On September 15, Amy went to a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic, her parents told. It was her birthday. According to her parents, Amy spoke with a receptionist and a nurse and asked whether something could be done to help David with his anxiety, depression, and frustration.
Jerry said his daughter was told that the counselors were busy and that she needed to make an appointment. The next day, Amy, David, and Mya were found dead.
The Department of Veterans Affairs disputed the characterization of the services available to veterans seeking mental-health assistance. The agency said it could not discuss the Voight family’s specific case because of privacy restrictions.
San Diego police and other personnel gather at the scene as authorities investigate the deaths of three members of the Voight family. | Source: YouTube/FOX 5 San Diego
“What’s being alleged regarding VA services is not accurate,” VA Press Secretary Quinn Slaven said in a statement. “All VA healthcare facilities offer same-day mental healthcare to all Veterans who request it.”
Jerry, himself a Navy veteran who has PTSD, said his own experience at a VA clinic in Lancaster, California, had been different. He said veterans facing mental-health crises should be able to receive immediate help and described the Lancaster facility as attentive to veterans from the moment they arrive.
For Amy’s parents, however, the loss was only beginning to sink in. “It’s terrible, and our pain is just starting,” Jerry said.
