PTSD long time without care

[Justme]

Hi. I was approved for 30% PTSD rating back in 2011 and my life has been in a spiral since. It started off little by little and progressively got worse. I've been to jail 3 times since then. Each time was alcohol related.  DUI, drunk in public and misdemeanor vandalism. I stopped going to get VA and later became homeless. Stopped my meds and have not been on them in over a year. 

 

At the urging of friends and family I am going to seek help from the VA again and have an appointment soon. 

 

I've read its best to have recent medical history to put in a claim to request an increase in my rating and wanted to know if it is better to wait or not. My living situation is dire and I'm sick of being homeless and being stressed out every single day. I am 46 and too old for this shit...

 

I have been added to some HUD list for veterans but there is a wait. I'm currently waiting on word about transitional housing until I'm approved. Does anyone have experience in that kind of living arrangement? 

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you. 

[broncovet]

Dont overlook the "OR".   If you are unable to work, the qualifications for pension are much easier than compensation.  You dont have to prove "why" you cant work, and Im assuming you can not.  

If you are unable to work for health reasons, then you should be good to go.  

Of course, I dont know what your health is, and whether or not you can work.  

However, my guess would be if you are homeless or about to become same, and you could fix all that by simply getting a job, you would have done so already, but I get that is not always the case.  

If you are getting 30 percent for PTSD, I wonder how many employers are going to say:

"Sure, I dont care if you have suicide or homicidal ideations...come to work for us.  If it gets too bad, and you act out on it, then we will take care of you then, too."

I say that, not to suggest YOU have SI, but I had SI and the vA rated ME at 30 percent..that is, until I appealed and appealed and finally won.  

However, if you CAN work, then by all means do so.  Dont be collecting benfits if you are able to get a job.  That will come back to  bite you, as VA has a way  of finding "malingerers", that is, people who are too lazy to work so they fake illnesses for benefits.  Im not one of them...I tried for years to get a job.  

What I did not get that I was "in denial" about my own physical and mental health, and I thought I could find a job.  

So, I went through Voc Rehab (through my state, which is a much better program than VA's), and my Voc rehab counselor, after being unable to find a job, used the term "unemployability".  

I did nt know what that meant so I read a bunch about it, and he was right...I had applied for thousands of jobs and blamed the potential employers, including the VA, the DOD, and every one else, for not hiring me, all while younger and healthier friends were finding work right and left..from the same jobs that turned me down.  

Mostly your VA pension will be about:

1.  Did you serve in the requiste periods of service?

2.  Are you unemployed and been unemployed a long time and unable to get a job.  

     Go ahead and do the Voc Rehab plan..and if they find you a job, so be it.  

You can apply for pension in the interim...dont lie to them...just apply, and dont answer questions they dont ask.  "Gee, I have purple hair and nose rings, can I still get pension?"   Dont try to do their job for them, apply and let them see if you qualify.  If they deny, then you can still appeal.

The good news is that pension cases are much much faster than comp.  And, if you are homeless or very nearly so, that is usually a dead giveaway.  Again, dont try it if you can work, but if you have been turned down an unusual number of times, there may be a reason.