I am going to agree to disagree. A mother or father facing housing instability does not mean they should no longer have rights to their children they previously enjoyed. Many, many people experience extreme circumstances and get back on their feet. Part of co-parenting and parenting plans is to preserve relationships. This involves maturity, being focused on the children, and longevity. The father taking the kids out to dinner, is a perfectly normal way to maintain the relationships. Ideally, dad would have gotten back on his feet and the homeless period of his life would be a speed bump on the co-parenting journey.
I do agree, it is difficult to get into any provider for mental health issues. Especially the VA. Due to recent administrative cuts, multiple roles at the VA simply don't exist anymore. Case Management services are gone, in my area the entire VA Suicide Out Reach/Counseling and Crisis Teams literally no longer exist-gone, Counselors, Psychologists, gone. Patients were not notified that staff they trusted have been eliminate. VA was clonky to get help to begin with, but now you are looking at 4-6 months plus to even get seen.
*Not a political post, just emphasizing how getting help is so difficult, now it is so much harder for certain populations.
