?? Photos: President Barack Obama to visit Fort Bliss
Copyright 2012, El Paso Times
Veterans struggling with mental-health and substance-abuse problems are expected to benefit from an executive order President Barack Obama is scheduled to sign Friday before he arrives at Fort Bliss.
The order will focus on Veterans Affairs but is intended to marshal resources throughout the federal government, the El Paso Times learned from a White House official who asked not to be identified.
In particular, the order directs federal officials to increase the number of VA mental-health professionals, improve suicide prevention efforts, create joint ventures between the VA and local mental-health care providers and push research that will improve diagnosis and treatment of problems including post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries.
Obama's order includes some efforts already under way.
In June, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki announced the department was
preparing to add about 1,600 mental-health clinicians and 300 support staff. El Paso was expected to receive 11 of those clinicians and two support personnel.Each additional mental- health care provider could potentially reach hundreds more veterans, Shinseki said. And those professionals would have the opportunity to explore "cutting edge" post-traumatic stress disorder research and therapies, he said.
Last year, the VA provided mental-health services to 1.3 million veterans, according to the department. And since 2009, its mental-health budget increased by 39 percent.
But, across the country, the VA and the military are competing with the private sector for a relatively small number of mental-health professionals.
"We have a number of positions open," said Gail Ziegler, an El Paso Veterans Affairs Health Care System spokeswoman. "We are in great need of mental-health practitioners and welcome them to come check us out for a career."
And community mental-health care providers have encountered problems connecting with the VA.
"We're the only shelter for homeless veterans in El Paso, and we're closed down," said Ben Bass, Recovery Alliance of El Paso executive director.
The group is trying to open a new shelter that will hold about 80 veterans, said Steven Silver, its development director, but a VA safety inspector suspended the organization's contract.
After $100,000 spent on surveys for lead paint and mold and some modifications, they are waiting for a reinspection, Bass said.
The shelter will use peer-to-peer alcohol- and drug-abuse counseling and other measures promoted in Obama's order.
"I think it's important to serve veterans because of the number of guys who are coming back from the Middle East," Bass said. "We've got a lot of resources we can provide for homeless veterans."
Obama's order also is expected to support active-duty military and their families.
It requires that officials find ways to reduce the stigma associated with seeking mental-health care, ease school transitions for military children when families are transferred, review home foreclosures to ensure they were fair, and protect service members against predatory loan practices.
Maj. Gen. Dana J.H. Pittard, Fort Bliss commander, said his post has one of the lowest suicide rates in the Army, an accomplishment he believes will interest Obama.
Although three Fort Bliss soldiers committed suicide this year, Pittard said, most posts of similar size have had three or four times that many.
Pittard said he wants his soldiers to recognize the signs of someone being suicidal. Nearly a quarter of his soldiers have gone through a program called Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, or ASIST.
As of last month, all incoming soldiers are required to go through the program, Pittard said. Within three years, 90 percent of his soldiers will have had the instruction, he said. And soldiers must schedule semiannual evaluations that include behavioral health screenings.
When those soldiers return to civilian life, however, it can take months, and in some cases years, before they get the VA services they need.
Obama is expected to talk about making it easier to apply for stress-disorder disability pay and increasing the number of VA employees who process disability pay applications.
"To me, it's a culture," Silver, with the Recovery Alliance, said of the VA's persistent backlogs. "All of the delays are endemic.
"And it's totally related to the homeless problem," he said. "If the veteran has a mental-health problem, he's in jail or homeless."
David Nevarez, a former Marine who served in the Gulf War, suffered a mild case of post-traumatic stress disorder.
"It's too little, too late," he said, although Nevarez was not aware of the contents of Obama's executive order. "Mental health is an issue and it's going to be a larger problem with these guys coming back."
After waiting for months, Nevarez received an 80 percent disability rating from the VA. He can't work because of his injuries, he said, and he was granted "hardship status" while he waits to see whether he qualifies for other benefits that he needs to support his family.
"They (VA officials) told me it would be more than 290 days," Nevarez said. "If it wasn't for my wife with two jobs, I'd probably be under a bridge with a cardboard sign."
Chris Roberts may be reached at chrisr@elpasotimes.com; 546-6136.
Times reporter David Burge contributed to this story.
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