Shared Stories

From the social services sector:

"While exploring health insurance options with a couple, I Asked The Question and it turned out that the husband had veteran's disability income which was being erroneously included in overall income. Upon removing that income, his wife was able to be covered through NH's Health Protection Plan. This saved them over $200.00 a month in insurance costs!"

From the aging & senior services sector:

"While meeting with an older woman to discuss Medicare, I Asked The Question and she reported having been an airplane mechanic in the Navy. She was so proud of her service told me all about her experiences! She had been on a team with other women and they took care of the planes by themselves. She explained how hard it was to be a woman in the military, but was so proud of her service to her Country. If I hadn't asked, I would not have been able to build that rapport and gather that valuable information about her life experience!"

From the aging & senior services sector:

"During a home visit, I Asked The Question of a client on hospice care with lung cancer. Turns out he had served in the Navy for 10 years and been exposed to asbestos on the submarines. He had not applied for any disability compensation from the VA. I worked with a Service Link Coordinator to get this Veteran connected to the local Veteran Service Officer, who helped him file for VA disability benefits. After he died, his widow received a pension based on this disability. She is only 62 years old and this will help her for many years."

From the aging & senior services sector:

A couple whose wife needs full hip replacement surgery (and is only 45 years old). Husband (SM) was laid off, so they are struggling financially and he is not currently receiving benefits from being in the military. He has been referred and scheduled to meet with Brian Toney, Veteran's Service Officer. From asking have you served, the couple was given resources immediately and an appt. is scheduled. Now the couple is hopeful for some help and also to find out if he is eligible for any benefits based on his service.

From the aging & senior services sector:

"I met with an older gentleman for a Caregiver Grant (caring for his wife who suffers from Alzheimer's). I Asked The Question, and he stated he was in the Navy for two years and did not have any health issues that were connected to his service. To ensure all benefits were explored, I set him up with an appointment with the local Veteran Service Officer."

From the social services sector:

"A homeless man came into our Service Link office and was asked if he had served in the military. He stated that he had. Immediately he was given contact info for a local case manager for the SSVF (Supportive Services for Veteran Families) program. He received help with filling out applications for subsidized housing in the Carroll County area. Within two days he got an apartment (his veteran status moved him up on the waiting list)!"

From the health care & medical services sector:

"I am the Bereavement Coordinator at a hospice in Hillsborough County. I'm also responsible for our Veteran Outreach programs and already had a protocol in place to ensure that staff would always know who the veterans were. I did "tweak" it a little so that the intake forms would remind staff to ask "Have you or a family member ever served in the military?" Upon admission, every veteran and/or his or her family is given contact information regarding veteran benefits and Veteran Service Officers. We also give our veteran patients a generic Certificate of Appreciation at admission. Once our Veterans Military Checklist is complete, staff knows branch of service, era of service, rank, and whether or not the patient has a service-connected injury or illness. They also know how the patient sees his or her service. Finally, our veteran-patient can indicate a preference for staff and volunteers with military experience. Things that seem the smallest can mean the most. We also care for the military family. The admissions nurse documents on the Military History Checklist whether or not the family is interested in receiving information about veteran benefits for which they may qualify. When they do want the information, either I or the social worker will follow up. When the intake process is complete, we give the veteran-patient a new Certificate of Appreciation, indicating his or her branch of service and rank."

From the aging & senior services sector:

"At Home Care North, Granite State Independent Living, we provide home care services, community based disability supports, and employment services for a largely aging and disabled population in the Littleton area. Though we had an awareness of the Ask The Question initiative (we now Ask The Question!), we were a bit apprehensive about knowing where to go if the answer was "Yes." Thankfully Sue, who works for this initiative, reviewed the list of military-specific supports and services with us. It is amazing how many folks we have been able to help more because we now know resources to refer them to."

From the mental health provider sector:

"I am an outpatient clinician and recently got a referral for a gentleman dealing with the breakup of a relationship. He has been in and out of counseling for several years. He has had a number of failed relationships and entered treatment to try to change that pattern and to deal with the loss of the relationship. I noticed on the intake sheet that he had been a Marine who had served in the late 60s. In the course of my intake I simply asked, "Vietnam?" He burst into tears. He experienced a significantly traumatic event while deployed. This is something that he has never talked about or dealt with in counseling. Even though it isn't the reason that he has come to counseling, it was critical information for me to have. I am very grateful that I Asked the Question!"

From the higher education & adult services sector:

"I am an adjunct instructor of online courses at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) and at the start of every term I started asking my students, "Have you or a member of your family ever served?" SNHU has an excellent reputation for supporting the military population, and as such, many students have served and self identify in their introductions. However, adding the key piece, "or a family member" opened the door for many other students to reveal they have a family member serving and share details, such as dealing with upcoming deployments as a military spouse. In the middle of one of my terms a very good student became inactive for over a week. Having asked, and knowing she was a military spouse with a husband deploying, I was able to customize my outreach and show compassion for her situation, empowering her to respond. She told me that she intended to drop the course because she felt she could not handle it, but instead of having to take an incomplete or failing grade, we were able to come up with a realistic plan to keep her on track and she did in fact excel and pass the course, because the question was asked!"

From the mental health provider sector:

"I work in a mental health center and have a client who was referred to me for depression. It wasn't a case where there was any obvious military connection. During the initial portion of her intake I didn't think to ask her The Question, but luckily she used the term 'ruck march' and I thought, 'now we are on to something'! She is the spouse of a veteran. The majority of her adult life had be spent as a proud military spouse living on or around active duty installations. Her family had struggled with multiple stressors since her spouse's discharge, including employment and financial challenges. Having this additional information, we were then able to explore various military-veteran specific services and resources available through a local civilian provider, the VA, and the Vet Center. Since that day, they have been connected to a veteran employment program which provided resources to assist both she and her spouse in advancing their education, transferring military skills to civilian employment, and finding stable jobs. So, why was it important to Ask the Question? Referring them to additional resources has been great, but most importantly, it gives us a common language. She is a military spouse, to the core. He proudly defended our freedom and she happily cared for their children and supported him as he did so. Now it is my turn to acknowledge their sacrifice. Had I not Asked the Question, I would have 'missed the boat'."