VeteranHope

VeteranHOPE is a project to help military and veteran families deal with fraud and discrimination in housing and in our courts. We all have to cope with the change of income and lifestyle after military service. For those with disability, this can be especially difficult. The rate of divorce among veterans is about twice the national average. This is often because of the emotional stress, caused by financial stress, because of disability.

We go from steady work and regular paychecks with resources and comprehensive health care for the whole family, to nothing, overnight. Transition is not real until it happens. No matter how well prepared we are, it is still a shock to the family unit. Most of us come home and go straight to work, regardless of disability from service. We do not realize how bad a small thing can become until it interferes with our new jobs. We keep trying to cover all the basic needs for housing, food, health care and things our families are accustomed to.

That is ideal in a perfect world, but not reality for veterans with disability. There is no easy way to say it. Life has changed and it will be harder. Disability is not a free ride and it is not fun. It does not matter how much or how little it may seem on any given day. Disability makes the things we all take for granted a lot harder. Nobody wants to be disabled or stuck on a fixed income. Even the most catastrophically disabled veterans I know would rather be totally independent and self-supporting. But, ... reality bites.

Disability is not an excuse to get out of child support.
It is the big red flag which tells the state court that an individual with disability has certain Rights which the states cannot ignore. VA and SSA benefits are simply exempt from state jurisdiction, so they cannot be used to calculate support orders or offset property.

It is easy to get caught up in the struggle and forget to do our VA claims for medical issues left over from the military. Waiting until things get really bad only hurts us and our families. Financial problems from disability is one of the leading causes of divorce among veteran families.

One thing we all learn is that if you put something off too long, it will come back and bite you in the butt. VA claims are like that.

Let's say a veteran messed up a knee in the service and then went to work in a hardware store. Along comes the day when something at work falls down and tears the knee apart again. Workers compensation insurance will usually cover the emergency room and followup care IF the work accident is reported, but they tend to deny long-term disability claims from something that happened in the military. If the veteran has not already file a VA claim for the knee, then it will be denied by both VA and workers compensation. That can go on for years while the family suffers.

It is up to us to help each other. We all need a veterans organization that is authorized to prosecute veteran claims with the VA. VeteranHOPE does not do VA claims, so you will need to find an organization that does.

That is why veterans formed the non-profit Veteran Service Organizations like DAV , VFW and American Legion . These VSO's help veterans, dependents and survivors make claims for VA benefits and the do it for FREE.

VSO Links

Not all Veteran Organizations are qualified to represent veterans in claims.
Here at VeteranHope, we do NOT work on VA claims. Our area is protecting military and veteran families from predatory fraud and discrimination in housing and courts.

Stay away from anyone who charges a fee to help get VA benefits. Sometimes we need to hire an attorney, but most veterans should start with a legitimate VSO. We all need help to deal with the confusion in the maze of the VA claim system and VSO's are there to help catch the VA in their mistakes, and help get things right on appeal. GET HELP!

Some of us with VeteranHOPE have been down the path of VA claims, divorce, homelessness, VA appeals, workers compensation, disability insurance, receiving benefits, being garnished illegally, VA claims again, appeals again, homelessness again. There is not enough room on the t-shirt for everything we have been through. The really sick part is that we see other veterans going down the same road of stress, neglect, legal and financial discrimination, loss of family and home and everything. Up until now, there was nothing we could do about it.

VeteranHOPE is about turning that around and bringing back hope by standing up for military and veteran families. No matter what garbage is dumped on us, we have already seen the worst and survived. Together, we can stop the discrimination and solve the problems of fraud that are damaging our families and our country. We can make things better because we know how to stand up for those who need help. We know how to hold a line against all odds. We know how to protect others and that is what "support and defend family and country" is all about.

First Article

Our kickoff article is a report called "Child Support and The Absurd Mythology of Rose" which is a fact based study of the Rose v. Rose case and the immediate Congressional response that has been overlooked for 30 years. This is how legal discrimination and fraud have contributed to veteran homelessness and suicide. It is more significant than we imagined. Almost every veteran who goes through divorce, alimony or child support will have to deal with fraud and discrimination based on Rose.

What you do not know about veteran benefits and family support can hurt you.

"How to Sue for Due Process" provides an explanation of Federal Enforcement of Due Process in layman's terms. This is not a hard thing to do and veterans are not the only ones to use it. Current and former spouses can use it to keep everyone honest and save thousands of dollars in legal fees. Surviving spouses, parents and dependent children can use it when a service-member or veteran has committed suicide after being illegally stripped of pay or benefits.

The important thing to remember is that we have a duty to learn a few things to protect our families and our country from corrupt attorneys, officials and judges. Nobody else will do it for us. Attorneys are creatures of profit. They do not bother to check the facts or law until they are about to make money or lose money. They will not help us until it is profitable or expensive. Most of what they tell former spouses is a trick for profit, but the cost is hidden is a lie.

"Child Support and The Disabled" was originally published in 2012 and has been updated in 2019 for web release. It was a report on the Effect of Disability Discrimination on the Support of Veteran Families in Washington. The information and resources are provided to make it easy to understand how families can be damaged by discrimination and fraud in courts. The idea was to bring it to light and encourage our court officials to solve the problem instead of being the problem. Unfortunately, None of them want to admit 30 years of predatory embezzlement of veteran benefits and social security, so they ignored it.