Veteran Resource Guide, as Provided by Wuesthoff Brevard Hospice
The following resource information was provided by Wuesthoff Brevard Hospice, compiled by Dawn Campbell-Currie.
Wuesthoff Brevard Hospice is dedicated to providing superior end-of-life care to all Veterans. We train our staff members to meet the unique needs of each Veteran and strive to honor them at every opportunity. All Veterans receiving hospice services have the chance to be recognized through a "pinning ceremony," which includes a branchspecific certificate, VA/Hospice Partnership pin, a patriot memorabilia item, and refreshments. All available staff members attend this ceremony, and each Veteran is encouraged to invite friends and family.
VETERAN BENEFITS
VA Aid and Attendance
https://www.va.gov/pension/aid-attendance-housebound/
Veterans may be eligible if they get a VA pension and meet at least one of these requirements:
• They need another person to help perform daily activities, like bathing, feeding, and dressing, or
• They have to stay in bed—or spend a large portion of the day in bed—because of illness, or
• Are a patient in a nursing home due to the loss of mental or physical abilities related to a disability
VA Pension
https://www.va.gov/pension/eligibility/
Must meet both of these requirements:
• Did not receive a dishonorable discharge, AND
• Yearly family income and net worth meet the limit set by Congress
Must meet at least one of these requirements:
• Started on active duty before 9/8/1980, and you served at least 90 days on active duty with at least one day during wartime, or
• Started on active duty as an enlisted person after 9/7/1980 and served at least 24 months or the entire period for which they were called or ordered to active duty with at least one day during wartime, or
• An officer who started on active duty after 10/16/1981 and hadn't previously served on active duty for at least 24 months
Must meet at least one of these requirements:
• At least 65 years old, or o Permanent and total disability, or
• Patient in a nursing home for long-term care because of a disability, or
• Receiving Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income
VA Recognized War Periods
(retrieved on 3/15/2022 from https://www.va.gov/pension/eligibility/)
• Mexican Border period (May 9, 1916, to April 5, 1917, for Veterans who served in Mexico, on its borders, or in adjacent waters)
• World War I (April 6, 1917, to November 11, 1918)
• World War II (December 7, 1941, to December 31, 1946)
• Korean conflict (June 27, 1950, to January 31, 1955)
• Vietnam War era (November 1, 1955, to May 7, 1975, for Veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam during that period. August 5, 1964, to May 7, 1975, for Veterans who served outside the Republic of Vietnam.)
• Gulf War (August 2, 1990, through a future date to be set by law or presidential proclamation)
Local assistance for Veterans and their families with VA claims and benefits
Disabled American Veterans Chapter 123, Brevard Veterans Memorial Center
400 South Sykes Creek Parkway, Merritt Island
(321) 452-1774
Brevard County Veterans Services Housing & Human Services Department
2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, FL 32940
(321) 633-2007
BURIAL/FUNERAL BENEFITS Qualification
Veterans, service members, spouses, and dependents may be eligible for burial in a VA national cemetery and other benefits if they meet one of these requirements.
https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/eligibility/
• The person qualifying for burial benefits is a Veteran who didn't receive a dishonorable discharge, or
• The person qualifying for burial benefits is a service member who died while on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty for training, or
• The person qualifying for burial benefits is the spouse or minor child of a Veteran, even if the Veteran died first, or in some cases, the unmarried adult dependent child of a Veteran
Reimbursement for burial expenses
https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/veterans-burial-allowance/
• Service-connected death: up to $2000 • Non-service connected: $300 burial allowance and $828 for a plot
• Headstone or marker allowance: $231
• Time-limit to file a claim o Non-service-connected burial allowance within two years after the Veteran's burial or cremation
• There's no time limit to file for a service-connected burial, plot, or interment allowance.
Additional Death Benefits
• Burial in a VA National Cemetery Cape Canaveral National Cemetery: https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/CapeCanaveral.asp
• Burial Flag to drape a coffin or accompany the urn https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/memorial-items/burial-flags/
• Funeral Honors (Folding/presenting the US Flag and playing "Taps")
Brevard County contact information
• Army (800) 557-7408
• Marine Corps (866) 826-3628
• Navy (904) 542-9807/1536
• Air Force and Space Force (321) 494-7477
• Coast Guard (786) 367-6822
All other counties and states
https://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/MOS_PDFs/military-funeral-honors-directory.pdf
• Veterans' headstones, grave or niche markers, and medallions
https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/memorial-items/headstones-markers-medallions/
• Presidential Memorial Certificate
https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/memorial-items/presidential-memorial-certificates/
• Burial at sea
https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/eligibility/burial-at-sea/
OTHER VA BENEFITS FOR SURVIVORS
(Qualifications vary. See links below)
• VA dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC)
https://www.va.gov/disability/dependency-indemnity-compensation/
• VA Survivors Pension
https://www.va.gov/pension/survivors-pension/
• VA education benefits for survivors and dependents
https://www.va.gov/education/survivor-dependent-benefits/
• VA Home loan programs for surviving spouses
https://www.va.gov/education/survivor-dependent-benefits/
• Health care for spouses, dependents, and family caregivers
https://www.va.gov/health-care/family-caregiver-benefits/