Veterans Month is our opportunity to thank those who have served our nation.
But appreciation is not enough.
We also have to think about how we help veterans when they return home. Nationally, nearly one in five veterans experiences a mental health condition in a given year, while about one in seven experiences a substance use disorder.
When veterans need behavioral health care, how easy have we made it for them to get the full range of support they need?
Recently at Cascade Community Healthcare, we assisted a veteran and saw firsthand why navigating multiple systems at the same time can feel impossible. She was having difficulty supporting her adult son because of financial constraints and limited access to transportation. What she needed wasn’t another phone call or referral. She needed a place that could help her navigate several different systems at once.
That’s where we stepped in.
Cascade’s Behavioral Health Navigation team helped her address all of these challenges together. We identified veteran-specific financial assistance and transportation resources, connected her with a local VA representative, and walked her through options for emergency cash assistance. When she raised concerns about support for her adult son with autism, the team identified local disability services, community programs and possible financial supports.
This was not a single referral. It was coordinated care built around what her family needed.
That may not sound like typical behavioral healthcare, but helping someone maintain stability often means addressing the barriers that make it harder to get and stay well.
Veterans do not arrive at our offices with their needs in neat boxes. A veteran may be experiencing depression while also struggling with alcohol use. Their ability to get medical care may depend on reliable transportation. Financial stress can make recovery harder. Their family may need support at the same time.
They should not have to become experts in these systems before they can get help.
This is one reason the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, or CCBHC, model has been important to our work.
CCBHCs are designed to give people an easy path into comprehensive mental health and substance use services, including crisis care, outpatient treatment and care coordination. They also help connect people with housing, food assistance, benefits and other community resources. CCBHCs serve people regardless of their ability to pay or their insurance status.
For veterans, that matters.
The closure of the local VA clinic in town changed where veterans could turn for services.
Veterans who otherwise might have to travel to Olympia for behavioral health care can choose to receive services locally in Lewis County through our CCBHC.
We also provide space for our local veterans benefits outreach coordinator to meet with veterans for benefits assistance.
Before our CCBHC work, Cascade Community Healthcare was serving approximately 80 veterans each year. After we became a CCBHC, our outreach expanded and we began serving more veterans. Today, we serve approximately 170 veterans.
Veterans need a strong VA health system, but they also need community providers that can work alongside it.
At Cascade, our first question when a veteran needs behavioral health care is, “How can we help?”
The CCBHC model has given us more ways to answer that question.
We should not lose that progress. As Washington continues building its behavioral health system, policymakers should continue supporting CCBHCs and the community-based capacity that allows providers to reach veterans, coordinate their care and help when insurance, distance or other barriers stand in the way.
This Veterans Month, let’s commit to making sure veterans can get the support they need, close to home and without having to navigate multiple systems on their own.
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Erica Ekerson is a behavioral healthcare navigator at Cascade Community Healthcare.
