Over the past few months, the U.S. health care system has witnessed many drastic changes. Due to mental and behavioral health budget cuts and changes in structure to how people access mental health care, Michiganders are facing more barriers to that access — including Michigan’s military veterans. The MDHHS Walking With Warriors (WWW) veteran navigator project has estimated that 90,000 Michigan veterans, military members, and their families suffer from serious mental illness directly connected to service in the military. An additional 160,000 live with mild or moderate mental health struggles related to military service.

Despite the systemic changes, St. Clair County Community Mental Health (CMH) continues to meet veterans’ mental health care needs. A certified community behavioral health clinic (CCBHC), St. Clair County CMH offers veterans a wide range of services regardless of their ability to pay or residency. The CMH ensures veterans receive timely access to care, including 24/7 crisis services and care coordination that encompasses behavioral health, physical health, and social services. 

“Veterans are able to receive any of the many services we have at the CMH,” says Wendy Martindale, St. Clair County veteran navigator. “As a veteran navigator, I’m a hub of resources of the community, linking them to whatever we have here in St Clair County.” 

An estimated 90,000 Michigan veterans, military members, and their families suffer from serious mental illness directly connected to service in the military.
St. Clair CMH veteran case management services use a person-centered approach to best determine the services and supports each veteran should receive. Outpatient services for veterans include individual therapy, group therapy, as well as evidence-based treatment for those with severe mental illness, co-occurring disorders, and/or intellectual/developmental disabilities.

Mobile crisis services provide immediate intervention and support to veterans in crisis. St. Clair County CMH also provides peer support, enlisting trained veterans who have “walked the walk” that other vets can readily relate to. 

 “I also am able to work with veterans that are not in CMH services.” Martindale says. “My role as the navigator, any veteran or family member can work with me without cost, and they don't have to be in CMH services.” 

These changes in accessing behavioral health services have left many veterans feeling lost and alone. To provide them support and connections with other veterans and other community members, St. Clair County CMH hosts a Veterans Coffee Hour  from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m the third Thursday of every month. A CMH veteran navigator is on hand with resources. The CMH Veterans Walking Group meets at Birchwood Mall in Fort Gratiot at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays. Here, veterans can enjoy exercise and camaraderie with others. 

In May, the CMH took part in an annual Veterans Appreciation Day and free luncheon. Multiple vendors, the VA Detroit Healthcare System, Michigan Veterans Affair Agency (MVAA), and other organizations that support veterans shared resources. And St. Clair County CMH Thrive Resilience Training for veterans and first responders shares practical tools that help build resilience, well-being, and confidence for navigating life’s ups and downs.

St. Clair County veterans services also helps veterans connect to other community resources, explore employment opportunities, and navigate the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including VA Community Care, a program that allows eligible veterans to receive health care from providers outside the VA system closer to home in their local community. However, getting approval to join the program can be difficult.

 “If I could have anything changed or addressed right now it would be Community Care,” Martindale says. “Our veterans here at St. Clair County should have automatic approval.”   



Recently, the VA has required veterans to transition their behavioral health services from trusted local providers to VA facilities in Detroit or Yale. Martindale and Debra Johnson, St. Clair County CMH CEO, have both voiced their concerns to executive director of VA Detroit health care, Chris Cauley and Senator Gary Peters about the hardships veterans face due to this transition. 

“The VA is a medical benefit. It’s not insurance, like a lot of people think. You have to go to the VA to get your services. Being in St. Clair County, we're so far away from Detroit,” says Martindale. 

Veterans are experiencing travel burdens, insufficient VA clinician staff, extensive wait times, lack of consistency in Community Care approvals, disruption of established long-term relationships with their local providers,  and other barriers.  

“When veterans are denied their Community Care, the VA sometimes does or doesn't reach out to them to let them know," says Martindale. “The denials are inconsistent as well. Some veterans in this area are approved and other ones aren’t. It’s horrible to deny a veteran that’s established and doing well. Why change something when they’re doing well, then not to follow up with them to make sure they’re set up? It is leaving them out there on their own.” 

Veterans and veterans families seeking mental health services in St. Clair County can call 888-225-4447, or in a crisis, the Mobile Crisis Unit at 810-966-2575 — St. Clair County CMH mental health professionals will respond to any location in the county 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Monique Bedford is an aspiring journalist, currently freelancing for Issue Media Group publications. She graduated from Oakland University in fall of 2022 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Monique has experience in solutions journalism, media design, and hosting a radio show. When she's not writing, you can always find her studying different cultures and languages, reading her favorite newspaper, The New York Times, and spending quality time with her friends and family.

Photos by RDNE via Pexels.com.

The MI Mental Health series highlights the opportunities that Michigan's children, teens, and adults of all ages have to find the mental health help they need, when and where they need it. It is made possible with funding from the Community Mental Health Association of Michigan, Center for Health and Research Transformation, LifeWays, Michigan Health and Hospital Association, Northern Lakes Community Mental Health Authority, OnPoint, Sanilac County Community Mental Health, St. Clair County Community Mental Health, Summit Pointe, and Washtenaw County Community Mental Health and Public Safety Preservation Millage.