Vets Still Left Behind for Mental and Substance Abuse Care December 19
While there is a great deal of information available on the mental substance abuse problems of veterans there are still few programs to help them with these troubles. Veterans often face a great deal of hardship in the search for care. The Veterans Mental Health Act, which requires the Veterans Association to partner with community mental health centers and expand service, was signed a year ago but unfortunately for veterans, significant barriers to access still remain. As many as 2/3 of vets and their families face long waits for even initiation crisis appointments according to a recent survey and the news only gets worse, these same families must also deal with long waits between appointments. Despite a high rate of families who have no vehicles or other sources for transportation these same families are often forced to travel huge distances to get help at all. Many of these veterans are (justifiably, if other sources are accurate) afraid that they’ll be stigmatized if they seek VA-based treatment. Vets say they’re concerned that their care will indicate they’re weak, affect their military careers or make their way into personal files posing problems for them down the road. Many veterans’ families don’t take part in VA programs for families whether through a lack of information or a deliberate lack of program usage is unclear. Problems of domestic violence, divorce, homelessness, unemployment, suicide, depression and criminal justice system involvement all plague these veterans with few options available to help resolve them.
Tags: families, mental abuse, mental help, Substance Abuse, veterans