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Va disability & C&P question regarding veteran with suicide risk

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Lagin02

Question

So my husband is going though the VA disability process. He began treatment in April doing CPT which aggravated his symptoms immensely. In May, he was fired from the job he has held for 8 years. In June, he was put on disability leave from his National Guard unit after command became aware of his suicide risk and they have mandated that he continues the therapy which is only making the situation worse. He has been in for 15 years and most likely will be medically chaptered out which has worsened his depression significantly. Due to his suicidal thoughts I am trying to manage this financial crisis as best I can because I’m afraid he is being pushed over the edge. He just stares off into space and sits in our basement. I filed for VA disability at the beginning of June because prior to all this he was our only source of income. I left my job a couple months before he was fired because my income was not enough to cover daycare after our son was born. I can’t leave him alone with the kids in the state he is in right now. I payed off our bills for a couple months with our savings but we only have a month left before we will be homeless. I also expedited his claim due to financial hardship in June. His claim seems open and shut to me. He did is C&P exam in July 31st but the VA still haven’t received the report (it was a VA doctor that did it not a contractor).  I called on Thursday to ask where it is and was told “it’s not ready yet” by the office where it was conducted. 

My understanding is you must prove three things:

The stressor:

His stressor occurred in Iraq in 2007. There was a CID investigation due to the circumstances around the event and there are still people in his unit that were in Iraq with him and knew what happened. I don’t want to write details because it would defeat the purpose of confidentiality but there is no denying that it was extremely traumatic and involved death and serious injury of service members in a small convoy. I also have a memorandum signed by the commander sending my husband to the combat stress unit in Iraq after the incident when he became suicidal. In my mind there is no denying the stressor. 

A current diagnosis: 

He is currently under treatment for PTSD at the VA doing CPT and is on medication. His team wants him to do an in-patient program in Chicago but as it stands with our impending homelessness, it just isn’t an opinion right now. 

The Nexus: 

He marked off symptoms of ptsd on his demobilization paperwork and stated he encountered stressors. In his periodic health assessment 6-month and also 1 year follow-ups for his Iraq deployment it shows he endorsed every symptom of PTSD and one Depression question. He was supposed to be referred to mental health according to this form but for whatever reason it slipped through the cracks. His current treatment is focused on the events that occurred during his first deployment. 

I called the VA homeless assistance line and was told that they will place my husband in transitional housing but me and our children (6-month-old and 9-years-old) will need to “find somewhere else to go.” I called the White House VA line and was told “I am so sorry but I don’t know what else I can tell you to do” His ebenifits portal broke 6 weeks ago due to duplicate files and was supposed to be fixed 3 weeks ago but is still broken. I have called veteran resources but all in our area require we have a “resolution” if they assist which we don’t because I don’t know if or when he will start to improve. 

So if your still with me, I have a couple questions: 

How long does it take for the doctor to send a C&P exam? Is it normal that it wouldn’t be don’t weeks after the exam? 

What are the chances that this will be resolved before the end of September when we will be homeless? If we do become homeless how do we follow up with the case with no address? 

Will the transitional housing be able to make sure he doesn’t follow through with his suicidal thoughts? I’m afraid that separating our family and having to toss everything we have build over the last 10 years will push him over the edge and I won’t be there to make sure he is okay. 

Is there anything else I can or should be doing? 

Is there any chance he could get better soon? Like it gets really bad but than starts then better? He has a bachelor’s degree and if he stops staring off into space and having these episodes he could get a job paying good money or I can work and he can watch the kids. I can’t imagine throwing everything we own in a dumpster, having my family torn apart, and taking my kids to a homeless shelter. I don’t even know how to explain it to my 9-year-old. He always struggled but at least he was functioning by numbing everything and isolation prior to opening this can of worms. We were financially comfortable so I just don’t understand how things got so bad so fast.

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  • Lead Moderator

Ok so we are going to need a bit more information to help you here.  There is a ton of help!  First off what state do you live in?  Do you live rural?  How many total family members are in your family?

I am asking these questions, because those on here who know what to do are going to need a bit more information to help you.  Trust me Mayor/Gov and state senators do not want a veteran and the family thrown out on the street and to be on the 6 o'clock news because they did nothing.  Also there are a lot of non profits who's job it is to make sure these things don't happen!  Trust me a call from a senator or an official can get the wheels moving at the VA even if it is for one family!  Please reply back so we can give you some better advice!

I know there was a Vet on here who was going to go homeless with his child and I know a lot of people here came together to make sure this did not happen!  We are here to help!

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  • Lead Moderator

As for if he will get better, that is a difficult question to answer.  I would say if you get him the right doctor at the VA, then he has a good shot at being able to deal with those issues.  He might need to go into their treatment program depending on how bad it is.  Is he rated for any % with the VA?

Since he is a VET you can take him to the veteran hospital to be seen, and if he is headed down this path then it sounds like he needs some help.  They will also keep track of everything that happens and will give him the help he needs.  I know my Vet hospital here has a bunch of different things even to the point of putting them into treatment 24/7 at the hospital.  

I know some of us here have been down this road and it is a tough road to go down.  The military does a very poor job of teaching you how to deal with the aftermath of trauma.  They do a great job at teaching you how to bring it into the world.  There is hope for him, but he may need some help which is not at home.  

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Thank you so much for responding! I just need guidance on what I can do that I haven’t already done. 

We live in Michigan.

We live in a rural area.

Our family size is 4. Our kids are 6-months-old and 9-years old. 

I use to work as a contractor  (family assistance center specialist) for the Michigan Army National Guard so it was literally my job to know the resources in our area but literally none are able to assist because we have no long term resolution or they only assist the veteran but not the dependents. I wrote an email using the forum for our senator (Stabenow) on Friday night but haven’t heard back yet. If you have any suggestions I would would sincerely appreciate it! I have thought about contacting the news but I feel so humiliated that we are in this mess. 

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I’m sorry for the delay in my response, I still need approval by the moderator. 

No, he is not rated. This is his first and only claim. He is already in treatment at the VA which is what aggravated the symptoms initially and now they want him in-patient because of the suicidal thoughts but in a program funded by wounded warriors in Chicago. 

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Ok so it sounds like you know what to do.  

I would contact Gretchen Whitmer the governor and make them aware of the situation.

I would then contact Gary Peters your other senator.  

What city or county do you live in?  There are 31 pages of non profits which help out veterans from the search I just did, so probably need to narrow it down.

Also I know I work at habitat for humanity in Nebraska.  We also have some programs to help vets.  

Edited by shrekthetank1
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