good morning. this is "news 4 your sunday." good morning. i'm pat lawson muse. care giving, an estimated 44 million americans are now doing it. helping family, friends or neighbors with daily health care needs or disabilities. november is national family caregivers month when we salute caregivers, my of whom juggle the demands of family life, work and care giving. our guestsay t are juggling it all. patricia morris is ceo and found are of hands of hope. steve morris is her husband and co-founder of hands of hope. also joing us is erica williams who is a caregiver. welcome all of you. tell us how you founded hands of

hope and what hands of hops all about? >> hands of hope is all about care giving, taking care of our loved ones or friend or neighbor. any timeng you're taare of someone, you're a caregiver. i started maybe five y rsago. the reason i got started is because i brought my mother up from alabama. i'm from alabama and my mother calls me one daynd says, pat, i think i'm losing my sight. i said, mom, you're goingo have to come live with me because i need to take care of you. i'm the only child, and so we made the arrangements for mom to come up. steven and i worked together, and the boys, made that arrangement and that's when wee decided be a team to make sure we take care of mom. that was five years ago. i put my life on hold. i continued to work, bute my l was really on hold. >> sure. if i had t do it all over again, i would do itag all over n. >> i'm sure you would. you formed lands of hope,

stephen. tell us what hands of hope is doing for folks in prince george's county. >> hands of hope, what wesi lly do is, it's for caregivers, those individuals caring for other people. what hands of hope does basically, we meet every third w every fourth avsaturday. we a group of caregivers that come up. we started with about 15, now we're up to approximately 40. we welcome them all to our house. once they get to the house we have different people come in and speak and resources for them. make them feel very comfortable in what they're doing. it allows them the opportunity at times to relate to other people and talk about what their concerns are. we're getting older, and you're eg cg to havearer iv>> you'll b one or you'll hav one. >> you'll be one, right.

caregiving is not just about the seniors. it's also maybe grandparents king care of grandchildren. it's not just seniors. >> ms. morr, you also work with the department of aging, is it? >> department of family services. if a caregiver comes to them -- they usually have their meetings during the week. if they can't get to that meeting during the week, then they will refer that person to me for the weekend, because it's hard to get off work and go to a group and gete and take care of your loved one and all of that. i've opened it up so that anyone who needs a care giving support group chl group, ty can comee on the weekend every fourth saturday. >> erica, you are a caregiver. sort of trial by s fire, to speak. >> yes. >> tell us about your experience. >> my mom was diagnosed with

alzheimer's back in 2013, and i left my home to move in with her to care for her. of course, it became trying at times. a friend of mine recommended ms. pat. she saw her at your conference i think in 2013. i came to her home, mr. steven, loving, caring people. what i like about them t isy give you information that sometimes you don't know that you ne. we h to make some difficult decisions with my mom and her care, and when i learned about them four years ago, didn't know i needed them. but four years going forward, i decided this information i got from them is needed. >> the time came. >> the time came when i needed. >> ms. morris, what would you say is one of the biggest challenges caregivers faceda >> respite care. getting out -- and taking care

of thhiselves. twos that i have to push often and ha is t pleasee care of yourself. if you don't do that, then you can't take care of your loved one. that's a majorch lenge. another major challenge is getting someone to relieve them. if i could do -- i would love to do better in that area because people need that, and that's one of the areas, one ofy challenges, is trying to find people to relieve people in my grp or people who call me and say, ms. morris, canou give me respite maybe three or four hours next week or whatever. i have to really look and see if i cand that respite for that person. >> you actually seek caregivers o can help the people in need of caregivers? >> yes, yes, i do. >> hands of hope is the organization, and we'll be back right after this. this isn't an election. it's a declaration. that when they attack who we are.

we show what we're made of. and we don't stand back- we stand up. for women's rights. for health care. ds f for our kiutures. the washington post says david trone is detailed, studious and no-nonsense-- an excellent successor to john delay. there's no sitting on the sidelines. not me not you. not now. the best choice, by a mile, is mr. trone. on november 6th. vote. david trone for congress. i'm david trone, i approve this message.

