Halfaker & Associates

News

March 2009

Halfaker and Associates’ CEO Speaks to the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

Washington, DC - On March 5, 2009, Halfaker and Associates’ CEO, Dawn Halfaker, spoke to the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on behalf of the Wounded Warrior Project.  Halfaker was seriously injured in Baquba, Iraq in 2004 and now serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit organization whose mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors.  

The Global War on Terror created a new class of injuries and growing population of wounded warriors who face quality of life issues on an unprecedented scale.  The Wounded Warrior Project is dedicated to advocating for America’s newest generation of wounded warriors since its creation in 2003 and aims to assist this generation of wounded men and women in becoming the most successful and well-adjusted group of veterans in our Nation’s history.  The Wounded Warrior Project’s purpose is threefold: to raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women; to help severely injured service members aid and assist each other; and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs.

Halfaker spoke eloquently to the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on the Wounded Warrior Project’s highest unresolved issue: assistance to family caregivers of severely wounded veterans.  Halfaker is concerned that very little formal institutional attention is being paid to family caregivers as vital links in the rehabilitation process for wounded warriors.  Hundreds of newly wounded warriors and their families are learning to live with severe injuries such as traumatic brain injuries, burns, blindness and spinal cord injuries.  Many of these warriors are dependent on their families for vital services that will enable them to stay in their homes and out of an institutional setting.  These family members sacrifice greatly to care for their injured family members and are often neither trained nor emotionally equipped to handle this great responsibility.  Many caregivers take extended leaves of absence or leave their jobs, thus losing retirement plans, health insurance, savings plans, and benefits.  These caregivers lack accessibility to a nationwide support network, healthcare coverage, institutional access to training, and means of replacing lost income. 

The Wounded Warrior Project and other service organizations want to see this issue addressed immediately and propose that Congress enact legislation to establish a comprehensive program through which severely wounded veterans’ family members can receive Veterans’ Affairs training, certification, compensation, and an array of on-going support services needed to sustain daily care giving.  Halfaker believes the support services should include counseling, respite care, a family allowance, and health care coverage.   Halfaker hopes that Congress will implement a system-wide solution for this issue immediately and looks forward to working with the members of the 111th Congress to honor and empower America’s newest generation of wounded warriors who have borne the weight of battle and returned to a grateful Nation. 

To learn more about the Wounded Warrior Project visit: http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/