Once A Soldier Advocacy for Veteran Funeral Loan Bill

Once A Soldier Advocacy for Veteran Funeral Loan Bill

Our Bill Outline For New Funeral Services Loan

Foot soldiers fightng for Veteran suicide postvention know that the strength of a Veteran family knows no bounds. Despite their sacrifice and paid-in-full status, paying the funeral expenses for an unexpected suicide is one challenge many can not meet. This bill outline is a critical step to fill this gap between the too-little, too-late Veterans’ Administration benefits and all or nothing standards of some funeral homes. Our local US Congressman John Rutherford, and his staff, continue to champion support needed for all American heroes. Their guidance will be critical to how far this bill can go.

magic mental health mushroom

Matt and Kristen Mahramus

You can see real love between these two. Matt left behind Kristen and their two children.

Veteran Funeral Loan Bill

Fueled by PTSD, TBI, MST and more, Veteran suicides continue to rise. However, increased postvention support for the families has not. VA death benefits arrive too late and too many Veteran families can’t bury their Veterans with dignity. This modest guaranteed loan will meet that need and close this gap.

Veteran Family Postvention Issue

  • VA death benefits offer no specialized support for suicide’s aftermath
  • Suicide victims typically leave behind no life insurance or savings
  • VA benefits end and leave the families without breadwinners

Key Solutions

  • Congress must enact legislation to create program
  • Would provide up to $2,000 – $8,000 for post 9/11 Veteran suicide families
  • Would be paid directly to the funeral services providers

Reasons to Believe

  • Recent COVID-19 funeral relief via FEMA proves it is possible
  • This solves our most immediate Veteran suicide postvention failure
  • The program would be limited in reach and scope  
  • VA death benefits, if any, would be directly applied to the loan balance

For more information, contact

Dave Barbush dave@onceasolider.org

904477999

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I WANT TO HELP
I NEED HELP

ABOUT ONCE A SOLDIER

Our Veterans are killing themselves in record numbers mostly due to PTSD. An overmatched VA can’t take care of them or their families. We will.

Soldier suicide leaves Veteran families with thousands of dollars of bills unpaid, mostly bank loans.

We are the only nonprofit standing with the families after a veteran suicide. Stand with us.

Our Mission: Become the preferred channel for donors, advocates and volunteers who care about veteran families left behind after a soldier suicide.

Links for More Information:

 

Financial Aid for Veteran Suicide from PTSD

Financial Aid for Veteran Suicide from PTSD

Postvention Monetary Assistance For Veteran Families

Once a Soldier Serves Those in Crisis

Once A Soldier is here for families who have suffered a Veteran suicide with PTSD as it’s root cause. With 17 soldier suicides a day (according to the updated VA research –  22 soldier suicides a day was originally miscalculated but latched onto by nonprofit organizations and others and branded), approximately 14 are Veterans. Active duty accounts for the remainder and that include all available services and reserves. Here are three calls to make after you get the news.

Mainly, we find that PTSD has a leading role in this sad story. We therefore typically gift, or offer financial assistance after the fact, to those Veteran families who lost their soldier in a battle with PTSD. If you’re exhibiting symptoms of PTSD and are looking for free and drug-free options, this article can help you now. Once a Soldier will gift all Veteran suicide families, therefore please keep us in mind or share this news with someone who needs our suicide postvention help.

Funerals are Expensive. Unexpected Ones are Devastating.

The mission is to help heal the emotional and financial scars left behind after a Veteran Suicide. We also offer time of need counseling for families who have just discovered that a tragic death has entered their house. Funeral homes and airlines do their best to offer aid and comfort to Veteran families, but sometimes their help can hurt in the long run. Families faced with a slew of decisions in a time of sadness and confusion will still make good decisions, but sometimes they aren’t presented with all the facts or options that are available. Our time of need counseling can make sure that the family doesn’t make the financial scar deeper than it needs to be. 

Average Costs of Veteran Suicide

Reported by the families that we serve, in general the costs range from $6,000 to $12,000. Funeral home costs make up to 80% of any total expense. More and more funeral homes can offer or are affiliated with another funeral home that can provide cremation services. 

Direct cremation is the most cost-effective option and you have every right to inquire about that service from whomever is holding your loved ones remains. If interested, here’s more on that.  