we're talking with hands of hope. you're sort of a clearinghouse of resources for people in nee of caregiving and you're holding a conference on saturday. >> that's correct, that's coreect. let me s little bit about my conference. th s saturday, november 10 from 8:30 until 1:30. we're going to have a variety of people speaking. hofully you will learn a lot about caregiving and some of the areas that you're asking questions about like your health. the topics will be how d you take care of yourself so youcoan inue to be a good care giver. two, tell me a little bit about dementia. ieed to know about that. i have a loved one with dementia. hownian i rec the signs of dementia i also have all the resources in

prince george's atunty, and what is really needed, resources. you need to know where to go.av i someone coming to talk about resources so you can ask -- she is fantastic. you can ask any questions that you would like to ask about resources in prince george's county. if she does not have the answer, believe me, s will get the answer for you. >> steven, you also said when calling your local soc service agency, family services, you have to be peistent. yes. >> sometimes you have to keep calling. >> keep calling, constantly.ma e they're inundated with phone calls. i'm not sure. you must stay involved and keep calling on a regular basis. also at the conference, we're having door prizes. we're going to have vendors, s. sing by the way, held at the central baptist church of camp spring.

>> dr.as will be my main s. speaker of the day. get there early. she will be my firer spe on. we have six panelists. so if you want to learn more about diabetes, wills and estates, we need to talk about thos. kinds of thin sometimes we don't want to talk about it. but i have two knowledgeable people who are going to be coming there to talk about that. ou know dr. bias is a motivational speaker. we need to be motivated. a lot of times we need to be motivated. we don't alws want to share at we're feeling down or depressed or whatever. but it's important to be able to ge that push from someone. dr. bias is able to do that for us. >> erica, what are some of the most important lessons you've learned as a caregiver? >> i've learnedow to listen. listening is so important, not ones,istening to my loved but listening to my other fellow

caregivers. that's what the they don't need you to resolve an issue for them. they just need to know they're being heard. >> do you mean because of the going ge that they're through and because of the stress of it all, that sometimes they need to just talk it isout that what you mean? >> yes, so true. we're all on j thisrney together. you can't assume that someone knows what you're going through' keep it bottled up. you need to talk to someone. as a caregiver, i'm always giving but also listening asll >> ms. morris, more people are aging in place. they're deciding to stay at home. everybody can't do that. what's your advice to someone who is trying to make that decision? >> first of all, i would invite them to get to my supportfgroup. >>hey can't get to the support group? >> call me on thephone. i do so much therapy on the phone.

>> find a support group in your area? >> find a support group in your area, but you've got to be that.rtable talking about everybody is not able to make that difficult decision. you've got to be able to talk to them about making that desion, helping them not to feel guilty about making that decision. it's a decision that sometimes you have to make. i had toake it. and i get teary when i think about it. the night befy mom died, i had to make that decision. efore i got home my mother h passed. the next day she was going to be going into aurng home. i would say, before i even arted this group, i wished i had someone to talk about -- is my lovedne going to be okay because i'm going to have to put her in a nursing home? will he or she be okay because i have to put them in assisted living? all those thing you need to

talk to someone about. it's a two-way street. you don't want them to feel guilty, but you want the loved one to b okay, also. >> that is hands of hope. your conference this coming saturday at central baptist church in camp springs starting at 8:30. >> 8:30 to 1:30. >> we appreciate the work you do. thank you for coming. c thank you for having us. ing up, helping victims ofexual harassment in the military and legal help for veterans who have beenbe denied theifits. we'll be right bac the washington post endorses jennifer wexton for congress... saying barbara comstock's "promise has turned to dust." she's trump's "unquestioning foot soldier." jennifer wexton is the "clear and convincing" choice. "smart, serious and substantive" ... "ms. wexton would be a breath of fresh air" in congress. i'm jennifer wexton and i approved this message

because i've worked across party lines to get things done. that's how we can fix congress and make it work for us again.

