AIR DATE NOVEMBER 4, 2021
Title: Care for Our Military Members
In this episode of Emily Tells All, we show appreciation for the military families and provide resources for warrior care.
Guests and Locations
OC Mayor’s Veterans Advisory Council, Vice-Chair – Fred Robinson
Military Spouses Network, President, CEO, & Founder – Verenice Castillo
Our Veterans Deserve Care
Our military service members and their families make countless sacrifices and efforts to serve our nation. Today, I share my appreciation by providing valuable resources available in our community for active military members and veterans alike.
Hear from Sgt. Fred Robinson (Veteran Liaison at VITAS Healthcare and Vice-Chair of the Orange County Veterans Advisory Council) and Verenice Castillo (CEO of Military Spouse Advocacy Network).
Receiving Veteran Care
Veterans deserve all the resources and healthcare they need after a long life of service. And VITAS aims to do just that. VITAS Healthcare achieved the highest level of accreditation through the National Hospice Association Palliative Care and VA in 2019- a level five.
Sgt. Fred opens the conversation by explaining VITAS Healthcare and its support for military members.
“What we do is we educate on different resources and services that are available from VITAS Healthcare for veterans at the end of life. We meet the many unique needs that many of them have, so we can go ahead and make sure that we can bring more care and compassion and dignity to their ending,” he explains.
If you are a veteran in Orange County, Florida, you can also receive services from the County Veterans Service Officers. They provide resources and support for veterans: claim for compensation, claim from injuries while serving, and a range of benefits.
The American Legion has a program called “Project Vet Relief,” which helps with utilities and resources related to housing.
Valencia College has a non-recourse manufacturing program available for veterans.
Also, the VA (Veterans Association) is one of the largest groups you can join. And all you have to do is go to the VA in Orange County to enroll.
Military Spouse and Family Care
The Military Spouses Advocacy Network is a non-profit organization committed to creating stronger military families through education, empowerment, and support.
Their program provides peer-to-peer mentorship, as military spouses join together in a mentorship hub to ask questions and feel supported. Both active duty and veterans can join, and location is not a factor as MSAN is purely virtual.
Verenice explains, “We bring military spouses to join a mentorship hub. We trained other military spouses to become mentors and then bring other spouses under their wing and provide resources and support. Most of the time what they need is just an ear to hear them, a shoulder to cry on, and that’s exactly what we do here. We provide that kind of mentorship 24/7, anywhere in the world.”
Being a military spouse- and family- is challenging at times. The problem isn’t the lack of resources, but it’s about taking advantage of them or becoming aware they exist.
Verenice encourages military families to seek support and a shoulder to lean on.
“We’re all over social media,” she says, “We have our website, militaryspouseadvocacynetwork.org, and we have a mentorship hub. So, if you are a spouse in need of support, if you have a family member that is a military spouse and you know they need support, reach out to us.”
