Veteran Care Insights with James DeVary | LIFE Conversations Podcast with Senior Helpers

Episode Transcript

Christina: Hello and welcome to Life Conversations with Christina Chartrand.

David: And David Chandler.

Christina: And I'm really excited about today because we typically, you know, are talking with so many people outside of our Senior Helpers family and organization. And today we get to talk to one of our business owners.

David: We do. And I also am really excited. We were chatting before recording this episode and you all are in for a special treat. We have Veteran James DeVary joining us. James, welcome to the show.

James: Well thanks guys, thanks for having me. I'm excited as well.

David: Absolutely. Why don't you share a little bit about yourself and how you served and how you got to Senior Helpers.

James: Yeah, sure. Um, I grew up in a, in a house where my brother had cancer. Uh, my mom was the primary caregiver. So my brother is one of the oldest surviving patients from St. Jude's. Um, so, you know, with a great care team and plan and technology at three, he was given a couple hours to live. He's 48 now. Um, so that's kind of where I got aware of caregivers, but it was always the church. Um, and then I circle back to that later in life, but, um, went to school— Wasn't for me college wise ended up in the military. So I served eight years, uh, went to Afghanistan in 2002 and then Iraq in 2004 to Oh five. Um, and then moved out to Arizona and was talking to a neighbor and he explained to me, he had to pay someone to come watch his wife who had dementia. And it just made so much sense for me and my wife. We wanted to get back in the community and provide for our family. And we thought Senior Helpers was just a great company for the amount of research they put out to their franchise owners to be a part of the team.

Christina: That is wonderful. And how long have you owned your business?

James: So August will be our two year anniversary. So we opened our doors December 19th, but of course we had to do ramp up and training. So we bought the territory in August and then we opened our doors December of 2023.

Christina: So one of the sports for this month, we're celebrating Veterans. And this was one of the reasons that, you know, we thought about you being a part of this episode today. And so that we really want to talk and have a conversation around caring and serving for Veterans. So tell us a little bit about your experience so far.

James: Yeah, it's been great. You know, I've had many conversations with David and my coach, Jennifer, on just teaching me the business, right? Growing up in a household with a need, you understand you need compassion. It's frustrating sometimes and you know, you can get wrapped up in your own world. So knowing that aspect and having a bit of understanding there was one thing, but no, as in all the company has just been so supportive. So we've been extremely happy and we've, we do our best to try to take advantage of everything.

Christina: That's really great. So tell us a little bit about the Veterans that you serve. Because obviously in our business, we are open to obviously to be supporting and helping all seniors. But I know it's probably special in your heart to reach out and be able to support Veterans in your community. So share us a little bit how you've tapped into that.

David: Thank you.

James: Sure. Um, it's a, it's a passion thing for me again, coming home from Iraq in Oh five, uh, lost a lot of friends over there. So I learned through the past 20 years that, you know, my getting through my survivor guilt was helping others. Um, so that's how we got into the Veteran space. I've just been volunteering with wounded athletes that are Veterans for so many years.

I've been part of New York City Veterans Day Parade for probably 15 years now. So we just kind of brought what we were doing back East to our model here. So now we're doing community events, coffee meetups, Veteran day events. So yeah, it's kind of things we were doing, you know, just as volunteers now we're still doing them, but we could possibly make revenues off of it. And if we don't, we're still part of the community and we're enjoying it.

David: Yeah, I love that. And James, can you share with us, there's so many opportunities that I don't think our Veterans are aware of to receive care. Can you share about those with our Veterans and what your experience has been with that and how they can also learn more information?

James: Yeah, definitely. I recommend everyone connect with the state that they're in. A lot of things change almost monthly. So with that being said, a lot of individuals maybe a year ago or five years ago or 20 years ago tried to get into the VA system. They were rejected. A lot's changed. There's now ways for Veterans can get in regardless of your income. And then as far as senior helpers and what we can do.

There's many different benefits. There's probably six different benefits as far as providing a caregiver to the Veteran or the family that the VA will pay for. There's no income requirements. Again, it could be whether it's a respite benefit for the spouse, could be a situation where if the spouse is the primary caregiver, she could get paid for her care and then the VA would pay a professional caregiver to give her respite.

You know, there's quite a few different benefits and the VA has done a fantastic job in my opinion to provide this support. But I think it's up to us in the community to teach these Veterans how to get those benefits.

Christina: Yeah, I'm definitely going to agree with that. I just feel like there's a lot of Veterans who don't even know about it, don't even know where to start, you know? Where would you suggest for them to start? Like, is it on a website? Is it a location? Just like open the door and to start figuring out in their community.

