Houston, TX – Deep staffing cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are raising concerns about access to mental health services for millions of veterans nationwide.
Earlier this month, the VA announced plans to eliminate 72,000 positions—about 15% of its workforce—in an effort to return to 2019 staffing levels. The move is part of President Donald Trump’s broader initiative to reduce the federal workforce through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). However, veterans and advocates warn that the cuts could severely impact mental health care and other essential services.
A Veteran’s Struggle for Stability
For Wendy Smith, a Gulf War veteran living in Houston, the Army remains a defining part of her identity—even her dog is named Sergeant.
Smith served as a mechanic from 1989 to 1991, but during her service, she says she was sexually assaulted. Struggling with trauma, she turned to drugs and alcohol, which ultimately led to her discharge from the Army and a prison sentence for cocaine possession.
“I just lost everything,” Smith told CBS News.
Determined to rebuild her life, she sought help from the VA Medical Center in Houston, where she found sobriety and employment as a patient escort. But now, with the VA slashing its workforce, she fears for the veterans who rely on the agency’s services.
Longer Wait Times, Fewer Resources
As the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston scales back staffing, Smith has already seen appointment wait times increase dramatically. Veterans can now face delays of up to four months for essential services, from routine checkups to mental health counseling.
“Mondays and Fridays are our busiest days,” Smith said. “Now, every day feels like Monday and Friday combined.”
The VA serves more than nine million veterans across the country, with Texas alone home to at least 1.4 million veterans, the highest number of any state, according to the agency’s data.
Nonprofits Struggle to Fill the Gaps
With VA services shrinking, veteran support groups are stepping in to help. One such organization, Grace After Fire, focuses on connecting women veterans and their families to alternative resources.
For Smith, the nonprofit was a lifeline.
“Without Grace After Fire, I wouldn’t be here. I probably would have committed suicide, or OD’d,” she admitted.
The group’s president, Tana Plescher, has her own experiences with trauma. A Navy veteran, she served as a medical specialist, responding to 9/11 and later deploying to the Iraq War.
“A terrible thing to see humanity fall the way that it did,” Plescher said, reflecting on the horrors of war.
Decades later, she still relies on medication for PTSD and depression. The VA staffing cuts, she worries, could make it even harder for veterans to get the help they need.
“If veterans aren’t able to make appointments and get seen quickly, the veteran suicide rate is going to go up,” she warned.
Funding Challenges and Political Hurdles
Grace After Fire receives most of its funding from the state of Texas, but some state partnerships have pulled back support, citing concerns about the nonprofit’s focus on women veterans.
“Some see us as a DEI organization because we work exclusively with women,” Plescher explained. “We don’t want to be labeled. We served, and we served proudly.”
As veterans across the country grapple with reduced access to care, advocates like Smith and Plescher continue to push for solutions—before the crisis worsens.
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