"It's a lot of work. You would think that having a child was a lot of work, but having an adult is more work," says Daisy Witcosky.
Up until just a few days ago, it was just Daisy and her husband, Oscar, alone in their San Miguel home.
“You know, with his Alzheimer's, I need a lot of help,” she says.
Oscar is a veteran who served at Fort Hood. Daisy called the VA because she heard that they could help with caregiving, and that’s when they got matched with Jim Kozlovich, a Marine Corps veteran. He helps with day-to-day tasks and gives Oscar some extra company.
“Helping veterans, being one myself, it just makes it special," Kozlovich says. "They've served their country and it's just, it feels good to be able to do something for them.”
The pair is just one of 25 examples of veterans matched with other veterans through the San Luis Obispo County Seniors Helping Seniors program.
Ron Torres started the program in 2022. It connects younger seniors with older seniors to provide companionship and part-time help in the home.
"Nobody probably chooses to say, 'I want to leave my home and go to a facility'," Torres says. "They want to stay home in the place they love and where they're comfortable."
When the program was getting started two years ago, Torres connected with the VA to create a veterans-specific branch of Seniors Helping Seniors where veterans can receive care free of cost.
Torres says at that time, they only served a few veterans but have since grown substantially. Now they've served about 100 to 150 veterans.
Witcosky says that having another veteran in their home makes all the difference for her husband.
“It's like a brotherhood. There's a trust there that you need with someone, being so close to you and in your home," she says. "So, being a veteran really helps ... we're all like family here."
