When I released from the military in 2002, I thought that everything was fine. I went about life and carried on.
It wasn't until almost a decade later that things started to get really bad for me and I started my engagement with Veterans Affairs. I've had some incredibly positive experiences with case managers who were incredibly helpful and supportive, but I've also experienced the absolute flip side to that.
I had an incident with a case manager who did an intake with me and went over some very emotional things. It was a very triggering appointment for me. Two weeks later, when she called back to finish the intake, she started from the beginning and had completely forgotten everything that we had been through in the first two-hour appointment. I had to rehash it. It was incredibly destabilizing for my mental health.
I am now permanently disabled, so I don't have a case manager. I've—knock on wood—not had an incident or needed to engage with Veterans Affairs, because I feel like I am well taken care of. My mental health is well supported and I have the resources that I need.