Veterans question moving support group at Hopwood AMVETS
The director of the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System said the veterans’ administration is putting an emphasis on suicide prevention for veterans.
“There’s an average of about 20 veterans a day who are committing suicide and well over half of those veterans have never accessed the VA for care or they haven’t been receiving care from us for a long time,” Karin McGraw said at a town hall meeting at AMVETS Post 103 in Hopwood, Fayette County. “We are working closely with veterans who have been identified at high-risk for harming themselves or others and we have someone who reaches out to them to schedule appointments.”
McGraw added that the VA system can now provide mental health services up to a year for veterans who have been other-than-honorably discharged and if their discharge status has not changed during the year of services–potentially if the therapeutic intervention reveals service details that can impact discharge status.
“The VA can help transition them to other services in the community with a warm handoff, ensuring a continuum of care,” she said. “In addition, there’s now a mechanism in place that enables those veterans to apply to have their discharge status changed. That could make them eligible for VA health care ongoing.”
Several veterans who attended the recent meeting, one of several in the region to highlight available health care for veterans, appealed to VA officials to bring back a helpful support group at AMVETS Post 103. Veterans who have been dealing with post traumatic stress disorder and other issues had been meeting on Thursdays to share their experiences. However, counselors from the Morgantown Vet Center, which facilitates the meeting, recently stopped hosting the support group at the post, citing privacy concerns, they said.
The group meetings were relocated to the Fayette County Community Action Agency in Uniontown, but the men said there was a level of comfort in being able to have the meetings at their post.
“I love coming here,” said Donnie Coleman, 71, of Lemont Furnace and a Vietnam War veteran. “We’re a bunch of old veterans and we have something we can cling to. This (support) group started with five guys and grew to 81. That tells me something is working here. Can’t someone give us a little bit of peace and let us have our group therapy? We’re on that ruler and we’re down to the last few inches.”
Vietnam War veteran Ken Noga Sr., 66, of Uniontown also expressed frustration that the sessions had been moved.
“It doesn’t make sense. They kept throwing that HIPPA law at us because the group wasn’t private enough and it was getting too big,” said Noga, referring to the Heath Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which governs patient privacy.
“We fought to have the group here because our memorial is here,” Noga said. “I’ve been attending this group for five years and couldn’t wait to come here on Thursdays. When I’m here, I have some calm and peace because I’m with my brothers again.”
While she noted that the group meeting was not one of the programs offered by the VA, McGraw told the veterans she was aware of the complaint, and said she would follow up with the concerns.
Contacted after the meeting, Joanne Boyle, the regional director for VA’s North Atlantic District Readjustment Counseling Services, said the number of people attending the group sessions had grown so large that there wasn’t ample room available at the Hopwood post.
“People don’t like change and I understand that,” said Boyle, a clinical social worker by trade. “And Vietnam veterans are very near and dear to my heart. But at the same time, we have an obligation as an organization to provide responsible services for our veterans. The veterans who were coming to the AMVETS site were outgrowing that space. We found a beautiful facility in downtown Uniontown where we can now offer three group sessions every Thursday morning, along with individual counseling in the afternoon. Feedback has been very positive and there has been such a high demand for services that we may expand counseling from one day a week to a day-and-a half, and possibly even two days a week.”
Boyle added that AMVETS Post 103 will continue to be a meeting place for veterans.
“Vets are welcome to continue getting together at AMVETS for camaraderie,” she said. “We are also exploring doing some outreach events there. We want to give the very best service to our veterans.”
At the meeting, Fayette County Commissioners Vincent Vicites and Dave Lohr voiced their support for veterans, both saying they were hopeful that a resolution could be reached to bring the meetings back to the post.
“We’d like to see them get a counselor out here regularly again. This facility is their home and they feel comfortable here in this environment. These men defended our country and they some need help right now,” Vicites said.
Added Lohr, “These guys need to know they have everything available to them. And let us know if there is anything else we can do to help.”