A Story of Vet Well Being
Wanda Watkins Endorses Vets4VetsFoundation.org
Hi everyone my name is Wanda Watkins. My husband is a disabled veteran. I hope this makes sense because I’m having to dictate it on a transcriber. I have MS multiple sclerosis. My husband Frank and I married 12 years ago. He was a Marine. He got hurt from an IED explosion. It messed up his right hand and his hearing.
He gets about $1600 a month for his disability. Before I was diagnosed with MS, I was the one who pretty much paid all our bills. Now since that time I cannot work and I don’t have disability so we struggle each month especially the cost of my medication because neither of the of us have health insurance.
So about three years ago we lost our home and our car and pretty much the things we had. My husband went to the DAV for help and they helped us a little bit. Got us a hotel room and some groceries. They also referred us to vets4vets foundation for longer-term help.
It was such a blessing because what they did was they found a suitable place for us to live. It was very inexpensive and they help with the utility bills. We have access to their food closet and household closet; you know like if we need brooms or cleaning materials or something like that they have that for us free of charge.
This was a tremendous help because I thought Frank my husband was pretty much giving up because of my condition and the fact that he could not really do anything financially to help our living arrangements. He was really down; like we used to live before. I’m not saying we live in a really nice place itself one bedroom apartment and the utilities are very reasonable and predictable and I know that we have things to eat whenever we needed it. We stay warm in the winter or cool in the summer.
Vets4vetsfoundation brought us a new mattress and fixed our washing machine. Granted most of the money Frank makes goes to pay for my prescriptions and we have a little left over but I tell you getting this help from vets4vets is huge for us.
They helped us get a nice used car and we had it for about six months and it broke down. They paid for a mechanic to look at it and they replaced the starter the alternator and the battery in it for us. So, it’s really nice to have transportation now so Frank and I can get to our medical appointments. Prior to having transportation, they helped us by transporting us to the VA for Frank and then locally here to a doctor that does a lot of work that’s gives back to the community.
I’m confident that if we really need something vets4vets will be there for us or others. I know it helps Frank out a lot knowing that he can depend upon these people he served with before to be there for him and his family even though he’s not still serving. Every now and then they are able to help Frank get part-time work that is seasonal and that he can do that’s not too overwhelming and is limited by his hearing her use of his right hand.
So that’s all I really wanted to say about this organization and what it does. I know they help more than me. I have seen a clothing closet they also have a food bank truly nice that’s fairly well-stocked and other things that are needed around the house. I also know that if we need other kinds of help, they’ll be there for us, so just want to say thank you to those people who have helped. I know in the future they will be there for us.
Sincerely, Wanda Watkins
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