Originally called Decoration Day when it was created at the end of the Civil War, we now know this holiday as Memorial Day. It’s a time to place flowers on graves, attend parades, ceremonies and events to honor our real heroes.
We remember the debt we owe our military, and are pleased that a fairly new program that benefits veterans of all ages, all wars, is becoming so successful.
Last year, Southern Maine Agency on Aging created a new resource specifically for military veterans. Veterans Helping Veterans, or Vet to Vet, is gaining in popularity.
Volunteers – men and women who have served or are currently serving in the military – are making a huge difference in the lives of older veterans and veterans with disabilities through SMAA’s Vet to Vet project. Trained Vet to Vet volunteers visit with veterans in their homes at least twice a month, swapping stories, providing much-needed companionship, and developing a bond strengthened by their shared military service and common interests.
For the veterans who receive visits, the Vet to Vet project has meant they have someone to talk to, a friend who can share stories and spend time with them, easing the isolation many have felt as their friends have died or moved away. For some, it may be the first time they have been able to talk about their war experiences.
Because they are veterans, too, the volunteers already have common ground with the veterans they are visiting. The veteran pairs may go out for coffee or lunch, participate in activities and interests they both share, or simply sit and talk.
Vet to Vet volunteers link veterans to services and programs of the Southern Maine Agency on Aging and other social service organizations, Maine Veterans Services, and the VA when needed.
Applicants for these visits must be an aging veteran or a veteran of any age with disabilities who lives at home in York and Cumberland counties, male or female.
The Vet to Vet program provides a meaningful volunteer opportunity for veterans wanting to have a more fulfilling life and looking for ways to help other veterans. For the veteran volunteers in the program, the experience has been life-changing. Most have said they are getting as much out of the program as the veterans they visit.
Those interested in becoming a Vet to Vet volunteer must have served in the military. This includes reserves, Merchant Marine, and all other branches of the service, combatant and noncombatant. Volunteers commit to visit a veteran in his or her home at least twice a month for a year. Volunteers receive training in communications skills, social services available for veterans, and other pertinent information.
For more information, contact Sue Gold, program coordinator, 396-6521, or sgold@smaaa.org.
Kay Soldier welcomes reader ideas for column topics of interest to seniors. She can be reached by email at kso48@aol.com, or write to 114 Tandberg Trail, Windham, ME 04062.
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