Teaching about Veterans Benefits

Do you cover material on veterans benefits in your elder law classes? Professor Kenney Hegland, James E. Rogers Professor Emeritus of Law at the University of Arizona has created a 27 minute video about Veterans. Here is how Kenney described it to me in a recent email:

What We Should Know about Our Troops.  27 minutes. Free.

Troops discuss their battle experiences, training, occasionally shocking sense of humor, as well as some of the difficulties of re-entry, such as PTSD and hypersensitivity. A VA psychologist addresses concerns of folks dealing with vets: Does in matter if I never served? If the vet seems to have difficulties coping, would it be appropriate for me to suggest referrals? And what if the vet acts out?

The goals are twofold.

1.     Many serve troops:  health care providers, social workers, counselors, law students, lawyers, judges, probation workers, police, governmental officials. This video will help them understand how service members may differ from the folks they generally work with: this knowledge will help them do a better job.

2.     Many have virtually no contact with the military and little knowledge of the stresses and rewards of military service. Engaging in the great debates over military budgets and whether to send young men and women into war, it is important that they have heard stories and recall faces.

The link to this video is here:

http://www.terrazasvideo.biz/clientarea/NEWEDIT.wmv

To chat with Kenney about using the video, email him at kfh@email.arizona.edu. Kenney also has several videos on YouTube designed for elders on topics such as Hospice, Burial Plans, Parental Care: Talking to Families, Elder and Senior Law Advice: an Introduction, and Elder Abuse: Law and Advice for Seniors.

Becky Morgan