It really, really depends on location. I've been working with a family member for years with his VA and it's a shit show. He needs a social worker right now and I was calling to get access for him. It took me between five and ten phone calls over the span of a week to finally get transferred to the right department only to be told the waiting list is massive.

The worst part was the first phone call. He acted really friendly, but proceeded to lecture me on how the VA never denies any veteran. It took me 20 minutes to get the guy to answer one fucking question because he wanted to get whatever his speech was all the way out. After I finally got the appointment scheduled at the end of the week, it turned out every single thing that first person told me was completely incorrect and was the reason it took as long as it did to get information.

I had quite a few colleagues working mental health at the VA in the early '00s. By 2008 all of them had their jobs removed by the VA they were working at because of budget cuts. It was so sad knowing thousands of vets lost mental health care.

I hope the new policies continue to grow and help, but it's really heartbreaking seeing so many people suffer.