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]

18 minutes ago, GeekySquid said:

any update?  it has been 4 days of radio silence from you.

I’m sorry! The baby caught a little cold virus so he wants to be held 24/7. The VSO submitted the wrong information for direct deposit so I’ve been dealing with the VA to get it resent to the correct account (hopefully we get it sorted before my rent is due). I swear, the only thing that guy had to do was submit the application, the dependent info, and the direct deposit Info and he managed to mess 2 out of 3. I guess I’m lucky he managed to get the application submitted even if it was three weeks after I turned it in. I’ve also been getting my husband’s travel arrangements in order for his treatment in Chicago. The VA is requesting his former employer fill out a form so I’m driving it down there tomorrow to have her fill it out so I can submit it. How are you this evening? 

[GeekySquid]

9 minutes ago, Lagin02 said:

How are you this evening?

glad to hear you are still with us, sad you still have these tinier hurdles to jump.

you do know you could have submitted all that stuff yourself? next time you think the VSO has to do something for you, come here and ask how to do it yourself. There really is very little that they can do that you cannot do yourself.

just taking a break from work and catching up on a few posts here, and have not seen you post.

we just got another mother of 2 on here with basically your same problem with the VA. gave her the same basic advice. If she responds I am tagging you into the conversation. Let her hear it from the pro on how to burn this mother down when the VA acts like a Richard.

As long as the VA had not processed the check to Treasury, they should be able to get it to the right account. If they have processed to Treasury there are more steps they have to take, and that means delay, at least on the Retro Pay. The monthly should still hit on time on the evening of the 30th. maybe early hours of the the 1st depending on your bank.

I would let your Senator buddy know about this snafu and ask him to oversee the VA in getting it straightened out. They can be like a sneaky kid. If they think no one is watching they will do exactly the opposite of what they were just told to do by mom or dad.

keep us informed

[Lagin02]

2 minutes ago, GeekySquid said:

you do know you could have submitted all that stuff yourself? next time you think the VSO has to do something for you, come here and ask how to do it yourself. There really is very little that they can do that you cannot do yourself.

I realized that after I initiated the claim with the VSO. I will most likely fill everything out myself from this point forward. 

 

6 minutes ago, GeekySquid said:

we just got another mother of 2 on here with basically your same problem with the VA. gave her the same basic advice. If she responds I am tagging you into the conversation. Let her hear it from the pro on how to burn this mother down when the VA acts like a Richard

Please tag me!!! Even if she doesn’t need my help I would love to give her some moral support. I really didn’t think my situation would get resolved but thanks to you all it did! 

 

8 minutes ago, GeekySquid said:

As long as the VA had not processed the check to Treasury, they should be able to get it to the right account

It rejected yesterday and was returned to the VA today so I’m hoping it won’t take too long. At least I can cover rent with his October payment. I’m going to contact the senator’s office tomorrow if they can’t provide a date it will be reissued. The senators aid told me she was closing the case but to contact her if there were any other issues. 

 

10 minutes ago, GeekySquid said:

keep us informed

I will! I’m still figuring out these forums but If you see anything I can help with on other posts, please tag me. It notifies my email on my phone so I’ll definitely see it. 

[GeekySquid]

2 minutes ago, Lagin02 said:

It rejected yesterday and was returned to the VA today

just as information when a bank rejects a Treasury Check it returns to Treasury. There an agent eventually gets it to figure out which agency authorized it, notifies some rando at that agency who then has to ask umpteen people who the check is for and will someone write them a letter.

Call the Senator.

His office can short circuit some of the BS by telling the head of your RO to handle it. They can then speed up verifying you have the right account info in and then send a new check request.

Once that is sent The Senator can call the VA processing office to make them jump your check to the head of the list.

There is nothing he can do at Treasury because treasury authorizes nothing in this process. They just get in check authorizations in batches and then when the batch is at the head of the line hit the button to send them to the ACH system. There is no one-off point where he can apply pressure.

[Lagin02]

16 hours ago, GeekySquid said:

Call the Senator.

His office can short circuit some of the BS by telling the head of your RO to handle it. They can then speed up verifying you have the right account info in and then send a new check request.

I did as you suggested this morning. The senators office just called and told me it will be in our account in 48-72 hours. Thank you! 

[GeekySquid]

5 minutes ago, Lagin02 said:

office just called and told me it will be in our account in 48-72 hours. Thank you! 

Ya Heard me? I am not joking or just blowing smoke. Every suggestion i have made to you works...if you use them.

There is a reason for that....i am a process guy. I look at processes to find out where they work and where they fail.

Anyone who gets their senator on their side has a 600 lbs gorilla on a leash and better know how to exercise them.

Doing this stuff for you and your family is political fodder. The Senator will use it somewhere in some campaign speech. He may not name you but it  will be all about how he is commited to vets

I want to hear when that money hits and that your first move was to call the Senator. I want to hear u are baking him cookies and sending him pics of your kids going to school and playing in their home instead of on the street or in a shelter.

He will happily stay on that leash if you do this and exercise him properly