Carpools. Commutes. Grocery runs. All of these were part of our daily routines before COVID-19 brought us a new normal, and are simple routines that we take for granted. Even though you may not drive your car as frequently as before, imagine if you couldn’t drive it at all.
What if instead of driving when you needed to drive, you had to learn how to drive all over again? For many service members and veterans returning home and coping with severe injuries, this is a reality that makes transitioning to civilian life difficult. Many service members and veterans are unable to drive their kids to practice or drive themselves to a medical appointment. They need driving rehabilitation services, and they need someone to adapt their vehicle to meet their physical needs.
At Hope For The Warriors®, we identified this difficult transition as a gap within the Military and VA systems, where services addressing driving are either not accessible or available. In partnership with the Driver Rehabilitation Center of Excellence (DRCE) in Chantilly, Virginia, and in an effort to close this gap and provide our warriors with the equipment and resources they need to get back in the driver’s seat, the Drive For Hope® program was launched in 2019.
Jeff Cambre and his wife, Gloria. Taken in 2019.
When U.S. Army veteran Jeff Cambre returned home from his deployment, this difficulty in transition became a reality. Thanks to the support of our Drive For Hope program, we were able to have Jeff’s truck adapted to fit his needs. Through the program’s partnership with the DRCE, their staff taught him how to drive with hand controls and additional adaptive equipment, restoring his sense of independence.”
“The goal is independence in every aspect of that word,” shares HOPE’s VP of Well-Being Services, Oren Ganz. “Returning people back to those roles that have been lost due to their injury or illness is really the ultimate goal—and driving is a huge piece [of] that. Driving is one of those things that I think all of us take for granted […] it’s not until that activity is impacted that you realized how intertwined driving is into everything you do.”
Drive For Hope provides the support needed for the DRCE and its team of driver rehabilitation specialists to use adaptive equipment and successful techniques that restore the freedom that driving offers, as well as a sense of self, family, and HOPE. The DRCE is able to provide clinical services, clinical and behind-the-wheel assessments, and training. The goal is to maintain independent driving and transportation, allowing individuals to exercise autonomy, return to work, increase participation in family activities, and reintegrate back into their communities, while reclaiming roles which were lost due to a medical condition.
Jeff, his wife, and HOPE staff. Taken in 2019.
“A million thanks won’t be enough for what [Hope For The Warriors has] done. My husband has been in shock since the first phone call he received from one of your members and still talks about it as a miracle that just [happened] for him. We see this kind of thing happening on TV, but you will never think that it can actually happen to you, and [it] is very humbling. We will be forever grateful!”
—Gloria Cambre, Jeff’s wife
From working with medical providers to behind-the-wheel training in adaptive vehicles, Drive for Hope will be there every step of the way. If you or a loved one would benefit from this program, apply for services at www.hopeforthewarriors.org.
Founded in 2006, Hope For The Warriors is a national nonprofit dedicated to restoring a sense of self, family and hope for post-9/11 veterans, service members, and military families. What began as post-combat bedside care and support has evolved to a national organization that has adapted to ongoing changes within the military community. The organization has stayed the course with our country’s post-9/11 veteran population as physical wounds healed, but emotional wounds still needed care. Since its inception, Hope For The Warriors has served over 23,200 through a variety of support programs focused on clinical health and wellness, sports and recreation, and transition. For more information, visit hopeforthewarriors.org , Facebook , Twitter , or Instagram .