i waso i'm used tor, getting to work early. now i have a general practice, with a lot of patients who are counting on me. many of them worry about president trump taking away protections for pre-existing conditions. and women are frightened they could lose reproductive health care. it's why i'm glad i have a friend named ben. ben is a national leader who's protecting obamacare from president trump. he's my friend ben. i hope he's your friend, too. i'm ben cardin and i approved this message. a week from today we recogniz veteransay and the contributions and sacrifices of ts. military protect our defenders is an organization based in mcle, virginia, fighting the epidemic of sexual assault and harassment in america.

p.o.d. is included in this year's catalog for philanthropy of greater washington. joining us, colonel done chriiansen. lcome. tell us more about protect our defenders. >> protectur defenders is the nation's only organization, human rights organizationol dedicatedy to fighting for victims of military sexual assault and sexual harassment. our job is to, one, provide direct legal services to victims of military sexual assault a harassment and try to change the culture in the military t make it more welcoming to members, minorities such as women, racial norities, and to make it something that the entire country can be proud of. >> how long has this group bee around? >> since 2011. >> how much progress would you saye're now seeing in dealing with the issues of sexual

assault and harassment in the military? >> the one thing we've had great progress in is awareness. people know this is an issue in the military. we also have more confidence in survivors who haveeen sexually assaulted or sexually harassed. prior to our organization a starti prior to getting manmedia attention, many, survivors would not report. many are reporting now. they know there's snebody their corner such as protector sr defenders. the media watching this and the members of congress are paying attention. >> still vastl underreported. >> still vastly underreported. more than 80% of sexual assault in the military do not get reported. we have huge retaliation problems. when men and women, repo 60 mrs of the time they suffer severe negative consequences to their career. >> are the numbers falling? >> the number of assaults is

falling. it down to about 16,000 in 2016, the most recent numbers we haveat on. most of that drop has been in the mlae poon. >> tell us about some of the other services that the oresnization prov >> we provide direct legal services for the men and women who have been sexlly assaulted, whether military members or civilians. >> you serve them all over the world, not just in the washington area. >> all over the world. e have clients in guam, in okinawa, clients in korea, europe. what we will do for them is help them, number one, we'll help advocate for them. if they're goi for the court-martial process, we'll advocate for them at thates pr one of the things we have a huge need for is so many people are retaliated against after they report. that retaliation results in negave consequences to them.

the career-ending consequences results in other than honorable discharge. we help them get upgrades to the discharges. oftentimes they have erroneous mental healthgn des that follow them through life and they want to get that changed. we help tm with that as well. >> your services are free? >> absolutely free. we don't charge anyone for what we do. >> you're not only helping survivors with the legal issue. you say what your group is doing is also workingo fight the culture. >> absolutely. >> to change the culture. the culture in the military in the past has been pretty hostile to women. wee try ainlsg to tryin gget th the culture so people understand what sexual assault is. a lot of military organizations have invited uso come and talk to them, invited survivors we've worked with to come and talk to

them and really the message out to men and women sving wh sexual assault in the military looks like and how the culture they're a part of can lead to sexual assault. >> protect our fenders, seems an appropriate name for your group. >> yes, absoluly. >> congratulations on being in the catalog. >> thank you. it was a true honor to of the catalog. >> colonel don chrisan son, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> we will be back in a moment z319wz z16fz

y y319fy announcer: the following will surprise you about barbara comstock: barbara comstock: "i think roe vs wade should be overturned and the ste shouldll surprise ydecide it."rbara comstock: announcer: that's right. comstock supports taking away a woman's right to choose. she votentto defund planned paod 6 times, limiting women's access to contraception. and comstock votes witertrump ninety eight pnt of the time. jennifer wexton: endorsed by the washington post. she'll protectma a s right to choose. jennifer wexton for congress.sa independenceac is responsible for the content of this advertising. saying barbara comstock'sorses je"promise has turned to dust." she's trump's "unquestioning foot soldier." jennifer wexton is the "clear and convincing" choice. "smart, serious and substantive" ... "ms. wexton would be a breath of fresh air" in congress. i'm jennifer wexton and i approved this message because i've worked across party lines to get things done. that's how we can fix congress and make it work for us again.

