Veterans Directed Home and Community Based Services Program

The Veterans Directed Home and Community Based Services program is designed to allow veterans who are potential candidates for nursing home placement to receive that level of care in their homes. The program provides veterans with a budget and allows them to choose their own care providers in place of receiving care services from the VA health care system. The following testimony is from one of the families directly served by the Veterans Directed program at the Santee-Lynhces Regional Council of Governments. For more information about this program or to see if you may qualify, contact Gladene Heyward-Reid at 803-774-1989.

This self-directed veteran's program has made it possible for us to take care of Doug at home. We have been able to hire caregivers that come on a regular basis and we have more hours for them to care for him. He gets the attention he needs, and I get some free time, which helps me, and most of all, gives us and our family peace of mind. This program is greatly appreciated because it allows us to keep our house in good condition. Things we can no longer do ourselves, we can hire help to maintain. We would like all veterans to have the opportunity to experience this self-directed program and be able to take care of their vet at home as long as possible. Thank you Lt. Gov. McMaster and the Veteran's Administration for working together to make this program possible.

-Doug and Kitty Heim

City of Bishopville Receives CDBG Grant

With the assistance of Santee-Lynches Regional Council of Governments, the City of Bishopville has been awarded a $750,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the South Carolina Department of Commerce for improvements to the sewer trunk line that connects the City's wastewater treatment plant with sewer lines city-wide. The grant will support construction of Phase I of the overall improvement project, which is anticipated to be a three-phase project.

"We are thrilled to have been able to assist the City of Bishopville in obtaining this grant through the CDBG Program," said Dr. Michael Mikota, Executive Director of Santee-Lynches Regional Council of Governments. "The award will allow the City to address a major issue with its wastewater system, which will benefit all residents of the City through reduced infill and infiltration of stormwater into the system and reduced chances for sewer overflows that might result from the deteriorating line".