How much longer will veterans have to suffer under the VA's current system in assisting veterans with mental health needs? Personally speaking, there are many reasons as to why I have chosen to continue to pay $155 every month, in order to see a physician outside of the VA system (aka "civilian side"). Not only is there a lack of resources at my local VA hospital (not enough personnel/providers available), but there continues to be a lack of timeliness in getting veterans much needed mental health care appointments and further assistance.
I am a veteran of the war in Iraq. I served and was discharged honorably. I was told that I would never be alone, and that the VA would always be able to help care for me "at no cost" to myself. However, in the last few months of this journey, I have realized there is a cost for some veterans who try to receive their care at the VA, and it comes in the form of lives. Whether through lack of being able to live a "meaningful" life or by the veterans who continue to commit suicide while also simultaneously receiving assistance from the VA.
I realize that this is not the case in all situations or for all veterans. I am speaking purely of my own experiences and simply sharing parts of my story and some of the things I have learned while trying to set up an appointment to receive counseling assistance at my local VA hospital.
I began my journey over 3 months ago. When I inquired online about how long it would be for a new patient to see someone in the Mental Health Department, the VA's "Access to Care" site (https://www.accesstocare.va.gov/) stated that it took an average of 10 days to be seen. It had been more than 2 years since I had received care at the VA, thus I was required to re-register as a "new" patient at the VA. I thought it would help the process along if I went there in person, so I decided to go to the walk-in clinic that day.
After being interviewed by a staff member, I was given a date that I was told was the "next available" appointment, which was actually in 56 days. 56 Days later, I would need to attend a new process they had started, called group orientation. I was sent home with Veterans Crisis Line cards and encouraged to call the line, even if I just "needed someone to talk to". Other resources available at this point included free pistol/gun locks, also brought to you by the Veteran's Crisis Line (below).
56 Days Later, at the group orientation, a packet was given and read to us aloud about all the available resources available to us in the mental health department at the VA. I made note of the amount of people at this orientation, which was 6 (including myself). We were again interviewed by a provider to determine how they could help us at the VA. I was finally given a counseling appointment, which would be in 26 days from my orientation date.
This is a total of 82 days in order to begin seeing a counselor.
Also of note is the number of veterans attending these orientations to begin receiving care. I asked questions of certain staff members to determine the amounts and was given the following information:
There are 8 slots open to veterans, per group orientation. Approximately 30% of those slotted do not show up to the orientations. They had only been doing these group orientations for "a couple of months", and had began by giving 1 orientation group per week, eventually leading up to their current number of orientations per week (due to "high demand"), which is 4 times per week. 4 orientations per week currently take place with a slotted 8 veterans for each, which equals 32 veterans per month. With 30% of veterans not showing up (30% of 32 is 9.6, so say 10 veterans do not show up per month), this means that these orientations accommodate 22 veterans each month at this location.
What happens to the other 10?