(The Center Square) – Amid the backdrop of an Army veteran charged with murdering his three young daughters, Heather Hill – a psychotherapist and owner of Central Washington Veterans Counseling in Wenatchee, Wash. – is pleading for more support for veterans’ mental health services.
“We’ve been warning VA [Veterans Administration] leadership since at least 2022 that the need was escalating, and that we needed more support and resources in our community, and they have done nothing but decrease access to resources,” Hill told The Center Square.
Travis Decker, 32, sought services from Bates Counseling Services in Quincy two weeks before the murders. Owner Rob Bates could not say if Decker had scheduled an appointment or what services he had sought, as that is privately protected information.
Decker’s daughters – 5-year-old Olivia, 8-year-old Evelyn and 9-year-old Paityn – were found June 2 at the Rock Island Campground in Leavenworth, having been asphyxiated to death.
CWVC contracts with the state and federal departments of Veterans Affairs. It’s federal contract is set to expire on June 30 and its state funding was reduced during this year’s legislative session.
Hill shared a recent email exchange between herself and John Bucholtz, the deputy district director at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
“If allowed to lapse, this will disrupt critical mental health services for over 100 veterans in Central Washington,” Hill emailed Bucholtz. “This crisis unfolds in the shadow of the tragic loss of the three Decker sisters … and underscores our community’s escalating need for trauma-informed care and mental health support.”
Since initially reaching out to Bucholtz on June 13, Hill said she has played a bit of email and phone tag with Bucholtz, who responded to say he had inadvertently blocked her number due to getting a lot of spam calls.
As of Friday afternoon, the two had still not connected.
The Center Square reached out to Bucholtz via email for comment, but did not receive a response.
“The 2023 budget represented the peak funding year at $297,989,” Hill emailed The Center Square. “However, projecting future needs is currently challenging due to a reduction in and denial of services, which obscures an accurate assessment of the actual number of veterans actively seeking counseling.”
Nevertheless, she offered up an estimate of needed funding.
“Given these uncertainties, a reasonable estimate would be to take the 2023 budget and increase it by approximately 30%, resulting in a projected budget of around $390,000,” Hill said. “Although we lack sufficient data from 2024 to support this figure definitively, it represents a fair initial estimate. It’s also important to note that various external factors – such as the political climate and broader economic conditions – may significantly influence this projection.”
CWVC had its state funding canceled following budget cuts to the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs by the state Legislature.
The state VA legislative budget also included an $861,000 reduction in the Veterans Services/Counseling & Wellness budget for fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
“We started fundraising with local veteran nonprofits who then donated money,” Hill said. “We raised $30,000 in a short period of time, which is wonderful. I’m super thankful for the veterans stepping up and supporting our own.”
According to Hill, there are currently 22 people on CWVC’s waitlist, with dozens of other veterans on waitlists for mental health services throughout Central Washington.
“For the last six months, we haven’t been able to bring anybody new into services,” she said.
