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Injured veterans program in danger
The Hill ^ | July 19, 2014 | Martin Matishak

Posted on 07/20/2014 6:48:27 AM PDT by Innovative

A program that allows veterans with traumatic brain injuries to receive treatment in assisted living facilities is in danger of closing down.

With only two weeks to go before the August recess, Congress has yet to take action on legislation that would renew the pilot program before it expires on Sept. 30.

Ralph Ibson, the national policy director for the Wounded Warrior Project, said it would be a “sad irony for Congress to fail to include in an access to care package, a critically needed access to care piece that will soon expire.”

The VA started turning away applicants to the pilot program in February, citing its looming expiration, according to Ibson. The VA states that 103 veterans are currently in the program, while the total number served is approximately 200 — a mere fraction of the estimated 265,000 veterans estimated to have suffered brain injuries in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: congress; defense; military; veterans
Congress needs to get their priorities straight and put this close to the top of their agenda.
1 posted on 07/20/2014 6:48:27 AM PDT by Innovative
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To: Innovative

If there’s any consolation here at all, someday, before too long, MCs and Senators will have no further options for their healthcare either, than to try to sap what they can from some VA style plan.


2 posted on 07/20/2014 7:08:23 AM PDT by onedoug
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To: Innovative

“Sad to say, the Wounded Warrior Project is bled dry by a top heavy, greedy executive structure and the remaining funds are disbursed to multi-tier distribution organizations with similar management structures. By the time the money actually goes to direct benefits for veterans, there is probably less than 10% that reaches them. Below are results of an investigation by a retired USMC Colonel.”

http://kencrow.us/2013/12/10/wounded-warrior-project-wasting-donations-intended-for-troops/


3 posted on 07/20/2014 7:31:33 AM PDT by airborne (My heroes don't wear capes - My heroes wear dog tags!)
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To: airborne

I wouldn’t just believe that — they have a link in that article to another one and the response from WWP. Bill O’Reilly is a big supporter — I doubt he would be if this wasn’t a legitimate charity.

http://kencrow.us/2013/12/14/is-wounded-warrior-project-scamming-the-hearts-of-the-american-people/

WWP response (posted in article above)

“One would expect that if someone wants their information to be considered legitimate, it should be fact-checked and accurate. Nothing could be further from the truth with this article.

The claim that WWP does little, if any, direct support of Wounded Warriors and Wounded Warrior programs is false. WWP has 19 direct programs and services such as Family Support Programs, Combat Stress Recovery Program and Transition Training Academy that veterans and their families participate in every day.

The article also makes claims that based on our 2011 990, we spent $95 million on administrative and fundraising costs and less than 10% of donations actually reached wounded warriors. That is absolutely incorrect.

If you actually read our 990 here http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/media/477620/wwp-900-fy-2012.pdf, (page 10) you will see it reflects $95.5 million in TOTAL expenses including 69.5 million spent on our programs and services. Moreover, the IRS form 990 does not present a complete picture of donations and expenditures the way independently audited financials do, and it does nothing to measure impact.

Based on Wounded Warrior Project’s fiscal year 2012 audited financial statements, 81.6 percent of total expenditures goes directly to our 19 programs and services for Wounded Warriors and their families. We pride ourselves on being a leader in the industry in reporting results from our programs.

You can visit:

http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/mission/who-we-serve.aspx to see the real impact we are making. For more on our strategy for growing and meeting the needs of this generation of wounded service members, visit wwpinc.org/npt.”


4 posted on 07/20/2014 7:45:41 AM PDT by Innovative ("Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." -- Vince Lombardi)
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To: Innovative

265,000 brain injuries? Somebody is lying.


5 posted on 07/20/2014 7:51:39 AM PDT by DIRTYSECRET (urope. Why do they put up with this.)
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To: Innovative

There are real horror stories about this group, I hope they are all wrong.


6 posted on 07/20/2014 8:10:35 AM PDT by easternsky
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To: easternsky

I hope they are wrong because Amazon has an option to donate part of shopping proceeds to the WWP and so I hope that it is being used properly.


7 posted on 07/20/2014 9:47:42 AM PDT by angry elephant (Endangered species in Seattle)
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To: Innovative
So you would have no problem with being independently audited?
‘the IRS form 990 does not present a complete picture of donations and expenditures the way independently audited financials do, and it does nothing to measure impact.’
The statements are almost responsive to the questions which are about layers of management, employees and salaries.
TWB
8 posted on 07/20/2014 10:24:19 AM PDT by TWhiteBear (Sarah Palin, the Flame of the North)
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To: Innovative

I’ve been involved with VSO’s for some time, and I’ve seen a lot of good work at the local levels.

It’s the national leadership, with high profile offices inside the beltway and big, 6-digit paychecks for the people at the top.

It may be a “legitimate charity” and still have massive overhead at the national level. The two are not mutually exclusive.


9 posted on 07/20/2014 4:39:41 PM PDT by airborne (My heroes don't wear capes - My heroes wear dog tags!)
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To: Innovative

WWP is a good group. While I was at Fort Carson I saw what they do firsthand and I encourage support of their efforts.


10 posted on 07/22/2014 12:21:39 PM PDT by rfreedom4u (Your feelings don't trump my free speech!)
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