Former First Lady visits Americus, announces program expansion

AMERICUS, GA (WTVM) - Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter stopped in Americus on Friday, Oct. 24 to announce the expansion of Operation Family Caregiver, a program to support the families of newly returning service members and veterans.

It was announced at the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving's annual summit that three more sites will be added.

Rosalynn says she lost her father after he returned from the military and saw firsthand the kind of struggles her mother, a caregiver, endures.

"She had never even written a check and she had to take over the family of four children," Rosalynn said. "I was the eldest. I was 13 and two brothers and a little sister who was four and I saw what she had to go through."

The three new sites will be in Houston, Texas, Tallahassee, Fla., and Augusta, Ga.

Operation Family Caregiver launched in 2012 with help from Johnson & Johnson.

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