Volunteer quantity and quality can be excellent indicators of a community's capacity to support and empower its veterans. It was no surprise then that the Alaska Warrior Partnership (AKWP) team was able to coordinate four volunteers, within a matter of a few hours, to assist in moving an 80-year-old Army veteran from Wasilla to Anchorage.
Barbara* was recently diagnosed with dementia and had limited family support. With this new diagnosis, Barbara needed a higher level of care than her current independent community retirement facility could provide. That’s when the AKWP team received notice from Stephanie, a VA medical social worker/discharge planner at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Hospital (JBER), that Barbara was an elderly veteran that needed assistance moving her belongings into a new assisted-living home about an hour away.
After Stephanie and the VA coordinated Barbara’s new home and medical transportation, AKWP began searching for volunteers to move and transport her belongings. Within hours, AKWP found four volunteers delighted to assist this elderly veteran. This quick response and collaboration between the VA, AKWP, and community volunteers allowed Barbara a smooth transition and shorter hospital stay.
“Hi there! I just wanted to send kudos to AKWP for the fantastic job they did with a Veteran that was admitted to the JBER inpatient unit,” Stephanie said. “I can’t even begin to explain how appreciative the team at JBER has been of the teamwork we witnessed!”
*Barbara is an alias created to protect the identity of the individual.
Alaska is stronger when our veterans are stronger. Connect with AKWP to learn more about how you can give back to the Alaskan veteran community by visiting our website and completing an online form: alaskawarriorpartnership.org