Secondarily, depending on where the Veteran took their life, transportation costs can add to that monetary burden immediately. Airlines require special handling of the body in addition to the airfare. Most will bend over backwards to help Veterans, but market price and demand can still keep a body tied up in a far away funeral home for what is an agonizing amount of time. 

Finally, for financial help for PTSD-related Veteran suicide victims or survivors, reach out to those local, military-centric nonprofits for additional help. Not just financial or emotional, but you never know what they can offer if you don’t ask. The national Veteran service organizations will have ways for you to connect but not local resources that you may need right after a Veteran suicide. 

Any questions or comments, please feel free to add to the conversation.

If you are a caregiver in need, check out this helpful resource.

I WANT TO HELP
I NEED HELP

ABOUT ONCE A SOLDIER

Our Veterans are killing themselves in record numbers mostly due to PTSD. An overmatched VA can’t take care of them or their families. We will.

Soldier suicide leaves Veteran families with thousands of dollars of bills unpaid, mostly bank loans.

We are the only nonprofit standing with the families after a veteran suicide. Stand with us.

Our Mission: Become the preferred channel for donors, advocates and volunteers who care about veteran families left behind after a soldier suicide.

What To Expect After a Veteran Suicide

What To Expect After a Veteran Suicide

The Business of Death is Legally Ruthless

In the last six years alone, over 45,000 veterans and active-duty service members have taken their own lives. This shocking statistic is the unfortunate and devastating reality for so many family members and friends to cope with each day. But in many cases of veteran and soldier suicide, the grief and lingering sadness is compounded by unexpected body transportation fees, ruthless funeral home practices and life insurance snags. Here’s our help in what to expect after a Veteran suicide.

Veteran families of soldier suicide often tells us that, after a suicide, the actual suicide becomes the least of their problems. Money and the business of death become their enemy. To help families and loved ones navigate this difficult time, our team at Once a Soldier has created the following guide to cover basic financial and emotional expectations moving forward.

Financial and Emotional Needs Arise

Transportation

If a family is dealing with the suicide of an active duty service member, the first challenge they will face is that of transportation. Transporting a body from state to state or back to the United States from overseas is expensive and often costs range from a minimum of one thousand and up. We have stories from parents that contradict what we’ve found on airline websites and from funeral directors who’ve handled the details. Like everything associated with veteran suicide, expect the worst and hope for the best.

  • You can’t arrange air transportation for a dead body on your own.
  • Most airlines will transport dead bodies but you’ll have to work with a funeral director or a specialized transport company.
  • The shipper must be designated as a “known shipper” by the TSA.
  • Many funeral homes are approved as known shippers.
  • The fee for forwarding remains to another funeral home usually ranges from $1000.00 to $3000.00.
  • The fee for receiving remains from another funeral home usually ranges from $800.00 to $2500.00.
  • You will likely have to pay both of these fees, in addition to any other funeral home costs, BEFORE THE BODY MOVES FROM THE HOLDING FUNERAL HOME.

Funeral Home Expenses

The average funeral costs at least $15,000 for most families affected by veteran and soldier suicide, the VA doesn’t even offer to contribute 10% of that amount, if they offer anything at all. These minimal contributions are known as ‘VA burial allowances,’ and are essentially cash allowances that are paid to an eligible veteran’s family to help defray burial and funeral costs. The VA will pay a different amount depending on whether the death was considered service-connected or not, or if the veteran was hospitalized by the VA at the time of death. Here’s a breakdown of what the VA will provide depending on the circumstances surrounding the death of a soldier or veteran:

Service-Related Death: The maximum service-connected burial allowance is $2,000. If the veteran is buried in a VA national cemetery, the VA will reimburse some or all of the cost of transporting the remains.

Nonservice-Related Death: The VA will pay a $300 burial allowance and $796 for a plot.

Unfortunately for many veterans and their families, soldier suicides are not always presumed by the VA to be service-connected, meaning that the affected families are given only a few hundred dollars to help cover thousands of dollars in transportation, funeral and burial expenses.

When a soldier or veteran commits suicide, their families are not only left to deal with the financial aftermath, but they must also cope with the large void that has been left in their hearts. Once A Soldier has created a Facebook group dedicated to veteran families of solider suicide. This is an excellent place to find others who share your story and begin the healing process. Please consider joining to show our strength in numbers, even if you feel you may not want to contribute.

