By Jerry Klinger
BOYNTON BEACH, Florida — There are two special Veteran-focused days in the American experience: Memorial Day, the end of May, we remember those who gave their all for us to live today and Veterans Day, every November 11, when we say, ”Thank you for your Service.”
Veterans Day is a federal holiday dedicated to honoring all who have served in the U.S. armed forces, in times of war or peace. It is a day to show appreciation for their patriotism, courage, and sacrifice, with a particular focus on thanking living veterans. The holiday originated as “Armistice Day” to commemorate the end of World War I and was expanded to include all veterans after subsequent wars in 1954.
How do we say thank you to those who served to keep us free and secure as we go about our daily lives? Perhaps some of us will have a barbecue, burgers, chips, and beer to honor our friends and family who served. Perhaps…some will fly a flag. Some will contribute to a veteran-centered charitable effort, like Tunnels to Towers or Disabled Veterans of America.
Some of us will give the guy at the traffic light holding the sign, Homeless Vet, Hungry, a dollar. Most will double-check that their windows are rolled up, the doors are locked, and the radio is louder. The unseeing eyes retreat behind their self-assurances that the Government will take care of those in need. The beggar did not look that hungry to them. They saw but choose not to see…
What about Veterans who served and were permanently injured physically and mentally? What happens to them? Can the Veterans Administration (VA) and its hospital system take care of them?
The VA cannot solve every problem though they do their best considering their chronic limitations of funding, staffing and support. Gaps, sometimes, big gaps, remain. War and its immediate aftermath bring attention to Veteran care. Peace pushes Veteran care behind other societal needs. What happens long-term to those who served and need continuing help?
Drawn from my many years of experience, dealing with people with long-term disabilities, I understand the daily challenges disabled people live with. Disabilities come in many forms. Some have social limitations. Others have cognitive issues, or motor problems. Some struggle with chemical and emotional challenges. One-size shoe does not fit all.
What can be done from the outside looking in? I gave up trying to save the world a long time ago. I was a miserable failure at that. What I could do, like the little girl rescuing one starfish at a time, was to use what I knew about disabled life.
There are lifetime disabled veterans living in VA Hospitals. I knew from my experience, individuals are individuals. They need and want a modicum of control over their own lives. Sitting in front of a TV in a day room — many of us have seen that in senior care and nursing facilities — is an easy answer for the staff. It is not a good answer for the patient. One size shoe does not fit all.
There is a debt we owe our disabled veterans. I had an idea after observing the positive effects on a wheelchair-disabled individual in a semi-nursing care environment with his own Amazon Fire Tablet. The Tablet, through the wonders of the world wide web, permitted reading books of one’s own choice, playing video games, doing puzzles, watching the news or YouTube, listening to music he chose, and even receiving and sending emails with pictures to friends and family.
Tablets can be customized to taste.
I asked a question: could the Tablets be given to disabled Veterans in VA Hospitals to help with their social isolation, to improve their cognition, to help with motor skills, to keep in contact with friends, family and feel they are part of the world?
VA Hospitals have wireless systems that a Tablet can access.
I called the local West Palm Beach VA Hospital and asked for volunteer services.
The Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation (JASHP) would like to donate, initially, ten Amazon Fire HD Tablets, to the disabled veterans living at your facility. Would the gift be useful? Would the gift be welcome? We would like to create a pilot program to see if it helps. If it does, we plan to expand the gifting project.
We had no idea if the proposal would be received well or not.
To our surprise, the proposal was not just O.K.’d, it was O.K.’d enthusiastically. Two weeks ago, the first donation of Tablets was distributed. The veterans received the gifts with great, positive excitement.
Friday, November 9, the JASHP Tablet donation pilot was expanded to the VA Hospital in Miami. Friday at the Miami VA Hospital was a special event day. It was their celebration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps and Veterans Day combined.
I don’t know the future of the JASHP project. Hopefully, it will grow. The vets have various abilities, and some will need additional volunteer help to learn how to use their Tablets. We are all on a learning curve.
Going to the VA Hospitals in West Palm Beach and Miami were good days.
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Jerry Klinger is founding president of the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation.