I think you're speaking to it well.
I particularly wanted Adrienne to speak, because she is our director of operations, and from a business perspective, there are solutions here. There are systems that could be put in place to streamline this whole process: when people are first released from CAF, the referral to VAC, and VAC reaching out, doing an assessment and determining a care plan and the needs. This is not rocket science, particularly for somebody who has an HR business background.
There are solutions. We already have some ideas about how to make this process more efficient, more holistic and more accessible.
Quite frankly, I know the system, and I have a heck of a time navigating VAC. I spend most of my time in my office trying to make calls on veterans' behalf and getting blocked, blocked, blocked. If I have the privilege of being given a phone number, I'm told, “Under no circumstances are you allowed to share this phone number with a veteran, and do not email or even allow the veteran to have the email address.”
It's lack of transparency. It's secrecy. There's this huge power differential that's created. It should be a collaborative effort in terms of seeking help. If I'm having trouble, and I'm resourced and I can usually get through channels, what is it like for someone with PTSD, who maybe is struggling with computers, for one thing, but also is struggling to answer the phone, is struggling to go forward?
Quite honestly, I've even had therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, saying, “In all good conscience, I have to stop my veteran from dealing with VAC, applying for your program. They are getting so triggered, they're almost suicidal. This is bad for their mental health.” What's with that? Something is wrong there.
There are solutions, and we'd be happy to share those solutions with you about how to make the system work.