Wounded Warrior Project Announces $30 Million Commitment for 2014 to the Long-Term Support of Post-9/11 Wounded Warriors
Funding will safeguard care and support as veterans and their families confront long-term needs and goals
Jacksonville, Fla. (Dec. 18, 2013) – Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) today announced a $30 million commitment to cover both the immediate and long-term needs of 250 of the most severely wounded warriors who without this funding are most at-risk for institutionalization.
Provided by generous donors across America, this 2014 funding will serve as the model for the decades of support WWP is prepared to provide the most vulnerable warriors of this generation to ensure they are able to live as rewarding and independent a life as possible.
"If we, as a nation, genuinely want to empower a generation of warriors and provide those with the greatest need opportunities to define what independence means to them, it will take community support and public responsibility," said Steve Nardizzi, executive director of WWP. "For these warriors, a gap exists between the current support structure and what will be needed over a lifetime. This funding is just the start, and we hope to expand the program over the years to serve the thousands of warriors who could benefit from greater independence."
The 2014 funding will serve 250 injured warriors and their families through two separate initiatives – the Independence Program and the Long-Term Support Trust.
The Independence Program works with service providers in each warrior's own community to assist in identifying and achieving individualized goals to restore meaningful levels of activity and purpose into their daily lives.
The Trust, launching in spring 2014, provides a dedicated funding source to ensure that those warriors with the greatest need have access to quality supports and services in the least isolated setting possible after their family members or caregivers are no longer able to provide it. This year, the fund's first in existence, will see up to 40 warriors enrolled in the Trust where they will receive access to secured funding allocated to cover the costs of up to 20 years of support services designed to keep these most vulnerable warriors in their homes, or the least restrictive settings possible. All Trust funding will be administered through advisory panels in consultation with individual warriors or their representative.
The Independence Program pairs a specialized case manager with the warrior and family to develop a personalized plan that targets the warrior's needs or interests. For many, this is the opportunity to participate in the types of daily tasks and meaningful activities many people take for granted. Each warrior's roadmap is developed to their own interests and goals for independence and quality of life, as are the resources brought to bear.
Current rehabilitation programs typically invest heavily in the beginning of a warrior's recovery from traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury or other neurological conditions, but not during the longest and most defining phase of recovery, which begins upon the return home. For warriors working through the compounding effects of both visible and invisible wounds, a longer range, more strategic plan for care and independence is needed. In many instances, for the cost of one month in an inpatient institutionalized brain injury rehabilitation program, WWP's Independence Program can provide a year's worth of community-based support on a weekly basis to an individual warrior.
"We have warriors transitioning home from rehabilitation programs, who are in their 20s and 30s with decades of life ahead of them,” said WWP Senior Program Specialist Anna Frese. “No program currently focuses on their day-to-day quality of life, or what happens in that future when their family caregivers may no longer be able to provide care, or when they are ready to try to live more independently. We're stepping up to say we will be there not only to make sure you are cared for but supported and provided opportunities to live life to the fullest.”
About Wounded Warrior Project
Since 2003, Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) has been meeting the growing needs of warriors, their families, and caregivers — helping them achieve their highest ambition. Learn more.