So, I had sort of an interesting experience today that I thought I should share with you guys. I had an early morning appointment in Vincennes to get my head shrunken. As I mentioned before, Ive been feeling rather under the weather lately, so I decided to drop by an acute care clinic for a check up. I had about half an hour to kill before the clinic came back from lunch. The acute care clinic in Vincennes happens to be located next to the VA clinic. On impulse, I headed over there to ask about volunteer opportunities. I shouldnt have been surprised by what happened next, but I still was. I asked the receptionist about volunteer opportunities. She said: You see that flier over there on the wall? The number on it is what you need to call to ask about volunteering. Would you do me a favor, though, if youve got a few minutes? Sure. Whats that? Would you mind using our phone room to call and ask? Weve had several people come in to ask about volunteering lately. We give them the number, but then never hear from them again. I said sure, and she escorted me to a private room with a phone and computer. I assume its normally used by vets to apply for or check on their benefits. I called the number, and it just rang and rang; no person or answering machine picked up. I tried the number again. Still no luck. I tried dialing without the area code, not pushing 9 for an outside line. Nothing worked. Finally, I tried the number and let it ring for two straight minutes. No answer. I went back to the receptionist, reported my findings, and asked if she minded if I used the phone room again to call the Knox County Veterans Affairs Officer. She found the number for me and I went back to the phone room for round 2. I got connected to the VA officer and explained to him my desire to volunteer with the VA and explained the problem with the volunteer number. He told me that volunteer queries were handled by regional call centers, and that their lines were down 80% of the time. He asked me what exactly I wanted to do and that hed try to get me set up with someone who could help. I mentioned that I wanted to do something to help vets with mental illnesses, specifically schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. What he said next shocked me. Well, none of the local clinics have any support resources for people with those sorts of problems. The VA hospital in Indy does some work with PTSD and substance abuse, but the closest facility that deals with what youre talking about is the Jesse Brown VA hospital in Chicago. So, really what youre saying is that if a schizophrenic veteran from southern Indiana needs treatment he has to travel four and a half hours to Chicago? Pretty much, yes. Why does such a situation exist? Lack of funding, mostly We hung up, and I decided to look up the Jesse Brown hospital. Come to find out, it doesnt offer treatment to mental patients other than in PTSD or Substance Abuse cases. Surprise! Finally, to complete my Nancy Drew act I indulged a hunch I had. I searched for VA Centers offering counseling services within a 200 mile radius of south-central Florida. Know where I found the only one? Fort Lauderdale. Thats right, ladies and gents, if a schizophrenic homeless vet in south-central Florida wants treatment, he or she will have to travel to a place where it is pretty much illegal to be homeless! If this little adventure doesnt highlight the problem for you, nothing will. And if its that difficult for a homeless vet with a mental illness to get treatment when he has a right to use VA services, how much more difficult is it for a homeless non-vet? Then I went back to the acute care clinic and found out I have walking pneumonia in my left lower lobe and a potentially hearing-damaging infection in my right ear. My ear hasnt even hurt! So overall, its been an instructive day so far!
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 19:55:22 +0000
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