Veterans ombudsman says more ex-soldiers will need assisted living help

Hiya bog6,

Not sure if this helps. Was posted earlier here...  
https://csat.forumotion.com/t4055-grounds-maintenance-housekeeping

5. How is my housekeeping/grounds maintenance grant calculated?
The amount of your Housekeeping and Grounds Maintenance grant is calculated based on your level of need and the going rates for the services in the area in which you live, up to the maximum annual amount. These rates are based on a review of costs of these services across the country, and the labour market index. This chart shows the costs of these services in 2017.

http://www.veterans.gc.ca/pdf/rates/vip-nat-rat2017.pdf

I just finished asking for an increase I am DEC with PTSD and home alone, my spouse leaves daily to school in another city to better her education. I asked for enough for house cleaning so we could get assistance twice a week and enough to cover snow plowing for the season.

VIP representative was filling in blocks in the PDF form with answers i provided to him and he told me NO increase for house keeping but he could increase ground maintenance by 18 dollars. I said "18 dollars for the six months" he said well every little bit helps....

I replied, Thank you, have a great day...

Really.....

Better than nothing i guess

How's that Vet1234 ?

I've had VIP for 2 years and they only inquired once if I needed a grant top up.
Perhaps it depends on ones type of injury ?

VIP parameters may be different for say... PTSD versus a spinal cord injury?
I don't know...

Perhaps a case in point how all our sit's may be different . . . and yet, we're still all in the same damn boat.

i just went through this twice. i received my VIP for only 6 months and then need to apply again. its bullshit

Elderly veterans program has rules 'too complex and difficult' to understand, says report by Guy Parent

By Murray Brewster, CBC News Posted: Oct 17, 2017 5:00 AM ET Last Updated: Oct 17, 2017 5:00 AM ET



Canada's veterans ombudsman is calling on the Liberal government to make support and care for elderly ex-soldiers more comprehensive and less confusing.

Guy Parent's office released a report Tuesday that examines the federal programs meant to help aging veterans remain in their homes long past retirement.

The analysis concluded the existing Veterans Independence Program, which helps defray the cost of housekeeping, yard work and other small contracted expenses, may be "inadequate" in the coming years.

The concern is particularly relevant as military baby boomers — those who participated in Cold War and peacekeeping operations — enter retirement.

The report predicts the veterans affairs department will begin to see the major demographic shift — towards newly retired veterans — as soon as 2021.

There are currently 56,095 veterans receiving independence services and the department forecasts that will decline as Second World War and Korean War veterans pass away.

But Parent suggests the need will still be there and that access will be more difficult.

Eligibility criteria 'often too complex'

The independence program's existing "eligibility criteria are often too complex and difficult for veterans or their family members to understand," said the report, an advance copy of which was obtained by CBC News.

Parent said the rules need to be "transparent, understandable and based on the physical and mental health needs of the veteran."

Perhaps most disturbingly, Parent found entitlement to the program is often dictated by the "type of service rather than need."

For example, the report said, the current program will pay for someone to prepare meals for elderly and disabled ex-soldiers, as long as the person demonstrates no one else in the home is capable of doing it.

The yardstick seems to be that if a relative can do the work the independence program will not pay for outside help.

"Rather than recognizing the origin of the disability in service, and therefore covering what would normally be the veteran's share of these tasks had the disability not occurred, [Veterans Affairs Canada] has decided that an informal caregiver should take on this added burden," said the report.

Among the ombudsman's seven recommendations is the introduction of an additional benefit that would subsidize assisted-living options for ex-soldiers who cannot remain in their own home, but do not qualify for regular long-term care.

The Veterans Independence Program became a lightning rod in the final few years of the former Conservative government's mandate after it was revealed severely disabled soldiers — some of them missing limbs — had to requalify for the program every year and repeatedly prove their disability.

The former Conservative government introduced changes that mandated that a review take place every three years, as opposed to annually.



http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/veterans-assistance-program-1.4357398



The report: Continuum of Care: A Journey from Home to Long Term Care

http://www.ombudsman-veterans.gc.ca/eng/reports/reports-reviews/continuum




Cheers