Our team at Once A Soldier has worked with numerous families that have been affected by the tragedy of veteran suicide, so we understand that everyone copes with their losses differently. The real truth is, there is no one right or wrong way to deal with this type of grief, and what works for one person may not work for another. While there probably is no “moving on”, there are a number of ways that you can try to move forward and live in the present as well as for the future. Here are some basic tips to help begin healing:

 

Self Help

Take care of yourself: As hard as it may be, give your body the things it needs: sleep, hydration and food.

Write everything down: Many people find that writing a letter to their lost loved one is beneficial because it allows you to express all the things you were not able to say when they lived. Also, writing down your feelings on a daily basis in a journal or diary can serve as a powerful illustration of your healing process over time.

Find resources and get the support you need. Here are ours:

Talk about your grief and feelings with friends and family: the shock and amount of grief after losing a loved one to suicide is undoubtably overwhelming. It can be helpful to understand that there are some things you can handle on your own and some things you simply can’t. Try to communicate with anyone that you trust, whether it’s a family member, friend, chaplain, military counselor, professional, etc., and you might be surprised how much lighter your burden feels.

Ask for help: Do not be afraid or hesitate to ask the people closest to you for the things you need. This could include help preparing meals, lawn care, getting affairs in order, etc. This could also mean simply asking for space from people’s well-meaning but thoughtless comments. Some days you may want someone to talk to and others you want to be left alone. Both of these are okay. People generally mean well, but if they haven’t experienced your grief, their comments might generally not be well thought-out. Statements like, “at least they aren’t in anymore pain,” for example, might not make you feel better right now. They may not be in pain – but you still are.

Finally, you do not have to experience this loss alone. If you do not have a support system close to you, reach out to support groups, faith communities, mental health professionals and the military community.

Quite possibly the hardest part for many families to cope with is the guilt that stems from losing a soldier. “Why didn’t I see the signs?”, “I should have done more, or reached out more,” and all of those other thoughts can easily creep into your mind as you deal with your loss. Remember: you are NOT responsible. Say that out loud, write it down, whatever it takes – but make sure you understand that you are not to blame for this. The important thing is to take things day by day and know that some days you will be okay and other days will be harder than others.

Life Insurance

Even with a generous life insurance policy in place, there will be steps to complete and decisions to make. Here’s a list of things to keep in mind:

The VA or US Gov’t. doesn’t fly Veteran bodies home.

The airline will hold the body until a ticket and

The funeral home will ask/require you to sign over the policy to their third-party holding company.

The funeral home must get paid first or have iron-clad asurance that they will be paid, before you will be allowed to view the body.

ou do not have to experience this loss alone. If you do not have a support system close to you, reach out to support groups, faith communities, mental health professionals and the military community.

Quite possibly the hardest part for many families to cope with is the guilt that stems from losing a soldier. “Why didn’t I see the signs?”, “I should have done more, or reached out more,” and all of those other thoughts can easily creep into your mind as you deal with your loss. Remember: you are NOT responsible. Say that out loud, write it down, whatever it takes – but make sure you understand that you are not to blame for this. The important thing is to take things day by day and know that some days you will be okay and other days will be harder than others.

Suicide within 2 years of the start of the policy will probably void it. 
Most Vets struggle with satisfying employment after coming home from deployment. The jobs don’t offer the same fulfillment they found with their brothers and many commit suicide within 2 years of coming home. 

Lift the Burden of Veteran Suicide

 

Their families live with PTSD, drug addiction and worse for years, only to find the body at the end. Let’s lift them up and lift off their burden.

 

Give Here
I WANT TO HELP
I NEED HELP

ABOUT ONCE A SOLDIER

Our Veterans are killing themselves in record numbers mostly due to PTSD. An overmatched VA can’t take care of them or their families. We will.

Soldier suicide leaves Veteran families with thousands of dollars of bills unpaid, mostly bank loans.

We are the only nonprofit standing with the families after a veteran suicide. Stand with us.

Our Mission: Become the preferred channel for donors, advocates and volunteers who care about veteran families left behind after a soldier suicide.