A great many veterans qualify for home care they never claim, for the ordinary reason that nobody ever told them the programme existed.
The Veterans Independence Program has been running for decades and covers exactly the things that go first — the driveway in February, the laundry, the meals, and eventually the personal care.
What actually changes at home
- The outside of the house goes first. Snow and the lawn are usually what a person gives up before they will admit anything else has changed.
- A spouse quietly absorbs everything, often while managing their own health, and often for years before anyone asks.
- Asking for help is the hard part. People who spent a career being the one who copes do not find this easy, and a heavy-handed approach gets the door closed.
- Service-related conditions age badly. Hearing loss, joints, backs, and for some people PTSD that gets louder rather than quieter with time and isolation.
- The paperwork puts people off, which is a poor reason to go without care that is already funded.
How this care is usually paid for
Veterans Affairs Canada runs the Veterans Independence Program, which provides annual tax-free funding so a veteran can stay in their own home. It covers a wider range of practical help than most people expect.
- Grounds maintenance — snow removal and lawn mowing
- Housekeeping — cleaning, laundry, meal preparation and errands
- Personal care, and professional health care including nursing and occupational therapy
- Meal delivery, transportation to appointments and to social activities
- Home adaptations, and long-term care where it comes to that
- You may qualify if you need the services and you have qualified for a disability benefit, qualified for the War Veterans Allowance, receive Prisoner of War Compensation, or are eligible for a Priority Access Bed in long-term care but cannot get one.
- Apply through My VAC Account online, by mail on form VAC-1145AP, or in person at any Service Canada or VAC office. VAC’s line is 1-866-522-2122.
- Primary caregivers of a veteran may qualify for the programme in their own right in some circumstances, which is worth asking about.
Eligibility is decided by Veterans Affairs Canada, not by us. We will help you work out what to ask for, but we cannot tell you what you will be granted.
How we help
- Personal care — washing, dressing, and the parts of the day that have become difficult
- Housekeeping, laundry and meal preparation, at the level the funding covers
- Medication reminders and support with appointments
- Company, for people whose world has quietly narrowed to one room
- Overnight support and respite so a spouse can sleep, or go out, or be a spouse rather than a carer for an afternoon
- Care that treats a person’s service as part of who they are without making a performance of it
Who provides the care
Personal support workers provide the day-to-day care. Where the plan includes nursing — wound care, injections, catheter care — we place an RN or RPN. Where VAC has approved your funding, we provide the services it covers and invoice accordingly.
Common questions
What does the Veterans Independence Program actually pay for?
More than most people assume: snow removal and lawn mowing, housekeeping, laundry, meal preparation and errands, meal delivery, personal care, nursing and occupational therapy, transportation to appointments and to social activities, and home adaptations.
How do I know if I am eligible?
You need to require the services, and to meet one of a small number of conditions — having qualified for a disability benefit or the War Veterans Allowance, receiving Prisoner of War Compensation, or being eligible for a Priority Access Bed in long-term care that you cannot access. Veterans Affairs decides it, and their line is 1-866-522-2122.
How do I apply?
Online through My VAC Account is the fastest. You can also post form VAC-1145AP, or go in person to any Service Canada office or VAC location. If the form is the obstacle, say so — that is a common reason people go without.
Can my husband get help too? He does everything for me.
Possibly. A veteran’s primary caregiver can qualify for the programme in their own right in some circumstances. It is worth asking VAC directly, and it is one of the least known parts of the programme.
Can I use this alongside Ontario Health atHome?
Often yes — they are different funders and they cover different things. Ask both. We will point you at the publicly funded route first where you may qualify for it.
Will the same person come each time?
That is what we aim for, and for this group it matters more than usual. Consistency is the difference between someone letting a worker in and someone deciding they would rather manage alone.
Where we provide this care
We provide this support across 146 communities in Ontario, from the Greater Toronto Area to Thunder Bay. If your town is not listed, call us — we will tell you honestly whether we can staff it properly rather than promising and then failing to turn up.
Related
- Home care — what it covers
- Personal support at home
- Arthritis and mobility
- Mental health support at home
- Falls and fracture recovery
- Respite care for family carers
- Where to start
Not sure what you need? That is the normal starting point. A free consultation is a conversation about what is actually happening at home — no charge, no obligation, and we will point you at publicly funded care first where you may qualify for it.