Wounded Warrior Project Board Member Testifies to Congress
NEW YORK, March 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Wounded warrior and Harvard Law student Andrew Kinard will testify before a joint session of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees on March 4, laying out the Wounded Warrior Project's (WWP) legislative agenda for 2010. Andrew serves on WWP's Board of Directors.
After suffering the loss of both legs in Iraq in 2006, Kinard benefited greatly from the programs and services offered through WWP and joined the Board of Directors in 2009. Now in his second year at Harvard Law, Kinard will offer testimony about his experience as a wounded warrior and outline ways Congress can better serve our injured service men and women.
"I was thrust into the community of disabled veterans when I least expected it," said Kinard. "Now that I have moved away from the hospital and returned to a 'new normal,' I have modified how I engage with this community. We at WWP support veterans from the moment they arrive at the hospital through their transition to civilian life and beyond. This group brought meaning to my life, both through their direct support and also as a means by which I can support future generations of veterans."
Kinard will call attention to the needs of veterans living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other mental health issues, the need for improved access to age-appropriate and community based rehabilitation options for warriors with severe cognitive impairments and improved vocational rehabilitation and employment programs.
He will also encourage the committee to further their efforts to reconcile and pass comprehensive caregiver legislation to serve family members who, at their own expense, provide full-time care to their wounded warriors who can no longer care for themselves.
The establishment of a strong family-caregiver assistance program which recognizes the emotional, psychological, physical and financial toll borne heroically by the families of our most gravely wounded warriors is a legislative priority for WWP. Since the passage of Senate bill 1963 in November of 2009, WWP has urged the Senate and the House to work swiftly and come to consensus on strong caregiver-assistance provisions for enactment into law.
To speak with Mr. Kinard or for questions, please contact Natalia Rankine-Galloway at (212) 629-8881 or [email protected]
About Wounded Warrior Project
The mission of the Wounded Warrior Project is to honor and empower wounded warriors. Its purpose is to raise awareness and to enlist the public's aid for the needs of severely injured service members, to help severely injured men and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. WWP is a national, apolitical organization headquartered in Jacksonville, FL. To get involved and learn more, visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
SOURCE Wounded Warrior Project
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