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Many Veterans Need Care, and Caregivers Need Help Too

Millions of family members and friends care for veterans, often at great cost. Free support can lighten the load

3-minute read

Sari Harrar,

AARP

Published November 06, 2026

a younger person embraces an older person who is seated on a sofa

AARP (Getty Images)

Key takeaways

Millions of family members and friends care for veterans, often at a significant cost to their finances, careers and health.
Nearly 85 percent of veterans receiving care are 50 or older, and many of their caregivers are also aging.
Free programs can connect military caregivers with personalized plans, peer support, respite care and other resources.

Across the United States, 14.3 million spouses, children, friends and neighbors provide caregiving help to veterans and service members, according to a 2024 national survey of military caregivers by the Rand Corporation, a nonprofit research organization. And the care they provide is as unique as the individual they are helping. “There’s no one-size-fits-all,” says retired Navy Petty Officer Ron Minter, national director of the Disabled American Veterans Caregiver Support program. “Caregivers could be helping loved ones with quadriplegia, paraplegia, traumatic brain injury, amputations, PTSD, substance dependence issues, chronic pain, hearing or vision loss—it runs the gamut.”

In this series

The costs of the care, in both money and time, can be overwhelming. In the RAND report, 1 in 4 caregivers to a veteran or service member over 60 provided 21 to over 40 hours of care per week—and spent more than $8,500 out-of-pocket a year on caregiving expenses while forgoing more than $4,500 a year in wages.

Nearly 85 percent of veterans who receive caregiving are age 50 and older, the report found. To complicate matters, many disabled veterans’ caregivers are also aging, putting them at risk of chronic conditions that could limit their ability to continue caring for their loved one at home.

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Where military caregivers can find support

Caregivers need to know that there’s help out there. The Disabled American Veterans’ free Caregiver Support program, for example, assesses a caregiver’s burdens and burnout risk and pairs them with a care support specialist who develops a personalized plan that’s updated as needed, Minter says. This can include support groups, VA services and programs offered by other veterans organizations. Connecting with other military caregivers is one key, he says. “Caregivers tell me they feel heard and appreciated,” he says.

One mother's journey caring for her daughter

Finding a little time amid the daily demands of caregiving to reach out for help is worth the effort, says Army Maj. Karee White, the primary caregiver for her daughter, Kimmy, an Army veteran who was gravely injured in 2014 while stationed in Italy. “You have to take care of yourself,” White says. “You need friendships. You have to keep up on your medical care. If you’re prayerful, you need your prayer. You need to exercise. It’s not selfish. You have to keep yourself healthy to sustain the mission.”

To gain support for her daughter and family, White has sought help from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Elizabeth Dole Foundation and other organizations. Today, Kimmy gets physical and music therapy sessions and has started using a digital communication device that help her build sentences with words and pictures. Note long ago, White heard Kimmy humming quietly to herself—a tiny step in a healing journey.

“Caregiving was really a tough transition,” White says. “Six or seven years ago, through a lot of communication with other caregivers, hearing their stories and telling my story, I realized I stopped resenting what I had lost. I started to find joy.”

Resources for Military Caregivers

AARP’s Veterans and Military Families Caregiver Guide
VA Caregiver Support Program: Links to VA and major nonprofit caregiver support programs for emotional, financial, educational and other types of support.
VA Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC): Caregiving training, financial education, a financial stipend, legal support, health insurance and beneficiary travel benefits to the caregivers of qualified veterans.
Disabled American Veterans Caregivers Support Program
American Red Cross Military and Veteran Caregiver Network: Peer support for caregivers of veterans.
Elizabeth Dole Foundation: Help with case management, applying for benefits, emotional support, respite care; elizabethdolefoundation.org
Access to Respite Care and Help (ARCH) National Respite Network and Resource Center: Respite services across the U.S.archrespite.org

The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

Sari Harrar is an award-winning reporter and contributing editor to AARP publications who writes on health, public policy and other topics.

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