The Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer’s Caregivers’ Health (REACH) is a program through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that helps caregivers who provide 24-hour care to former servicemembers to cope with their stress.

According to the Florida new source, Hernando Today, there are currently fifty-four million American adults who provide care for family members or friends without receiving financial compensation. And, about 40 percent of those caregivers did not have a choice when it came to becoming the ones to provide that care.

REACH was established to help support people who deal with the tough and frequently uncompensated job of being a caregiver, the news source reported. The 12 individual counseling sessions available through REACH can be received over the phone or in-person.  And, the organization publishes an instructional guide that helps give caregivers insight on patient behavior management, safety practices, stress-relieving techniques and more.

Dr. Linda Nichols, the co-author of a study on REACH, said to the news source, ”The intervention provided time for themselves, which caregivers never have enough of,” Dr. Nichols went on to comment, “It also improved our caregivers’ knowledge to manage care, made them feel more confident and competent as they formed bonds with the VA staff supporting them, and decreased the inevitable feelings of isolation and loneliness that comes from a selfless but very sacrificial duty of care.”

REACH is just one of the many VA benefits available for servicemembers and those who are closest to them. For more information about REACH or any other VA benefit, veterans and caregivers may contact the nearest veterans’ agency.