DV Digital Brochure 5 - Flipbook - Page 20
Veterans and their families, or veterans without their caregivers during a respite break, would be
welcome at the Forward Free facility at least annually for extended periods of two weeks or more.
Certainly, disabled vets living outside Tampa would be welcome to enjoy the benefits of our Forward
Free facility. Importantly, since many of the challenges faced by disabled vets emerge during the
veteran’s hospital stay, we will invite them with their caregivers and families to our facility
immediately following their hospital discharge. This will give them time together in transition to
their home, where we can help them deal with the various stressors across the four health tracks
described earlier. The Forward Free facility will be staffed to care for all but the most severely
disabled veterans during respite care and will provide an environment suited for critical and
compassionate in-person help (see the adjacent graphic on the “Five Rs” of disabled veteran support).
We will provide programs of counseling and
education based on Christian principles and best
practices, as well as therapeutic service, to help
families deal with the consequences of trauma
and stress. We will also provide resources and
human connections in their community when
they return home in part through Forward Free
sponsored “Path Forward” support chapters.
Lastly, we seek to provide such care at little or no
charge to veterans, in order to lessen the financial
burden that is typically already a stressor in the
lives of disabled veterans. This comprehensive
Five-Phase type of faith-based help and support,
including a facility dedicated to care for disabled
veterans and their families, is simply not
available today in the United States.