they say, i wonder what age you justhat is.aring. simply ageless foundation with olay. tones, hydrates, and reduces the look of wrinkles. from covergirl. every yearus tds of vets and loved ones turn to federal court over the denial of claims also help with discharge upgrades. >> joining us is danica, featured in this year's catalog for philanthropy. your mission is twofolds. >> we have two different mission

at the veterans consortium. veterans have applied to the va for benefits. when they're denied they have e opportunity to go t the court of appeals for veteran claims. we provide pro bono attorneys to help them fight th denial of the benefits. we also pvide free legal representation to veterans that received other than dishe orable dischae to conduct related to ptsd and traumatic brain injury. it might result in miss anducted and they receive other than honorable discharge. they're not automatically eligible for benefits. this includes medical care, disability compensation, housing assistance and employmen assistance. >> who is more likely to be denied claims? are they the elderly, are they experiencing financial hardships? >> it's individuals that don't have the opportunity to fight or thwn or don't have the

means to hire a private attorney. so these are the ones usually denied. that's why we were created to ovide pro bono attorneys in front of the court do make sure they are able to have the proper representation and best legal services free of charge. >> how often are you able to get the benefits claimse reversed? >>ually have about an 82% success rate at the tcourts. >> fse looking to get their discharge upgrade, you're talking about people suffering from mental hlth issues. >> yes. these are individuals that were discharged because of their mental health symptoms. like i was saying, it's very common that they behave mightently and thi result in misconduct, substance abuse, they might leave without authorizat they're sen more times likely to be homeless, twice asikely to commit suicide and more likely to hend up in the criminal

justice wesystem. help them apply to get a discharge under honorableo conditionshey can access the benefits they need. >> how often are you able to get those discharges upgraded and how long does it generally take to do that? >> it does take a long time. months toe from nine two years. right now we have over an 85% succeste. >> okay. your clients come from all over? a nationwide program and everything is pro bono. >> all free? >> ye >> whe do the veterans with these two issues normally have to go? are there lots of organizations around to address these issues? >> unfortunately there's not a lot of organizations that are nationwide that do discharge upgrades. there are small pocket but there is a very big need. as far as the court of appeals, they also need representation and there are not many firms th provide representation. once again, we're able to provide it for free. >> what are some of the other services that you provide, other legal services they would w nee?

have a standing clinic at the va med center every friday where a veteran can come any legal issue, and we provide them information, advice and referrals. we do those other times as well. so we just had multiple clinics last friday, but we do have that standing friday clinic that is open f local veterans. >> this is not your first year in the >> it is not. we've been in the catalog for several years. >> all right. you're doing a great service for veterans who have great needs. >> thank you. >> here and around our region and around the country. thank you for being w us. danica gonzalez, attorney with the veteran consortium. how to meet you. >> go to the website at vetsprobono.org or call 202-628-6614. >> thank you for being with us. that's "news 4 your sunday." to see any of our programs go to nbcwashiton.com and click on community. i'm pat lawson muse.

we'll

dave brat said he'd vote to reduce the deficit. i'm abigail spanberger, and i approve this message. but instead, he voted to increase it by $1.9 trillion. why? brat went washington, taking hundreds of thousands from big drug companies, wall street banks, and other corporate special interests and voting to give his big corporate donors big tax breaks, making the next generation pay. dave brat went washington, and all we got was the bill.

shedding light on amazon's search for a second headquarters and it's sounding likely it could be good for northern virginia. mebody here covers northern virginia. >> i'll get to the bottom of that shortly. thank you for being with