommodation from your work due to your service disability.

If any of the points listed above apply to you, then you may receive the unemployability compensation.

What Kind of Compensation Will I Recieve From The VA?

• Healthcare
• Cash compensation

 FAQs About The VA Unemployability Compensation

Q: Will my assets make me ineligible for the Unemployability compensation?

No. If you own a home or a car, this won’t make you ineligible, neither will it affect your VA rating.

Q: Will my job make me ineligible?

As long as you meet the limits discussed earlier, your job won’t count. However, some employed veterans may be denied a higher rate than veterans who can’t work at all. This is why you need to employ the services of a VA Compensation Lawyer.

Q: If I receive support from others, does that mean I have an income?

A lot of veterans with disabilities from service have to depend on family and friends for assistance. So, that won’t be considered an income.

Post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD) occurs when someone experiences a traumatic event such as the death of a loved one, assault, or accident. Most people usually have stress reactions after trauma. However, if the reactions don’t go away for long life and hinders the person from living the everyday life they used to live, that’s PTSD.

As a veteran, if you experience PTSD as a result of your service year in the military, VA compensation from the Veteran Affairs Department could be available to you.

When people talk about VA disability ratings, they only talk about the physical injuries attained from service year. They do not consider the mental health of our veterans, as PTSD is not easy to spot like an injury. However, according to a recent VA research:

• Up to 20% of veterans that served in operation Iraqi freedom suffers from PTSD
• 12% of veterans who served in the gulf war suffer from PTSD
• Up to 30% of veterans who served in the Vietnam war suffer from PTSD
• More than 15% of women in the military have said to be sexually abused at some point in their careers.

Symptoms That A Veteran Suffers From PTSD

PTSD can manifest in various ways, but below are some of the most prevalent symptoms;

• Frequently having nightmares about the event.
• Concealing the event and hates talking about it or doesn’t want people to bring it up.
• Always at alert for danger even when they are in a very safe place.
• Detaching themselves from friends and families and acting numb day-to-day.
• Avoiding situations that can remind them of the events by all possible means.

If you’re a veteran that has been showing these symptoms or if you know any veteran that has been showing these symptoms, get them to speak to a mental health expert without wasting time.

Tips For Increasing Your VA Compensation Rating

To determinate the amount of compensation you’ll receive, The Veteran Department will give your PTSD a disability rating between 0 and 100 percent. If you are rated 100 percent, you can receive up to $3,300 per month. There are various ways you can increase your VA rating, and they include:

• Include All Your Mental Medical Records On Your Application

Since PTSD can not be seen, the easiest way to show the VA Department you truly have it is through medical records. This can include private medical records and service treatment records.

The report also has to include medical reports from your active service year, proving that the event happened during your service, and you can’t function as you used to because of the symptoms.

However, most veterans can’t provide this. So statements from your colleagues who were witnesses of the traumatic events, statements from family and friends who know you well can explain how your behavior has changed since the event, and a statement from a psychologist using their expertise and experience to verify the extent of your PSTD will be great at that moment.

• Hire a VA Lawyer

Trying to navigate the VA compensation process on your own can be extremely difficult as various complicated rules are guiding VA compensations. An expert VA lawyer will know what to do with your forms and how to gather the necessary evidence. They can help you get the highest VA disability compensation rating possible and can also help if your application is denied.

By following these steps, you increase your odds of obtaining the maximum benefits you deserve under the law.

Also, to learn about how Gumpslegal can help you as an advocate for VA disability benefits firm, you can request for a free consultation here.