Some years ago, I tried to work with the VA in starting a support group for the Veterans in the area and negotiated on how it could work. One of their staff was a member of HLAA and helped me work out the logistics to make it work. It would have been wonderful to have the vets meet on a monthly basis to augment their working knowledge of their hearing aids (made available by the Veterans) and what we would give them about how they could deal with their hearing loss in daily life. When the high ranking staff heard about our plans, they decided to transfer our HLAA member out of state and scrubbed our plans for a support group for the vets in the area. It was such a disappointment. We were not allowed to advertise our HLAA chapter meetings in the VA Hospital either. What these veterans could use, we learned, was limited within the walls of the hospital unless they wanted to go outside of their hospital system. They do receive what they need but perhaps not all of the in-depth hearing loss information that could help them in the long run.

Here in Sun City Center, FL, we will follow the Mission of the HLAA organization by opening the world of communication to all people with hearing loss by providing information, education, support and advocacy - no matter who they are and where they are located.