Veteran’s Day Episode: Richard Lui on Young Military Caregivers Plus Shopping and Storytelling Tech to Help Caregivers
This special Veteran’s Day episode includes interviews with three different people all with ties to military veterans and their family caregivers:
- NBC News anchor, Richard Lui, shares his experiences as a long-distance caregiver for his dad in his book, “Enough About Me – The Unexpected Power of Selflessness” and discusses his passion project as a documentary filmmaker on “Sky Blossom” working with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation Hidden Heroes project to tell the stories on young caregivers in their teens and 20s caring for a parent or grandparent that will hopefully spark family conversations on caregiving.
- Beth Sanders, founder and CEO of LifeBio, talks about the launch of a new app, LifeBio Memory using artificial intelligence and voice/visual prompts to help older adults capture their life stories. With grant funding from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), Beth explains how reminiscence therapy can reduce depressions and loneliness, which is part of a veteran’s project bringing young OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan)/OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) veterans together with Vietnam vets to share their stories. Beth also shares her personal story of her late father, a Vietnam veteran.
- Robert Wray, a retired Rear Admiral of the U.S. Navy is now CEO of Blue Star Senior Tech, an ecommerce and telehealth site helping all caregivers. Listeners can use code CARE 20 to get a 20% discount on purchases, which also help support veterans organizations. Rob also shares his wisdom on how caregivers can build resiliency.
Richard Lui, NBC News anchor, author, documentary filmmaker
Beth Sanders, LifeBio 
Rob Wray, Rear Admiral (ret.) U.S. Navy and CEO – Blue Star Senior Tech
Sherri also reports on the latest news in caregiver wellness, creating wellness home design:
Caregiver Wellness News
- How to find respite care for caregiver breaks through TRICARE, the VA Program for Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, CareLinx, the VA and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation and ARCH National Respite Care Network
- A Caregiver Self-Assessment from the VA helps to determine stress levels
- “I Am A Caregiver” campaign by Hidden Heroes, a program of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation championed by actor Tom Hanks, launches a caregiver self-identity initiative in Michigan to roll-out state-by-state to connect military caregivers to peer groups and support
Pop Culture
Wellness Home Design News
- Gary Sinise Foundation and Tunnel 2 Towers Foundation offer military veterans injured or killed in the line of duty and their family caregivers 100% mortgage free smart homes.
- All family caregivers of older adults, adults with disabilities and wounded veterans can find free home modification help (based on qualification) from Rebuilding Together with local chapters across the country
Me Time Monday Wellness Hack
Sherri ends each podcast episode with a special wellness hack from her upcoming book, Me Time Monday – Weekly Wellness for a Wonderful Life. This episode is “The Lantern Festival – Letting Go of Guilt and Grief”
RESOURCE LINKS
Elizabeth Dole Foundation and Rand Study “Hidden Heroes: America’s Military Caregivers”
American Association of Caregiving Youth
National Alliance for Caregiving and UnitedHealth Group “Caregivers of Veterans: Serving on the Homefront”
USAging (for local area agencies on aging ElderCare.acl.gov or call 1-800.677.1116, which operates Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm ET) for local respite services
Lantern Festivals:
Sherri’s articles related to this episode
Huffington Post: Caring for those heroes with invisible wounds
PBS Next Avenue: Caregiver Support: What Parents of Wounded Veterans Need
PBS Next Avenue: 9 Ways Caregivers Can Get a Free Respite Break
Huffington Post: Caregiving’s Lost Generation: The Nation’s Children
Caregiver Monday blog: Honoring America’s Largest Volunteer Health Care Army: Family Caregivers
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