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.

[GeekySquid]

17 minutes ago, Lagin02 said:

a person with a “cold (squid) ink bladder heart” wouldn’t dedicate so much of their time assisting others.

watch out you will ruin my reputation saying things like that

[ShrekTheTank]

Hi just checking in.  Can we get an update or help?

[Lagin02]

1 hour ago, shrekthetank1 said:

Hi just checking in.  Can we get an update or help?

I’m still waiting to hear something. His e-benefits came back up. The portal and the VA representative I spoke with said that all documents are turned in and they aren’t waiting for anything but only one document as been reviewed. I clicked the Make Decision Now button last week but still nothing. I have a job interview tomorrow doing in home ABA therapy. It’s nights so I’m hoping my husband will be able to manage while I’m gone. The baby usually sleeps but it scares the hell out of me because my husband is just not doing well. The medication seemed to help at first but now it’s back to staring at walls. I just don’t have a choice right now. I’m just trying to stay positive. 

[vetquest]

Please stay positive.  I will be praying for you.

[ShrekTheTank]

26 minutes ago, Lagin02 said:

I’m still waiting to hear something. His e-benefits came back up. The portal and the VA representative I spoke with said that all documents are turned in and they aren’t waiting for anything but only one document as been reviewed. I clicked the Make Decision Now button last week but still nothing. I have a job interview tomorrow doing in home ABA therapy. It’s nights so I’m hoping my husband will be able to manage while I’m gone. The baby usually sleeps but it scares the hell out of me because my husband is just not doing well. The medication seemed to help at first but now it’s back to staring at walls. I just don’t have a choice right now. I’m just trying to stay positive. 

Please do stay positive, but also be realistic about what you might need to and make a plan to keep your roof over your head if things don't pan out?  It is very likely the VA money would not come through at the earliest by the first.  I have seen it happen faster, but these are rare cases.  I assume you are trying to get a job so you can show one of these non profits you can pay it back at some point?  

I would still have a backup to go for the media route as a last resort, but don't wait too long.  

I am praying for this for you, and I also really hope the VA comes through like they should!

[Lagin02]

On 9/6/2019 at 3:24 PM, shrekthetank1 said:

Please do stay positive, but also be realistic about what you might need to and make a plan to keep your roof over your head if things don't pan out?  It is very likely the VA money would not come through at the earliest by the first.  I have seen it happen faster, but these are rare cases.  I assume you are trying to get a job so you can show one of these non profits you can pay it back at some point?  

I would still have a backup to go for the media route as a last resort, but don't wait too long.  

I am praying for this for you, and I also really hope the VA comes through like they should!

It is pretty clear this is going to take a lot longer. The initial estimated completion date was October. When I expedited it, they changed it to November. Tonight they said it changed to January of 2020. They have all the paperwork and they said they aren’t waiting for anything so I’m not sure why they keep increasing the date. 

I found out my husband has a TSP and we can pull the money out of it so I am waiting for that to transfer. It’s enough to cover our bills for 2 more months.

I did get the job! I got it so I can buy groceries and diapers. DHHS gave us emergency food benefits but we only got them for one month before they shut them off. Apparently it was because we didn’t include the $10 in my daughter’s savings account in our assets on our application. They said it will take a couple weeks to resolve but that was a month ago. Every time I call they say to call back the following week. I’m not holding my breath. 

I appreciate your prayers! I am definitely pretty close to  involving the news. I have been writing out a letter to send to all the local and national news organizations that I can find. I figure at least one may pick up the story. It just makes me so upset that they treat people like this. We have literally taken every avenue to resolve this and each road is a dead end. Maybe some bad news coverage will make them reevaluate how they handle these situations in the future.