Veterans forced to sue because military has failed to meet deadlines on disability claims

Veteran Group Sues Military Leaders, Claiming Yearslong Delays on Benefits Decisions

Military.com
By Richard Sisk
14 Jan 2020

Stichman said the class-action suit represents a mix of veterans either requesting upgrades of discharges to entitle them to benefits or requests from honorably discharged veterans for corrections to their records.

A group of veterans watches the Veterans Day wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington National Cemetery, November 11, 2016. (U.S. Army/Sgt. Cody W. Torkelson)

The military has failed to meet deadlines set by Congress for rulings on veterans' requests to correct records blocking them from receiving benefits, according to a federal class-action lawsuit filed last month.

The suit brought by the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) charges that delays in processing the requests by the Boards for Correction of Military Records of the service branches amount to a denial of the due process rights of thousands of veterans.

In an interview and in statements, Bart Stichman, executive director of NVLSP, said that rulings on "lifetime benefits" for disability and retirement are at stake in the lawsuit, which names Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett and acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly as defendants.

"Veterans who seek a correction of an erroneous less-than-honorable discharge or a wrongful denial of disability retirement benefits are paying a high price for the ongoing delays at the Correction Boards," he said.
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Phoenix VA inpatient mental healthcare unit opening today

An exclusive tour inside Phoenix VA inpatient mental healthcare unit

ABC 15 News
By: Sonu Wasu
Jan 13, 2020

"Patients might come here if God forbid, they don't want to live. They might want to try and take their life or if some of their conditions are acting up so they can't function in society," said Dr. McCarthy.

PHOENIX — The Phoenix VA is getting ready to unveil its newly renovated in-patient mental healthcare unit on Tuesday at noon.

A Veterans Affairs Department spokeswoman said the facility spent $1.27 million dollars to give the facility a facelift.

The changes highlight security features to keep veterans safe from harming themselves or others around them, but it's also meant to address the stigma surrounding mental healthcare.

Dr. Maureen McCarthy, the chief of staff at the Phoenix VA said the facility looked very "institutionalized" before. The new changes will make the facility feel more "homey" while addressing safety issues involving veterans who may be considered at risk for harming themselves.

The in-patient mental health care unit which houses 48 beds is in a highly secure section of the building, accessible through multiple locked doors.
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"We’re talking about suicide. We just don’t have time to screw around on this.”

As VA combats veteran suicide, a push to expand mental health services and fears of outsourcing

Pittsburg Post Gazette
DANIEL MOORE
Post-Gazette Washington Bureau
January 13, 2020

“The idea is to broaden the places where people can access help. Veterans aren’t accessing resources … and we need to be able to spread that out as far and wide as it possibly can. We’re talking about suicide. We just don’t have time to screw around on this.” Rep. Chrissy Houlahan

WASHINGTON — When Rep. Chrissy Houlahan separated from the U.S. Air Force in the early 1990s, she said she found the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to be “impenetrable,” a poorly understood and possibly unwelcome place.

She suspects the stubbornly high veteran suicide rate today is linked to barriers — be it a long drive, bureaucratic confusion or a cultural divide — that have persisted between the VA and a significant portion of the country.

That’s why Ms. Houlahan, a first-term Democrat representing the Philadelphia suburbs who has spent most of her working life as an engineer and entrepreneur, has put herself on the front lines in Washington to expand mental health care services to hard-to-reach veterans.

Yet one idea she has championed — a grant program for community organizations that may better reach veterans — has touched a nerve with some other Democrats, VA employees and health advocates. They fear that the measure, while well-intentioned, is another step toward privatizing the massive government-run health care system.

The report also included a statistic often cited by the bill’s supporters: Among veterans who died by suicide in 2017, 62% never visited a VA health facility in the previous year.

Concerns about VA privatization are nothing new. Lawmakers have debated for years how to expand services and fix flaws in the VA system while maintaining the quality of care.

“VA’s better than the private sector on mental health. You can’t match it,” said Russell Lemle, who served 25 years as the chief psychologist at the San Francisco VA Healthcare System.
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Fund outreach to get veterans to go to the VA!

After over a decade of trying to get my husband to go to the VA, he finally did. The VA helped save my husband's life. He had seen private psychologists, but they did not understand the difference between a veteran with PTSD and civilians with mental health needs. He got worse until he went to the VA.

Every veteran seeking help from me, is sent to the VA so they can take care of what I cannot help them with. Lives are saved once they know the VA is not their enemy and has a lot to offer...that can, and does, help them live a happier lives.

To avoid hiring someone with PTSD because of the jobs they took to save lives, is reprehensible, as well as stupid.

UPDATE

Civilian woman with PTSD hired then fired because of PTSD

City of Fargo approves settlement agreement in discrimination suit filed by former firefighter

KFGO News
by Don Haney
Tuesday, January 14, 2020

He claimed in his federal lawsuit, his disability, post-traumatic stress disorder, was revealed during one of his appeals to the city and he was unable to find a permanent job after that information was made public.

Scott Kelsh Photo: KFGO News

FARGO, N.D. (KFGO) - A settlement agreement has been approved on a unanimous vote by the Fargo City Commission, awarding a former Fargo firefighter and state lawmaker $63,000 in a discrimination lawsuit.
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Why are employers still avoiding the elephant in the room?

Facts seem to be missing in the decision to hire people known to have PTSD. In the case of Scott Kelsh, his PTSD was known, although not by his own decision. Yet, with over 7 million Americans with PTSD, companies do not know if the person they are interviewing...or already working for them, have PTSD or not.

To avoid hiring someone with PTSD is impossible. To avoid hiring someone with PTSD because of the jobs they took to save lives, is reprehensible, as well as stupid.

Imagine having someone who proved they know what hard work is. Imagine them being so mission focused they understood the ramifications of being distracted. Imagine turning someone like that away, to hire someone you assume is fine and then discover they have PTSD too.

K-9 officer shared pain of PTSD...and what it was like to find support to heal it

A Regina police officer shares his experience with PTSD

...and how different his life was after he got the help and support he needed!

Const. Derrick Fox, a member of the Regina Police Service's canine unit, talks about his experience with PTSD and how treatment helped him.