James: Yeah, great question. And, you know, I think it's very state specific. You know, some places are a little bit more Veteran friendly than others. For us, you know, I've made some great connections at the state. So I work with state employees that are paid for by the state to do and help the Veteran do the paperwork. Right. It is it's a lot. It really is a lot. If you're not in the system, it could be a four month process. If you miss one one period.

They're going to deny you, you're not going to know, and then you got to start that whole process over. So I always recommend work with a certified Veteran service officer, connect with them and follow that path.

David: That's great advice. James, do you have any specific stories, anything that stands out in your mind, a Veteran that you've gotten to know during your time at Senior Helpers? I know we've talked about a couple and I just, I love hearing your stories. Do you have one that you could share with us?

James: I've probably got a million. So, yeah, we've, you know, we right now we're caring for a World War II Veteran Marine. We've cared for one individual. He's Korean War. We recently lost him. But like true hero, I was in the infantry. This guy was in the trenches in Korea. Like just to hear his stories are just to me, it's just amazing. Right. Everyone's got their journey through war.

David: I know, I know it, I know it.

James: Right. But to hear these guys that really didn't have the technology and the equipment that we had and they were put overseas. I mean, just true stepping stones. So yeah, it's pretty, pretty amazing to get to meet these real, in my opinion, these real heroes and just learn about them and listen to them. And a lot of them enjoy talking to us, whether it's another Veteran or just someone that's going to listen to them. Cause they just want to remember those days when.

They didn't really need somebody outside of the guy to the right or left of them with the other weapon.

Christina: Interesting, like kind of on the same topic, have you run into someone who, you know, maybe during their wartime experience, they came home and they went back to civilian life and everything was normal and didn't really have an opportunity to talk about it because no one was talking about it. They were celebrating or were in agreement with the war. And then as they age, you know, and maybe at this time, they're needing some additional care and support in the home.That all of a sudden they become more open to talking about their experience. Have you run into that before?

James: We definitely have. The older generations, that's what it was. You went to war, you came home, you didn't talk about it, and you went to work and you provided for your family. That was it. In my generation, I think we're just so lucky. I came home from Afghanistan, no degree, just went to war, but I got a job on Wall Street. These guys didn't have that. We are seeing that. We'll meet with some individuals and the kids are like, well, this is a trigger for dad.

And then when the caregiver goes in there, that's all dad wants to talk about. Right. And maybe it's because we're somebody different and they don't want to share, you know, those really hard experiences that they lived with their, their kids or, you know, their family, but they do in my, my experience, they've wanted to talk to our team. And that's why I host a couple of different Veteran meetups for seniors and anyone's welcome to come. That's a Veteran. We had louse some spouses. It's up to the guys and, or, or the female Veterans that we do have coming. But.

I do find that it's really helping them because as we get older, you know, we're, we're getting a little bit more sensitive and those incidences that we have, it's, it's harder to deal with on your own. So.

Christina: Yeah, I really like that. I think it's just so important to have those conversations and put to rest or be able to share those memories with another person and another person to share empathy or to really, truly listen and to add, you know, and I think that just is extremely powerful. So I love that.

James: Yeah, yeah, it's very rewarding.

David: Yeah. James, I started my career in senior care, caring for Veterans, working for the VA as a caregiver going in. I'd spend a couple hours with our Veterans and I absolutely loved hearing their stories. Some of them wanted to share about their stories. Some of them didn't. Had some World War II vets. There was a gentleman I remember that he had met his wife in a British hospital.

Because he had been shot in the shoulder and he actually still had his uniform in his closet with the hole. Oh man, and his wife was there. She had this, you know, thick British accent and they just told me all these stories about how they met and they went to dances together. And it is, it's so powerful to have those opportunities to hear their stories and they want to share.

James: Oh, that's cool. Yeah, that's really cool.

David: Are there, if one of our listeners wants to find an opportunity to volunteer or even, you know, maybe come be a caregiver for our Veterans, are there some opportunities that you can share with them for those opportunities?

James: Yeah, you know, and again, every area is going to be a little bit different. Like for Arizona, we're in the process and we still work with them. It's a group called Be Connected. So just like it sounds. So if you're a Veteran or if you're a family member of a Veteran and you need a resource, whether it's a flat tire to somebody helping a therapy dog, you could reach out to them and they'll give you organizations that they've partnered with that can provide that Veteran or that family what that assistance is.

