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

[Lagin02]

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.

[Lagin02]

Just now, shrekthetank1 said:

Looks like you are doing everything on that side you can.  I would really start to push the Mayor/gov and the senators.  Trust me if they want to they can make it happen very fast!  I would call everyday maybe a few times a day!  They can make the VA move faster.  I would also call WH hotline and let them know of your situation and make sure they hear you will be homeless at the end of September! and you have 4 children!  1-855-948-2311.

Also if it is all men at that shelter I would say that might not be a good place to go, but I could be wrong.  

I did that too! The girl on the White House line I spoke to told me she’s so sorry and she doesn’t know what to tell me to do. She couldn’t put in a complaint because “technically the VA didn’t do anything wrong.” There’s just no program for this. I’m going to follow up with the governor and the other senator like you suggested. I wrote to Stabinaw because met her at a Vetfest I was a resource provider at last year but that was shortly before election time so I think she was just putting in an appearance. Thank you so much for the advise! I sincerely appreciate the time you took to read and respond to all this. 

[Lagin02]

1 minute ago, shrekthetank1 said:

sadly this is one area where I have seen gaps before.  Who are your represented by?  VFW, DAV, or AML ect?

This guy sounds like a real ass!  Sorry for the language, and I would be more colorful.  Some of them are able to help out and sometimes you can find a great VSO who will bend over backwards to help you!  It looks like you have reached out to some, so in my mind it is time to go above their heads and push the envelope with the government!  

The DAV. I think the VSO may be sick. He was a Vietnam veteran and he said he was in kidney failure from Agent Orange. I don’t want to throw him under the bus because I can only imagine how terrible that must be. 

[ShrekTheTank]

3 minutes ago, Lagin02 said:

I did that too! The girl on the White House line I spoke to told me she’s so sorry and she doesn’t know what to tell me to do. She couldn’t put in a complaint because “technically the VA didn’t do anything wrong.” There’s just no program for this. I’m going to follow up with the governor and the other senator like you suggested. I wrote to Stabinaw because met her at a Vetfest I was a resource provider at last year but that was shortly before election time so I think she was just putting in an appearance. Thank you so much for the advise! I sincerely appreciate the time you took to read and respond to all this. 

I just looked back on another post, did you contact the state ran Veteran service Organization?  

[ShrekTheTank]

2 minutes ago, Lagin02 said:

The DAV. I think the VSO may be sick. He was a Vietnam veteran and he said he was in kidney failure from Agent Orange. I don’t want to throw him under the bus because I can only imagine how terrible that must be. 

I would call up the DAV in the morning and ask for another representative as you are about to lose your home and are in need of urgent help!  Remember when talking to them to bring up your children!  There are those who will help, just find them soon!

[Lagin02]

I did call once a couple weeks ago but it was a Tuesday and the operator said they are in training that day. I didn’t want to throw the guy under the bus because they said he was at the doctor when I drove there after not being able to get in contact with him which is why I think he may be sick. I’m going to call them first thing Monday so I can try to sort this out. I’ll also make sure they know we have children. As soon as my computer charges I’m going to forward the letter I wrote to Stanbinaw on to the other senator and the governor. I just keep telling myself that each dead end is just one step closer to a solution. You have been so helpful!!! Thank you sooo much! 

[ShrekTheTank]

The VA does not want anymore bad new about Suicide or a family lost everything, because there was no program to help the vets family!  Push back hard!  There are more here who will chime in I am sure and they might have some good ideas!