JR Fujita
As we age, many of us hope to remain in our own homes for as long as possible. We appreciate our independence and living in familiar surroundings. But remaining in our home as we age often requires home modifications to maintain our health and safety. For veterans, this task may be more difficult to navigate — but resources are available to assist.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and other organizations offer valuable resources to veterans who have mobility challenges and require home adaptations to suit their individual needs.
In response to the VA grant programs offering more than $150 million in funding each year, AARP has recently released a new Veterans Home Modification Benefits Guide to help connect veterans and military families with financial assistance programs to help them modify their homes.
The guide helps families navigate eligibility requirements and better understand how to access these well-deserved benefits.
Resources are available for home health and safety modifications. (Photo: AARP)
The VA offers a variety of home modification and adaptative measures tailored to the needs of qualified individuals. Eligibility is based on service-connected disabilities such as loss of use of limb(s), visual impairments, severe burns, respiratory issues or other chronic illnesses.
Veterans may qualify for special circumstances such as recipients of the Purple Heart or Medal of Honor and former prisoners of war. Those below a certain income level determined by the VA may also have additional options. The grants provide money for home construction or modification for eligible veterans.
Some modification projects may include improving access to lavatory and sanitary facilities such as for bathing and hand washing, installing grab bars in the bathroom and entry/exit points, improving entryways to the home via paths and/or driveways with ramps or other assistance devices or updating plumbing or electrical systems to support medical equipment in your home.
Although both of my grandfathers who served in the U.S. Army have passed, I am excited that this guide is available today to help others live more comfortably and safely in their own homes.
If you are a veteran or have a veteran in your life, I hope you will read the guide. To access a digital copy, please visit www.aarp.org/veterans.
JR Fujita is a community outreach and engagement manager and is the lead staff for the California Veterans and Military Families initiative for AARP. He is based in Sacramento, Calif.