If you're someone like you, you're stating that wants to be involved and be in the community and give back, then you could sign up to be a volunteer with them. Um, and you know, there's at least in Arizona, I host a couple and I know there's some other ones. There's Veteran meetups, you know, some are small and some are very large, but, and I guess it just goes back to depending on the community you're at, but I always go to like the state, they have a lot of resources.

And there's tons of great charities out there. Just find one that's near and dear to your heart, because that's what you're really going to enjoy. And it won't be work. It's just going to be a lot of fun.

Christina: It's really cool. I had an opportunity a couple of years ago to be on an Honor Flight. And I was coming back from Salt Lake and I was going into BWI, Baltimore, Washington, and they were obviously going to Washington. And what an just an absolutely amazing experience from just getting onto the flight and having the music and the crowds just, you know, clapping and honoring these folks. And then I got to sit next to a Veteran the whole flight, whole way there. And we just, oh, we chatted about all kinds of things. It was amazing. It was World War II. He was a World War II Veteran. You just hardly see him anymore. And oh my gosh, it was so powerful. I have pictures, I have video, and I still brings me tears every time that I look at it. I just, I felt honored, right, to be next to, to be on this plane with so many Veterans that are protecting our country. It was absolutely incredible.

James: Yeah. Anytime I meet in WW2 veteran. Like in my head, I'm like, man, I wish my kids could meet this person. You know, it's just like, yeah, it's just, they're just great, great error just all around. So yeah, just exciting.

Christina: Yeah. I think about, you know, for Veterans that aren't getting the support that they need, that, you know, aren't, I think about, you know, even help or support, you know, and you hear stories sometimes on the news about it, you know, because I feel like we're talking about so many ways that we're honoring people, which is great. But I feel like there are many Veterans out there who just don't know where to turn and where to go.

I need thoughts on that, you know, if we've got a family out there who is like, or maybe they've got a neighbor who is a Veteran and, you know, and they could, they really could need help on a variety of, not just in home care, but a variety of different things.

James: Yeah. And again, like for us, that's our, our goal was to just educate, educate the community. Like we've partnered as far as our office with state employees this way, when we're meeting with the family, we say, are you a Veteran or your surviving spouse? Do you need help getting in the VA system? Okay, here you go. We're connecting you now with the state department. We educate them on the programs that are available. And there's just so many, there's so much for Veterans.

And again, being a Veteran and I'm so involved in it and there's so much that I don't know. Right. So I definitely recommend the VA has put together really great programs. And I always recommend people go into the VA, the VA.gov site because it changes so much. There's some bad actors out there, but there's a lot of really, really good actors. So I always put people back to the VA to get their information.

Christina: That's really good to know. My one of my last questions and certainly David, you keep going, but I think about people who don't know what to do, right? I think about people who let's just say it's the elderly gentleman walking by with the cap on his head from, you know, from whatever branch of service and they just walk by.

And I think, you know, are there ways for not just for this month as we're celebrating this month, but are there other ways or things that we all could do to make sure that we're really appreciating our Veterans on a day to day when we meet them?

James: Yeah, I mean, it's a good question, right? We're all people, right? So some Veterans, when you say thank you for your service, like for me, my response is it was an honor because it really was. I was honored to serve and follow in the footsteps of these true heroes for me. And some people tell me a little jaded because when they came home, they didn't have that and they don't know how to feel. So I do think just a high and then just trying to understand who that person seeing their reaction is how your next step.

Right. So for me, you know, like I said, it's just so individual specific. Um, but I do think just acknowledging them is the most important thing.

David: Yeah. Well, James, I've truly, it's been an honor to have you join our episode today. And for any of our Veterans that are listening, thank you so much for your service. We appreciate you. James, thank you for your service. Thank you for joining us today.

James: It was an honor to be on the show as well. I get to listen to you guys and watch you, right? So now I get to participate.

Christina: Hahaha.

David: Well, I know I was getting chills throughout our episode and just hearing about your stories about other Veterans, hearing you share your story, it really, it's something that I respect and admire the commitment. And for so many that gave that ultimate sacrifice, we think about them, we honor them and not just this month, but every month.

James: Thank you.

David: However we can as Senior Helpers come alongside. If you're a Veteran out there that has a question, please reach out to your local senior helpers because our owners are experienced and knowledgeable in helping you to identify and walk that path through getting your benefits. So know that you have resources available to you and we wanna be there to help support you.

Christina: Thank you, James. Really appreciate it. It was awesome. And stay tuned for our next episode. We do have another topic around to celebrate our Veterans Month.

James: Thanks guys.

David: Absolutely. Thanks, James.

Episode 14: Veterans in Focus - James DeVary on Senior Care and Community Impact

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