Virginia Department of Veteran Services hosts Caregiver Retreat to show appreciation

PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - The Virginia Department of Veteran Services is hosting Caregiver Retreats as part of National Family Caregivers month.

Thursday, they held a retreat at the Pittsylvania County Community Center for caregivers of veterans and nonveterans in the area. The retreat included free food, giveaways, games and more.

“A lot of our veterans solely rely on caregivers,” said Sharon Dalton, Virginia Department of Veteran Services Resource Specialist. “If they get exhausted, overwhelmed or cannot help, that makes it hard on not only them, but also for the veteran. So, we want to make sure that we can keep them empowered and strengthened as much as we can.”

They also had professional speakers to provide advice and answer questions about creating a will, finding attorneys, and more.

“This event is very educational,” said Joyce Price, caregiver. “It’ll tell you some stuff you thought you knew, but it’s some stuff you can learn.”

Joyce Price was a caregiver for her mom for nine years. She now takes care of her older sister who once took care of her.

“I’ve been blessed with the fact that I’m helping someone. When I had my aneurysm and I was out of work for three years, the same sister that I’m taking care of now was right there for me,” said Price.

They will continue hosting caregiver retreats all over the state this month.

“A lot of the agencies that provide caregivers are short-staffed, and a lot of them are overworked,” said Jonica Wilson-Carter, Virginia Department of Veteran Services Resource Specialist. “So, we do these things to try to promote people to be caregivers and to know what caregiving is.”

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